STOP focusing on your "Founder Story"

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Waging War on the Founder Story
Read time 0.8 minutes.

Let’s start with a simple question…

Can you tell me the founder story for:

• Apple

• Google

• Tesla

• Peleton

• Uber

• Airbnb

Almost every great startup has NO FOUNDER STORY.

Why do people preach a founder story?

Most people who preach a founder story are consultants charging $10-15k+ who claim it’s the one missing thing you need before you raise.

It’s complete BS. I studied over 700 investments, and there was ZERO correlation between those that had a founder story and those that raised.

In fact, many with a founder story faced more skepticism from investors about the market size, product/market fit and scalability because they make the company seem like a personal vendetta and not a real venture-backable business.

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So what do you need?

You need a corporate narrative.

A corporate narrative is a story about THE BUSINESS, not about you. It explains the problem that society is facing and how your idea/product/solution can make the world a better place while making investors lots of money.

The way you build an emotional story is not by trying to get investors to relate to your struggles but by getting them to connect to struggles they already understand, like climate change, loneliness, lack of opportunity, etc.

Which pitch sounds better to you:

1. “Two months ago, my grandmother passed away. The only thing I had left of her was a voicemail she sent me. Last month I lost that. The carrier only stores messages for 30 days. I wanted to ensure that anyone else could stay connected to their loved ones after death, so I invented Forever VoiceMessage, a place where you can store messages for your loved ones so they can hear you long after you are gone.”

2." Have you recently lost a loved one? If so, you are not alone; over 3.5M people die in the US each year. Do you remember the last thing they said to you? Do you sometimes wish that you could hear their voice? Forever VoiceMessage is a service that allows people to store voice recordings for their loved ones so that they can stay connected long after they die.”

The second one is 100% stronger by generalizing the story and making the listener/reader/investor part of the narrative instead of making it all about the founder.

A fundamental rule in sales is to use the word “you” more than “I/We.” There is lots of psychology to back this up.

So please STOP prioritizing your Founder Story. Instead, start focusing on your Corporate Narrative. Once you have a solid corporate narrative, then you can add to your pitch explanations about why you care about the problem and why you can execute. But the founder's story can’t be your main pitch.

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Onwards and Upwards,

Liam Gill