HOW A FOUNDER’S STORY CAN HELP YOUR BRAND CONNECT

Good stories make good brands. And one compelling chapter in a brand is the founder’s story. It’s easier to connect with a person than a product — the struggles, the victories, the long journey from inspiration to execution. Done right, this personal origin story not only humanizes your brand, but also creates a strong hook for your audience. So how do you craft a founder’s story that will connect and set your brand apart?

The key thing to keep in mind is it’s not really about you. Founder’s stories aren’t biography. They are stories that create an emotional connection with your audience, so be sure to keep the focus on that connection. Audiences love to hear about your struggles and how you overcame them, but at the end of the day, they also need to be able to connect your story to how the brand adds to their lives.

It’s also crucial to tell a story people haven’t heard before. You’ll see a lot of brand stories that are essentially, “I saw a problem and came up with a solution.” OK, great. That’s capitalism 101. Or, “I got burned out from corporate jobs and quit to start a business.” Good for you! But that’s a pretty common story. “I became a new mom and started looking at the world differently.” This is indeed a profound and relatable epiphany, but also one that’s thrown around often. These storylines are a good start, but they need additional details or some kind of twist to make them stand out.

One of our favorite founder’s stories is the origin of Beekman 1802: A New York power couple flames out in a recession, moves to a farmhouse in Upstate New York and finds purpose and inspiration through kindness and connecting with their neighbors. Ready to hear more? We haven’t even mentioned what they sell yet. (It’s skincare, btw.) This story compels because it’s about values that are shared by good-hearted people — and there are a lot of those people out there (thankfully).

Another great founder we’ve had the privilege to help craft her brand story, Vicky Tsai of Tatcha, launched her brand with an incredibly compelling story. Vicky’s story is about a trip to Kyoto, where she encountered a geisha and was captivated by her elegance, beauty and tradition. (This is an extreme simplification. You can read the whole thing on Tatcha.com.) Notice this story isn’t really about Vicky — it’s about her journey, and she invites you to join her in discovery.

True, it’s hard to top these stories. (And you may not need to — not every founder’s story needs to make it into the brand.) Ask yourself a few questions about your origin: Is it relatable to your audience? Does it bring to life your brand’s values? Did your brand go on a journey that others would like to join? And does your story set you apart? The answers can tell you a lot about what makes your brand special.

These are the kinds of questions we ask during our immersion phase, where we get to know everything we can about the brand and the people behind it. Paired with research into the competitive landscape to find what other brands are saying — and, more important —what they’re not saying, we can determine what’s truly differentiating about a brand. We also take into consideration the whole brand story, where we create the foundation for all the creative work that follows. This includes components such as mission, promise, characteristics and values. After we’ve crafted the brand story, we get to work defining the brand’s voice and tone, which we infuse into key messaging components that bring the brand story to life and start to create that emotional connection with the audience.

In this context, a founder’s story is just one possible chapter among many. The question to ask then is, “What is the best way to bring the brand to life?” If the founder’s story isn’t a good fit, there are many other creative and compelling ways to get the job done. (We have loads of ideas in that department, too.) But in the right circumstances, your founder’s journey from inspiration to market can inspire your audience and make them love your brand even more.