after one of its founders lost his glasses
on a backpacking trip and couldn’t afford
to replace them as a graduate student.
Warby Parker partners with non-profits
such as VisionSpring to distribute a pair
of glasses to someone in need for each
pair sold. Warby Parker has distributed
over one million pairs of glasses and has
trained over 18,000 men and women to
give basic eye exams and bring glasses to
their communities with VisionSpring.
The examples above prove that a good
backstory has the potential for great
profitability. One recent story that truly
touched my heart was that of a young
boy in Florida who drew his version of
the University of Tennessee (UT) logo
and pinned it to his orange shirt for his
school's college colors day. He wanted to
support the Volunteers, but he didn't have
a shirt of his own. The boy was proud of his
creation but was made fun of and bullied
for his creation. His teacher shared on
Facebook about the boy’s enthusiasm and
how he was devastated by his schoolmates.
The university heard about what happened
and sent him a box of Tennessee gear. The
university also adopted the boy’s design to
create t-shirts for sale to support ‘Stomp
out Bullying’ an anti-bullying charity. Just
days after the story went viral, UT pre-
sold more than 50,000 shirts online. UT
granted the boy a four year scholarship
covering tuition and fees should he decide
to join UT and meet the admission
requirements.
In addition to creation stories, brands can
utilize stories to share the different events
that concern them such as successes,
milestones, anniversaries, etc. Uber for
example shared its billionth trip on
December 30th 2015, a major milestone
one day to the end of the year. To celebrate
this milestone, Uber made a donation to
Hackney Pirates, a charity where the
billionth trip happened.
Some years ago, people were slightly more
rational when making purchase decisions.
They considered price, accessibility,
delivery time, etc. Now however, as a
result of many technological advances,
these points of differentiation are easily
matched. As a result, consumers are more
influenced by emotional connections.
Millennials in particular have demonstrated
a cause-driven focus. Research has shown
that millennials’ (1980-1996) expectations
are approximately 20% higher than those
I’d like to think that people buy your story
and that truth couldn’t be more pertinent
to the start-up. Venture capitalists, angel
investors, initial customers, employees, and
influencers are interested in the story behind
the start-up more than anything else. When
the pains of growing the start-up inevitably
hit, the ‘why’, the story behind the start-up
will be the fuel that will keep the business
running.
of Generation X (1965-1979). Consumers
are buying and employees choosing whom
to work for with their hearts. Brands today
compete for ‘heart share.’
Start-ups are ubiquitous. Unfortunately,
statistics show that almost half of all
start-ups will not make it to their fifth
birthday. The odds are stacked against
them including cash flow issues, product-
market misfits, insufficient funding,
amongst others. Thankfully, a good
number of start-ups realize success. These
are the businesses we see today. Amazon,
Apple, Microsoft, Pixar, Safaricom, Equity
Bank, amongst others were all once upon a
time start-ups. One thing however stands
out for each of these businesses: a clear,
compelling why.
In his book ‘Built to Last,’ Jim Collins
states that this why is more than profits.
He gives examples such as Merck that’s in
the business of preserving and improving
human life and Sony that intended to
change the perception of poor quality
from Japan. These companies were driven
by ‘something inside so strong.’ Their
stories were told over and over again and
the necessary efforts put in, until they
became realities.
Purpose is the ‘why’ of what you are doing.
It explains an organization’s existence or
in the case of a start-up, its inception. It
is the organization’s cause or belief. Most
companies call it their mission. Simon
Sinek said, “People don’t buy what you do,
they buy why you do it.”
I’d like to think that people buy your story
and that truth couldn’t be more pertinent
to the start-up. Venture capitalists, angel
investors, initial customers, employees,
influencers, etc. are interested in the story
behind the start-up more than anything
else. When the pains of growing the start-
up inevitably hit, the why, the story behind
the start-up will be the fuel that will keep
the business running.
Every why must be focused on the
improvement of society in one way or
another, in big or small ways. It’s important
to undertake due diligence in terms of
numbers, data, etc. but if a founder is
unable to craft a story behind the start-
up’s inception then that’s a major red flag.
Andy Goodman put it rightly when he
said, “Even if you have reams of evidence
on your side, remember: numbers numb,
jargon jars, and nobody ever marched onto
Washington because of a pie chart. If you
want to connect with your audience, tell
them a story.”
A start-up’s story is its fuel. Without a good,
clear, compelling, driving story, a start-
up’s chances of success are significantly
reduced. My take is that before anything
else, the founder(s) of any start-up should
be very clear about the ‘why’ of their start-
up and then craft a clear, easy to tell and
easy to relate with story in order to get the
necessary buy in from stakeholders.
Marion Wakahe is a marketing
professional who is passionate
about business growth and
sustainability and its role in
peoples’ empowerment. She is of
the opinion that the marketing
function is the primary driver of
business growth. You can engage
with her via email: MWakahe@
gmail.com.