Why the best start-ups don’t lead with their product, and what they open with instead.
FOR FOUNDERS WHO NEED A STORY THAT BUILDS MOMENTUM
Your story should
travel without you.
Storification helps founders find the story that customers, partners and investors retell.
Sound familiar?
“We built it, and nobody came.”
“I'm the only one who can explain what we do.”
“Investors keep saying it's too early.”
“Our best customers come from word of mouth, and we can't make more of it.”
“I know I should post on LinkedIn, but I hate it.”
None of these is a marketing problem. They're a story problem.
02WHY IT'S HARD TO GROW
Your network doesn't scale. A story does.
Your network got you the first customers. When a story is hard to tell apart from everything else, each new conversation starts from zero. A clear story gives the next person something they can understand, remember and repeat.
THE NEXT CUSTOMER DOESN'T KNOW YOU YET
CARRY
THE SHIFT
Traction is attention you buy.
Transferability is a story people tell about you.
Most start-ups don't fail for lack of innovation. They fail because the momentum dies when the founder leaves the room. Build a story customers repeat, a story partners adopt and a story investors can retell...
“...without you in the room.”03A METHOD FOR MAKING YOUR STORY TRAVEL
- Origin
- Worldview
- Invitation
- Participation
- Amplification
Five steps to a story that works as hard as you do.
Use Storification to cut through the noise, and connect with more customers.
ORDER NOW
In this book, you'll learn...
How a handful of thrift-store trinkets sold for many times what they cost, once each one came with a story.
The five-step framework that turns a pitch into a story people want to join.
How I helped Xero break into the Australian market by letting its customers tell the story.
Why “what we do” is the weakest line on your homepage, and the question that replaces it.
The one belief Patagonia sells before it ever sells a jacket, and how to find yours.
How a pitch for a corporate video became a National Geographic documentary, and what founders can learn from it.
Why your customers make better storytellers than your marketing team, and how to hand them the microphone.
How Mailchimp turned a dull product category into a brand people actually talk about.
How to tell whether your story is working, with a simple way to measure it rather than guess.
04THE WORK STARTS WITH WHAT'S TRUE
NO BORROWED VOICE
Stories that
belong to you.
We don't make up a better story for your business. We help you notice the one already forming—in the way a customer describes the problem, the choice you made when the obvious path didn't fit, the belief behind the product.
Then we shape it so someone else can tell it accurately, in their own words. That's when it starts to travel.
05WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
WAYS TO WORK TOGETHER
Start where
you are
The book
The Storification method, with stories and case studies to work through.
Storytelling for Start-Ups
Coming in 2027Work through the five steps on your own story, at your own pace.
Story consultation
Work through your story, deck or homepage with Jim. Leave with a one-page story spine.
Storytelling sprint
Find your customers' stories, then shape them into a homepage, deck or launch campaign.
06A NOTE FROM JIM
THE PERSON BEHIND THE METHOD
Hi, I'm Jim.
I'm a filmmaker and the author of Storification: The Art & Science of How Stories Spread. I wrote it after seeing how often a good business story gets stuck with the person who started it. The work is to find the part worth retelling—and make it easier to carry.
Jim07FAIR QUESTIONS
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Good to
know.
Isn't this just marketing?
Marketing spreads whatever story you give it. Fix the story and every channel has something clearer to carry.
We've tried an agency. How is this different?
Agencies often tell your story for you. This work starts with the story your customers already tell.
We're pre-revenue. Is it too early?
Early is a good time to get the story clear, before you spend more time explaining it one meeting at a time.
Can't AI do this?
AI can write words. Your customers' actual stories, your point of view and your voice still have to come from you.
I'm not a natural storyteller. Does that matter?
No. Your customers are. The work is to help you find their stories and make them easier to share.
Do you work with businesses outside Australia?
Yes. Work can happen remotely.
08START WITH SOMETHING FREE
NO NEED TO TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT
Try the story
on for size.
Pick the question you want to answer first. Your resource opens here as soon as you submit the short form.
YOUR
STORY
BANK12
PROMPTS
STORY
BANK12
PROMPTS
Never stare at a blank LinkedIn post again.
12 prompts that pull the stories out of your head and your customers' mouths, so you can write in your own voice.
- The founder stories worth finding
- Prompts for customer, failure and why you started
- A one-page bank to keep close
10SECONDSTO GET IT?
Would a stranger get what you do in 10 seconds?
Answer seven questions about your homepage. Get a score and one practical place to begin.
- Spot where your story turns into a feature list
- See where a visitor might lose the thread
- Get a prompt for rewriting your headline
THE 10-SECOND HOMEPAGE TEST
Can your story travel from the first screen?
Choose the answer that best describes your homepage today. There are no points for optimism.
Seven questions about what a new visitor sees first. Your score and a practical next step appear right here.
A GOOD PLACE TO BEGIN
Your customers are already telling a story.
Let's make it yours.
Start with the Founder Story Bank: 12 prompts to pull the stories out of your head and your customers' mouths.
Free. Get the resource by email; the five short follow-up emails are optional.