One Story Changes Everything

One story can change a startup's destiny.

It started when Orka, a drink startup, posted a photo of its new energy water on TikTok in 2023.

Fast forward a lot of pain later trying to develop said can.

The founders spent all their funding trying to make cans that actually worked.

$355,000 pretty much gone.

They eventually found a manufacturing company that was able to make the can.

But what now? They needed someone to tell that story.

Step in The Wall Street Journal.

The story (link) goes into more depth about how they managed to pull it off.

How should you create your own destiny-changing story. My advice:

1) Find the “moment of pain.” Pinpoint the exact frustration your audience feels. Make that pain visceral; they have to feel at least something about what you've gone through.

2) Show the human spark. Why did you decide to fix this? A late-night “there has to be a better way” epiphany beats a sterile mission statement every time. People want to hear about that lightbulb moment.

3) Deliver proof in motion. Instead of shouting features, tell a before-and-after mini-case: “In two weeks, our beta users cut churn by 17 % without touching their code.”

4) Invite participation. Great stories make people part of the plot. If there was anyone involved be it a partner, spouse, supplier or media themselves, get them involved in the story (with their permission).

Orka co-founder Michael Moriarty said after the WSJ piece went live "I’ve never gotten so many texts in my life."

I suspect a few new orders too.

I'll leave you with this: what one story would you tell to tilt your startup’s future?