Your startup needs someone to be its lead storyteller

Ultimately, what is a business? You are an organization that has identified a pain point that people are experiencing. In order to remove this pain point, you offer a product in exchange for money. It seems so simple. In the world of startups, we often talk about painkillers versus vitamins. You wouldn't want to interrupt your favorite TV show, get in your car and drive to the pharmacy to buy some vitamins. You will be without it for a few days. If you have a headache, you will do your best to take headache pills. The difference is the sense of urgency and need. This is where storytelling comes in.

When you think about it, every aspect of your business is storytelling. Hiring your first employees at a startup is telling a story: you're telling a story that contrasts their stable, reliable employment with an established company, contrasting it with a chance for your startup. Acquiring first customers falls into the same category: why should they trust you over a larger, more established competitor? Marketing? Same. Advertising? Same. Increase investment? Oh boy - definitely a storytelling exercise.

Telling the origin story of your business is part of the culture that underpins everything. This determines who your customers are. This influences who considers taking a job in your company. It informs about how your employees perceive problems and what types of solutions they offer.

Storytelling is the backbone of everything you do. It's the logo your business uses, it's the design language you use, it's the words you use to make your case.

Some CEOs are natural storytellers, and this is a crucial function of their job in these companies. In fact, I'd say in slightly mature companies, it's a quarter of the role of the CEO:

You hire the right people. You create the right culture. You make sure that the company does not run out of money. You tell the story. But what about companies that don't solve problems?

"But Haje", you shout on your screen, "some companies don't fix weak spots; they only provide pleasure. And Pixar, for example?"

Excellent point. Many undertakings do not reduce pain, but rather induce pleasure. These companies are numerous and extremely varied. Coca-Cola, for example, is not primarily a thirst quencher (water does a much better job at a much lower cost). Pixar films don't directly resolve pain, but they do reduce boredom and provide excitement and entertainment. (Pixar also has a pain-reducing element: for many parents, putting on "Cars" buys a 90-minute break they can use to do some chores or cook dinner.)

A screenshot of the very first thing you see when you open the Coca-Cola website. Image credits: Coca-Cola (opens in a new window) / Screenshot

The main banner on the Coca-Cola website tells the story: it's not about a tasty drink, it's about happy people enjoying life. It is a conscious storytelling device. And if their annual sales of $41 billion are to be believed, it's working pretty well.

These companies are, often, the ultimate examples of storytelling. What is Coca-Cola's product really? It's a lifestyle brand. Look at the ads and how Coca-Cola markets itself. It is extremely rarely about the flavor of the products, but rather about the enjoyment that people in the advertisements have. They are adventurous, young, full of life and fun. That's what Coca-Cola sells. Sure, the company has a massive global operations and supply chain organization, but the reason Coca-Cola is so valuable is almost exclusively its storytelling.

Isn't that just marketing?

Many companies decide to hand over all of their storytelling efforts to the marketing team. I think that's terribly unfortunate, because my...