Presentation by Terver Bendega

1. Storytelling your way to
startup success
Turning great products into powerful stories.
TERVER BENDEGA

2. WHY DO
WE TELL
STORIES?
Metro desk
Digital marketing
Core strategy Now building the future of
transportation in Africa Helping brands tell better stories

3. What’s in a story?
Stories define us.
Humans love stories. From the moment we’re born,
we interpret the world through the lenses of stories.

4. SOUNDS
SIMPLE?
Tech founders are usually super smart people with
really good knowledge of their solutions and USPs. But
are notoriously terrible at storytelling. Focusing too
heavily on the “small” details – features or
technologies that power their solutions”
This approach while valid, is extremely difficult to follow
Truth is, not knowing how to tell stories is missing
opportunities. Burdening exciting stories with the
weight of jargon and high sounding words that
leave people thinking “this is above me.”
THE STORYTELLING GAP
CUTTING PAST THE JARGON

5. MOVING FROM
TECHNICALITIES SIMPLICITY
We tend to think that big words mean big ideas—that they help to convey
authority, intelligence and power. But what we forget is that it prevents your
audience from understanding what you’re saying and taking action for your
cause.
Today if you want to be a successful entrepreneur, you must also become a good storyteller.

6. Need more
convincing?
Consider the Kickstarter & Go Fund
Me example. That’s an entire
business built on the foundation that
stories can connect enough with
people that they take financial
action to back a project

7. BECAUSE PEOPLE LOVE A GOOD STORY. BUT MORE
IMPORTANTLY, PEOPLE BUY A GOOD STORY-
(Fluency theory: the human brain is wired towards clarity and not confusion and stories are a sense making device)
BECAUSE STORIES ARE CHEAP
(Stories are the cheapest way to sell.Good stories get shared, jargons are forgotten)
BECAUSE YOU’LL NEED IT TO GET INVESTORS,
EMPLOYEES AND CONSUMERS
(People don’t buy the best,they buy the products they understand)

8. Storytelling is the key to
developing a strong
startup brand.

9. QUESTION IS HOW?

10. HOW?
Think about storytelling like a fantastical movie
- Superheroes have an origin story- that humanizes them and makes them relatable. (even
the Joker). It helps people see where your passion comes from and why you’re qualified to
lead them
- They exist to resolve a conflict- whether that’s a supervillain or a gemstone to be found.
Find the lowest common denominator and sell that.
Eden Life- Exists to give professionals the freedom to focus on the truly
important things
Bolt- Exists to democratize access to private cars

11. HOW?
Find the “why” and “how”
Soundcloud (online audio distribution platform)
Why- We’re the launchpad for up and coming artists/“What’s next in music is
first on soundcloud”
How- We do this by merging the worlds of music distribution and social media–
allowing fans comment, like and share songs by their favorite artists
(Why is the “what’s in it for the consumer,” how tells what you do differently
(process) that no one else does)

12. HOW?
Spark Action
- Pitch yourself against your biggest competitors 💚
- Make it incredibly simple to move from awareness to purchase
- Resist the urge to offer too many options. Inertia is the enemy of
sales.

13. HOW?
BE AUTHENTIC (OR PRETEND TO BE)
Tell the same story everywhere- In PR, on social media, in adverts, in product
announcements on app stores, on your website.
Talk like you would to a friend.
It will work wonders for you.
Jeff Bezos
(But be cool about it)

14. HOW?
TURN A - INTO A +
All brands and products have weaknesses.
If you look at them from a different perspective, you might turn them into a
strength.
HEINZ
AIRPORT

15. HOW?
COMPARISON/EXAGGERATION
Popular technique showing solution a vs. solution b.
Imagining a world without your product.
And then showing how bad that would be.
DIRECTV

16. Practical Tips
Build relationships with the media and never miss an opportunity to tell your
story
Remember that there are no winners or losers in a negotiation, only fulfilled
interests
Have a storytelling bible for your business, that is used when onboarding every
new employee

17. Be a student of human
behaviour.

18. THANK
YOU You can subscribe to my blog at:
TERVERBENDEGA.COM