Last week I mentioned that a LinkedIn post of mine went viral to the tune of almost 4 million impressions…and it broke all the rules. ***interestingly enough it did not have the same impact for Instagram and I will break that down another time.
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​What I didn’t expect was the overwhelming outpouring of personal stories from you. It seems my journey with hearing loss and overcoming shame resonated deeply with many of you. (And to my fellow hearing aid wearers under 80 – we should start a club!)

This experience reinforced a powerful truth: Storytelling can transform not just your business, but your entire life.
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And I want to SHOW you, instead of tell you.
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​1. The Corporate Lawyer Turned Brand Builder

Do you know how difficult it is to get on Shark Tank?
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Out of the 40,000 people that apply each year, about 160 get to actually film a segment and only 88 founders are aired. Just to land a callback is an accomplishment in and of itself.

Katie and her Larken co-founder (lawyers by trade) sent me this amazing note one day telling me they made it to the final rounds after taking some of my storytelling programs.

And while they didn’t get selected (there was a bra company on the previous season) , Katie said:

• Storytelling was critical to them getting so far in the Shark Tank process
• Storytelling was critical to them landing on the Inc. Magazine list for growth, ranking as #1 for their state.

Katie is such a believer in the power of storytelling, she has built another purpose-driven brand in the parenting space (Hello Bluebyrd) and recently dropped me this note:

Takeaway: You can learn to become a powerhouse storyteller that gets amazing press and even to final rounds of major shows even if you don’t fancy yourself one.

2. The Doctor Turned Entrepreneurial Powerhouse

Dr. Ronak Mehta intuitively knew she wasn’t going to become the world’s best digital marketer with her day job as a child physician, but she could hone her storytelling skills to start building buzz around an idea she had for a business called, Nerdbugs.
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After joining some of my early programs years ago and then us losing touch, she popped up in my LinkedIn feed the other day.
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Not only has she left her doctor position, she has won more than $100,000 in grant money, been a guest on NPR’s “How I Built This”, been featured with a spread in Forbes, and is in early talks with the American Lung Association.
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She told me she literally owes all of this success to….storytelling.

Takeaway: Your background, no matter how specialized or seemingly unrelated, is a powerful differentiator in entrepreneurship if you can weave it in through story. Never underestimate the power of your unique life experiences -they could be the key to setting your business apart in a crowded space.

3. The Crippling Shy Founder turned Award-Winning entrepreneur ​

Natalie’s childhood was riddled with addiction, early pregnancy, abandonment and being a female minority in a world that wasn’t always kind.
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Which is why her all-inclusive gymnastics center in NYC, Industry Gymnastics, is so much more than a business.
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She confessed to me before she started my Founder’s Fire program last year she had to talk it through with her therapist because she was about to go SO FAR out of her comfort zone.
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However, what she has done with her deck of life cards is literally made for movies.
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She knew she needed to come out from behind the scenes and STEP INTO herself fully as the founder and learn how to connect through storytelling.
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Now, every time I open my socials since our program ended she is winning an award.

Takeaway: Stop expecting people to just come and see you or GIVE you recognition. You need to put your name in the hat and make it easy for someone to pick YOU. To pick YOUR business.

Enter storytelling.
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I have so many more examples to SHOW you that storytelling is not cute and fluffy but a driver of revenue, recognition and rebirths.
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But the common thread is each of these incredible individuals were just like you (and me).
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In their head.
Unsure how to market their idea initially.
But knowing deep down that it was all about the deep connections.
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Whether you’re pitching Shark Tank, applying for grants, or simply trying to build your community on social, mastering the art of storytelling is a game-changer.