Sell Your Story First

WELCOME
Do You Have an Idea?

Greetings future rainmaker! Like many of you, I once held the belief that every intricate detail of an idea needed to be meticulously planned before daring to venture into the market. However, I soon realized that this mindset was merely a disguise for my own inaction.

With an abundance of ideas and a lack of funds to bring them to life, I found myself succumbing to the dreaded imposter syndrome, which greatly undermined my self-confidence. This led to what many refer to as analysis paralysis, a state of overthinking that hinders decision-making and ultimately leads to a failure to launch. The struggle of figuring out how to gather sufficient resources to actualize ideas might sound all too familiar to some of you. I want you to know, you're not alone. We're in this journey together.

FUNDRAISING
Startup Capital

In 2023, “$285 billion” was invested in pre-seed level startups globally. Brave founders all over the world managed to secure funding for their ideas before they even had a fully operational business. I was amazed that anyone would invest in an idea before it had proven successful. Yet, this phenomenon occurs regularly.

In Detroit, where I currently reside, there are several organizations committed to developing you into the entrepreneur you’ve always wanted to be, and provide access to capital. If you have an idea, or struggling to keep your business afloat, the following organizations want to help you realize your vision:

• Networking: Black Tech Saturday

• Entrepreneurship: ProsperUs Detroit

• Development: TechTown

• Incubator: Build Institute

• Accelerator: Techstars Detroit

• Operations: Operation School

• Venture Capital: Venture 313

Detroit’s ecosystem for Startups is growing, attracting venture capital and private equity. There is no better time to get started realizing your entrepreneurship dream than now. If you know some people that are looking to develop their idea into a business, hit the button below to share this information!

STORYTELLING
From Words To Money

Fiction sells, demonstrating that ideas sell. This is evident as movies and TV shows are often adapted from books, turning fictional characters and conceptual worlds into real-world revenue. Proving that written work has the potential of becoming physical product, thus giving us the ability to manifest our written ideas into marketable products.

Movie Money

Dune Book Sales: 20 million copies sold to date
Dune Movie Series: $1 Billion world wide

The first two movies were made just from one book! Frank Herbert was able to capitalize on the fandom of his story once technology caught up to his imagination.

So even if you had an idea to create a time-travel machine to go back in time to change your family’s history, and no way to fund the making of a Flux Capacitor (Back to the Future), it’s ok. You could write a story about it, and possibly become a top seller of your idea as a novel. And who knows, it could be a movie one day, generating all the funds you would need to make your groundbreaking invention.

SCIENCE
Humans Love Stories

Stories emotionally connect with humans, which is crucial for getting them to buy your products or invest in you to develop your idea. People often make purchases based on emotions, and stories are designed to elicit such emotional engagement.

Furthermore, people are 22 times more likely to remember a story than facts. Thus, it may be beneficial to incorporate your boring scientific data into a narrative to make your idea memorable. If you want someone to take action, a narrative can effectively guide your readers through the process of engaging with your content.

Imagine crafting a compelling story for your idea, and being able to predict the future. Manifesting something purely theoretical into fact in front of your audience like a skilled magician. Well, its possible, and I am committed to showing you how to get it done.

IDEATION
4 Questions to Test Your Idea

To start writing about your idea, you need a solid foundation. Businesses need money to operate and to attract customers. But in order to turn your story into a business, it needs to address an actual problem. If you only have an idea, use the following research questions to identify if it is marketable:

1. What is the problem you are solving?

   Keep in mind, you don’t have to solve every problem for your audience. Updates and upgrades can happen later after you find product market fit. To show investors you’re focused, fixate on the issue you are most passionate about and with the greatest market potential.

2. Who is the person you are solving a problem for?

   Its also best to be able to define your reader/client/customer. In fact, you should know them so well, you know what a day in the life for them looks like. How else would you know what problem to solve? Try to state this as one person.

3. What is the proposed solution?

   The solution doesn’t have to be specific right now, just focused. Its best your solution is focused on fixing the problem, so make sure you know what problem you are solving.

4. Why are you qualified to solve the problem?

   Define the origin story that generated your idea, and state why you are the chosen one to solve the problem your story addresses. Either you’ve experienced the problem, observed it, or have the skills to build the solution.

Once you've answered these questions, condense answers down into 1-3 sentences. Investors have limited patience for unfocused founders, so make your answers to the point. In the next section, we will be using this information to create The Blurb you need to get people interested in your idea.

COMMUNICATION
The Blurb’s The Word

If approaching an investor, or if anyone takes interest in your idea, you can take some of your answers from above and fill in the blank to create a Blurb to peak their interest:

FORMAT

“I’m (your name) and I’m looking to help (customer) struggling with (problem) by providing (solution).”

EXAMPLE

“I’m AJ Louis and I’m looking to help creative entrepreneurs struggling to connect with their audience by providing a newsletter that teaches how to utilize cinematic storytelling to raise capital and increase sales.”

Sit with the statement, does it resonate with you? If not, tweak it until you feel passionate about what you are saying. Remember, you have to sell this idea, and if you aren't convinced, no one else will be either. If your idea is intriguing, this statement should at least garner interest. If not, keep working it until you start seeing people’s eyes light up with interest.

The Blurb is the shortest story you’ll have to tell, and the anchor for your pending story

PLUG TALK
The Founder Story

If you are successful, you’ll need a focused narrative that will help you gain their trust. Usually Investors will want to know more information if they take interest in you, so it’s best to have stories ready for telling. You never know who is listening. The Founder Story is the best place for you to get started.

Founder Story

Let’s say the investor takes interest in your Blurb, and asks you to tell them a bit more about yourself. Usually founders interpret this as the investor asking them to impress them with all that they know, but investors would be more impressed with a short story that includes your relevant experience, and how it lead to your idea. We’ll use the Japanese 4-Act Structure, Kishotenketsu.

Outline

1. Introduction (Ki): Your relevant experience

2. Development (Sho): Recognition of customer segment experiencing problem from your perspective

3. Twist (Ten): Clever observation that leads to opportunity

4. Conclusion (Ketsu): Solution

Begin sharing your Founder Story with everyone who will listen. In doing so, you’ll be able to assess if your idea is worth pursuing if you are able to build an audience with it. The last thing you want to do is hold on to a dead idea. As a thank you for subscribing today, you will receive a free Founder Story Notion template.