Tell the interesting story behind the good product

We know that every good product has a good story. But not every entrepreneur can tell the story well. The ability to tell a story (storytelling)--my colleague, Jenkin, has described it as important for startups. It can not only help the start-up companies to obtain financial support, but also can arouse the user's interest in the product. Banwait, founder of the start-up company seat 14A, put "Tell a story" in the key experience she learned from startups.

Just, I am afraid and most people understand is not the same, storytelling does not mean that the current, in the demo show to make up a friend named Lucy or Andy, and then describe how they are in your products with the help of a happy life. This is a more basic, deeper model that can help you make a clear definition of your product and actually show it.

But it's not easy at all. At Berkeley's Hassan School of Business, there is even a course called "Getting Your story straight", two things that mentor David Riemer to do: One, tell the entrepreneur how to find a good story;

First, there is a story behind each product. The product of good and bad, may sometimes founders themselves are not clear, so you can apply the model of the story to resolve.

What are the elements of a good story? For example, motives, characters, conflicts, settings, necessary plots, words. The elements of these stories are mapped to the product, and the relative should become the user, the demand, the value orientation, the problem to be solved, the market environment and the characteristic.

For example, a few of the most common problems in entrepreneurship are:

1. Do you have a technology that is looking for which problem it can solve?

2. Are you still arguing about who is my first target user?

3. Your competitor has a similar product.

These are the problems entrepreneurs tend to find out because they are in it, but if they jump out, from a story's point of view, these problems become

1. Do you have a technology that is looking for what it can solve?—— you dreamed of a wonderful fight, but how do you make this fight happen in an interesting story?

2. Are you still arguing about who is my first target user?—— who is the story to tell?

3. Your competitor has a similar product, how to do?—— you know a very good story, but others speak out first, how to do?

In contrast, is the latter's answer much simpler? People are brought up in a variety of stories and are already very familiar with the model, so when the product is stuck in a bottleneck, think about it if I'm just telling a story?

Of course, the more striking aspect of the storytelling model than defining the product is the expression of the product. David believes that many entrepreneurs will have a good show (presentation), but that's not a good story. For example, the founders of many technology-oriented products routinely emphasise their technology leadership, but the smarter approach is to describe the benefits of the technology, "people think about their personal experiences when they hear stories." This will make your product more humane. ”

Who is best at this? Yes, it was Steve Jobs. He tells only one story from the end: How Apple's products will change your life. And the elements of the story: a focus, a simple ppt/keynote, a demo, an enemy, an amazing moment. Top three elements it goes without saying that jobs likes to shape the enemies of Apple, from IBM to Microsoft, to the image of Apple's subversive, and a moment of wonder--who can forget the moment he pulled the Mac out of the envelope?

In addition, storytelling is also useful for getting information and reaching relationships. From an investor's point of view, the story will give them a better idea of the source of the passion and motivation of the entrepreneur. "This is very important because it shows that if these companies or individuals encounter problems, they will do whatever it takes to overcome these problems." "David said. He said that he had participated in a demo day for two days, and by the next day, there were investors and he complained that there was no good story today, and that the day before, three great "stories" got the top three.

"People don't say there is no good product, they say there is no good story, because actually good products are included in good stories." ”

Source of title: Life-longlearner