Name: Start with Story
Author: Lyn Graft

About the Book

Your founder’s story is key to fueling your company’s success. It is a powerful asset in everything from raising capital to driving sales to securing press to attracting talent. Countless entrepreneurs have achieved business success by crafting a great story, and you can too. Start with Story is the definitive guidebook for first-time entrepreneurs to create the best story for their business. Inside, Lyn Graft demonstrates the power of this medium by examining the successes of companies like Starbucks, Dropbox, Spanx, TOMS, and many more who built incredible brands from scratch. Using his own storytelling framework, Graft leads you through a five-step process to construct the best narrative to showcase your business. You already have the best asset that sets your business apart. It’s time to create your story.

Praise

“The story' surrounding any product is more important than the product itself. The reason is because all products have their merit and all have similarities. The real juice is in 'the story' of the product, which stirs the client's interest. Everyone loves a story, so be sure you have a good one for your product of the moment. Lyn Graft is one of the top entrepreneurial storytellers I know. He helped capture my story and bring it to life in a compelling manner for the CNBC TV series American Made. He told my business story and also shared 'who I am' and 'what I am about' in a fresh and entertaining way.”

— Red McCombs, founder of Clear Channel

“Lyn Graft redefines storytelling. His visual experience makes his stories incredibly accessible, colorful, and textured. His words make everything more logical. And his visuals make his stories more poignant. Plus, his keen insights into the story arc of life, business, creativity, and innovation make everything more human. In an irrational world, Lyn brings light, life, and color. He breathes life into the inanimate--word by word and image by image.”

— Amy Cosper, former editor-in-chief of Entrepreneur Magazine

“Lyn's world-class coaching and personal brand management in support of my business has helped me get national exposure in business publications as well as connect me to some of the top global game changers in the world.”

— Ingrid Vanderveldt, founder of EBW2020

About Lyn Graft

Lyn Graft

Lyn Graft is the founder of Storytelling for Entrepreneurs, an online platform for founders to help create, tell, and share their story. Over the last fifteen years, Lyn has filmed and captured the stories of more than five hundred of the world’s top entrepreneurs, including the founders of LinkedIn, Starbucks, Dell, and Whole Foods. He has produced more than eight hundred videos focused on entrepreneurs, startups, and business content, and dedicated twenty thousand hours to studying and practicing entrepreneurial storytelling. Lyn is an entrepreneur, producer, dog lover, and co-creator of CNBC’s American Made. He holds a BS in electrical engineering from New Mexico State University and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.