Member Article

David doesn't care about Goliath

Being remarkable is your sling.

“Everything seems to be slowing down. Then, suddenly, it’s the holidays and you’re back at the house where you grew up, with memories of your younger self, except the couches feel cosier and homemade pie never goes out of style.”

That’s what storytelling sounds like if you are a company that doesn’t sell holiday travel, sofas, or even pies. That’s right, you captured my imagination by connecting directly with me, my beliefs—not my wallet.

Who’s telling this story?

First, let me give you some background. They’re a company smack dab in the middle of America. A tech start-up in the least sexy place for these things to happen. What, no Silicon Valley address? No NYC cool studio vibe to show off? Nope.

I’m imagining if they were pitching for investment, it would sound like this:

We have an idea that people are not getting what they really want, deserve, expect or need to help them be the best they can be in their work. The market I want to enter is saturated by a mixture of snake oil salesmen and big well known companies with powerful brands and lots and lots of resources. We think we can change this world with literally no budget and a couple of people.

Sounds promising, not!

Wait, there’s more. We want to give away a lot of our product each month. Not the seconds, not the distressed rejects off our production run. The special product that we create.

Want to invest? Ha!

You would invest if you understood their approach. And I don’t mean some clever MBA strategy to building a business approach. I mean the principles underpinning their approach. They continue…

But, we have to tell you this is not going to happen overnight for us. We intend to build a community based on positivity, generosity, storytelling and integrated impact.

>>>Wait, what? You thought they were building a company, not a church.

They are building a company. And here’s how, starting with a question.

What happens when you have an idea that starts with building stories, other people’s stories?

It spreads. Not because you are telling other peoples’ stories, connecting with them on a human scale, but because those stories are also backed up by great art. [Art is my shorthand for describing the special service or product you deliver to your customers]

But, this is only part of their approach. Let’s dig a bit deeper by looking at my experience with this gritty little start-up.

I signed up for this service. Got my freebies and went about my business. Then a funny thing happened — I started to trust them. They showed up month in and month out with more amazing free stuff. That’s right, awesomeness delivered to me each month without any pressure to buy anything — just a simple new short story, some great stuff, and a reminder for me to constantly keep getting better.

They believed in me.

So after 6 months, I signed up to pay for access to all the awesome stuff. Just a month to month agreement to be part of the tribe. But, I got another surprise when I signed up. They asked me this question:

• If you wouldn’t mind, we’d love it if you answered one quick question? Why did you sign up for [our service]?

Two sentences, one important question. Game changers. David is winning against Goliath.

Imagine what would happen if you took a business to scale, but remembered you were working with humans and for humans.

You would ask questions like this at key points in the relationship.

Oh, I know what you are thinking - some clever copy by a start-up, right? Who cares? Well, firstly, I care! Then, I tested the cynic in me - I answered the question.

And guess what - I got a reply. So now, I am thinking that I am in at the ground floor - ‘cause you can never tell how big companies are on the internet. But, does this really matter? I’m not sure big is reassuring anymore. Anyway, I thought I must be customer number 37. Wrong. These guys already have a membership nearing 300,000 and it’s growing by 10,000 per month.

How does this happen?

It happens because they care enough to create an amazing product, an amazing experience, and they realise at the end of every email, every customer interaction is a human. They try.

Wait - It gets better….

This little start-up, without millions from VCs (as far as I can tell) is proving that a positive bias towards relationships with others pays off in the long run. They believe you will join the paying tribe if they can show you how awesome they are - no tricks, no gimmicks - just building trust one engagement at a time by thinking about the long term.

By being generous, they are showing us who they are and helping us to understand what they believe.

And by telling us stories, real stories which connect with us on a human level and importantly aren’t some clever twist which feels more like “read my story and get secretly get my sales message”. They are telling honest stories about what they believe.

You know what? It turns out I believe what they believe. I’m on board.

Will they make mistakes in the future. Yes. Will I leave them or disparage them for these. Not as long as they keep trying.

But, if that wasn’t enough….

This tiny little company has figured out a way to integrate a positive impact on society into their business model. Not CSR, not charity. This is something they will do in good times or bad because by doing it, they are building the company.

They realise their product runs the risk of getting stale if they are the only producers. They could use some help. Funny thing is, the people who can produce their product with them need help too! So how do they help each other without going out of business? They take what little money they are making and share it with those other producers in exchange for product. The artists are paid for their work, the business inventory grows, and you get more awesome stuff. Or in their words:

“The creatives you fund [with your premium membership] send stuff right back at you, as new image packs, stories, and inspiration galore. It’s a sustainable business model for pushing art forward.“

They are building a company for a better future.

Oh, and who is this little start-up building a better future? It’s a company founded by Allie and David. It’s called Death to the Stock Photo. It’s brilliant. Check ’em out, especially if you post to LinkedIn all the time with annoying smiling beautiful women holding cups of coffee —really? what is with that anyway?

• Are you pushing forward with a positive bias?
• Are you being generous with your resources?
• Are you building stories?
• and are you integrating impact?

If so, you are building an intrinsic value company and I want to know about so I can tell the world. We can create a positive future one business at a time.

Please get in touch if this story sounds like a company you work for, are building, or are a customer of…..

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This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Todd Hannula .