Driving Change Through Storytelling & Innovation
Storytelling Insights for Startups from Investors, IPCC Reports, and
Welcome back to Changemakers, the official newsletter of Brighter Future.
Thank you to everyone for being a member of this community and joining us for each edition of the newsletter, which includes insights on brand storytelling, conversations with industry investors and founders, and deep dives into different aspects of planet-driven business.
This week, we’re sharing insights on climate narratives in global action, highlighting the power of storytelling, and announcing the latest Brighter Future event.
Check out this week’s topics…
Perfect Your Pitch Event with Climate and Impact Investors
Why Storytelling Matters to Investors
The Power of Storytelling - Brighter Future Services
Transforming IPCC Narratives for Climate Awareness
The Power of Leaders & Voices for Climate
Perfect Your Pitch Live Panel with Brighter Future
Ready to elevate your climate or impact startup?
Join us on Monday, December 9, 2024, from 6:00 to 7:30 pm GMT for a free, online Pitch Review Session with top climate and impact experts, including Helena Wasserman from Unstoppable and Investors for Climate, Romain Diaz from Satgana, Robert Hotkin from Greenbackers Investment Capital, and our founder, Aaron Leaman.
A limited number of pitches will be reviewed live during the session. If yours isn’t selected, don’t worry—you’ll still have the chance to receive valuable feedback post-event in the Brighter Future community.
This is your moment to present your pitch, get live expert insights, and connect with investors and founders who truly understand the climate space.
Investor Insights: Why Storytelling Matters for Startups
In today’s world, investors aren’t just looking at financials; they seek compelling stories. As Michael Dean from AgFunder noted, "The most successful companies are those that not only solve real problems but do so in a way that resonates with customers on a personal level."
Investors are drawn to companies that can articulate a clear vision, purpose, and impact, making storytelling a critical part of their evaluation process.
Similarly, Tim Hoerr of Serra Ventures emphasised that team resilience is crucial when investors decide where to allocate funds. "It’s not just about a great idea," says Hoerr. "It’s about finding teams who have been 'knocked on their ass' and bounced back, turning a B-plus idea into a winning one.”
Founders often illustrate this resilience in their organisational stories which share their efforts to overcome adversity, learn from their mistakes, and drive their companies forward with purpose and potential.
These insights reinforce the importance of crafting stories, especially a purpose story, that reflects your mission and demonstrates your team’s ability to adapt to the many challenges that face any planet-driven startup.
In the insights article below, you can read more about the purpose story and its ability to showcase this adaptability to attract and build a core connection with investors.
The Power and Potential of Storytelling
Stories are more than just narratives; they are the bedrock of our identity and existence, shaping how we see ourselves and the world, influencing every decision, and playing a crucial role in helping startups seek investment.
Let’s look at some of the critical benefits of storytelling to understand how these stories can benefit startups and planet-driven organisations.
The Benefits of Storytelling
Increased Investment: 82 percent of investors believe storytelling is an important part of a company’s marketing strategy.
Industry Leadership: Brands that use storytelling to convey their purpose are 20 percent more likely to be considered industry leaders.
Employee Trust and Turnover: Purposeful storytelling reduces turnover rates by 47 percent and builds trust, with these companies experiencing 2.3 times more trust in leadership.
Retaining and Communicating Information: Stories are 22 times more memorable than facts, making storytelling a powerful tool for sharing and communicating critical information.
Attracting Talent: 75 percent of job seekers are more likely to apply to companies that use compelling storytelling to market their brand.
These impacts have elevated many of our clients to a higher level, which is why we’ve made storytelling a central part of our services. Our storytelling offerings help organisations articulate compelling narratives that reflect the importance of their purpose, vision, and impact on the world.
What Is Our Storytelling Service?
Authentic Connection: We help you craft stories that stay true to your brand’s identity, allowing you to connect deeply with your audience.
Collaborative Workshops: Each package includes workshops that allow for co-creation and deep exploration of your brand’s core values.
Proven Impact: Our stories are designed to inspire and engage, driving tangible results for your business.
Our storytelling services are divided into three packages, depending on the number of stories your organisation needs. If you're interested, you can use the button below to book a call with our team.
Origin Story Package (£995): This two-hour workshop will uncover the heart of your brand’s identity. Together, we will explore the key moments that led to your brand's inception and craft a narrative that lays the foundation for future communications.
Origin & Purpose Story Package (£1,495): Go deeper into your story with 4 hours of workshops. This package will help you explore not just your beginnings but the “why” behind your business, solidifying your brand’s mission in the minds of your audience.
Origin, Vision & Purpose Story Package (£1,995): For a comprehensive narrative, this 6-hour workshop package will cover your brand’s past, present, and future, ensuring that your story aligns with your vision and engages your audience at every level.
Transforming IPCC Narratives for Global Climate Awareness
Next week, COP29 begins in Baku, Azerbaijan, marking the 29th installment of the annual conference on climate change. In the last few years, social awareness around these conferences has slowed.
Some reasons for this lost interest involve IPCC reports' inability to communicate the importance of climate data in an inspirational and positive way. Historically, this inability to communicate critical information that resonates with broader audiences has been one of science and conservation’s biggest downfalls.
In most situations, these reports contain jargon-heavy wording, complex language, and a condescending tone. They also tend to convey a sense of hopelessness, relying too heavily on the guilt and doom often associated with climate change narratives.
In our recent insights post, we explored two of the most common pitfalls in climate communication: the Doomsday Pitfall and the Complexity Pitfall. This article highlights the need to use storytelling knowledge to craft more effective climate narratives that inspire action and provide people with hope for the future of our planet.
We Need Voices for Climate As the Eyes of the World Turn to Azerbaijan
In 2021, the COP26 conference was held in Edinburgh, Scotland. The conference felt like a cataclysm for change and progress. News of the event was everywhere. International publications covered the pledges, national leaders took center stage, and famous personalities converged on the Scottish capital.
In the years that have followed, the momentum around these conferences has been stymied, and our societal awareness toward them has been halted. Whether that’s due to the lack of action taken on the commitments made by national leaders who attend the event or burnout by the masses surrounding the climate issue, something has been lost.
As the world continues to deal with the consequences of climate change, these conferences remain a necessary part of global efforts to mitigate the crisis. To do this, we need voices who can inspire and enact change among the masses.
In recent decades, some notable personalities have emerged who have leveraged different forms of storytelling and communication to inspire millions to act on climate change.
Check out our latest insights on two influential and powerful communicators, Sir David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg, and how they inspired an entire generation of climate action.
Thanks for joining us this week. We’ll be back with the next edition of Changemakers on November 21st. See you soon.
Cheers,
The Brighter Future Team
