In this webinar segment, the speakers discuss the foundational role of the product in a founder’s storytelling. They argue that a product should inherently convey the founder’s priorities by addressing a core, high‑impact problem that resonates across organizations. Communication is highlighted as a universal pain point—survey data shows it ranks as the top issue in both high‑functioning and dysfunctional companies. Building tools that improve communication even modestly (e.g., Yammer, Slack, Basecamp) can instantly earn credibility and love from users. Conversely, solving less critical issues (like spelling or grammar) is unlikely to move the needle for a business. The conversation stresses two equally vital components: selecting the right problem/opportunity (a “blue‑ocean” that opens possibilities) and executing effectively on that solution.
Chapters
Is that the first component of storytelling is the product that you make. And in fact, that should inherently tell the story, because if you're paying attention to the details that matter, right, in the business, that tells the story of both you as a founder carrying the things that you think are important So, you know, maybe I would see— am I right in you saying that the first element of storytelling is the product that you make?
Yeah, I think in almost all cases product speaks, and I'll tell you why. Everybody has the same ideas. Everybody can tell you, yes, my God, there's got to be a way to find stuff on the internet that's better. Oh, communication is the biggest problem in every organization. Anytime you give a survey to any organization, the most functional organization or the most dysfunctional organization, the number one thing people will rank on that survey is our communication sucks. So if that's the case, if you make a tool like Yammer or Slack or Basecamp or anything that helps people communicate just 10% better, you're going to be loved because you've taken the product— or I'm sorry, the problem that people report most, even companies that are high-function report that communication sucks. It's just the nature, right? Communication can always be better. If you make something in the communication field that makes communication 5, 10, 15, 20% better, you're instantly going to be credible. Now, if I told you I make, you know, organizations have less spelling errors, you know, I make this great product, like people are going to spell— like people are like, well, That's not even on my list of things that are wrong with my organization. Grammar, spelling, and being a better writer is not going to change the fate of our company. Why would I want your product? So picking the problem or the pain point or the opportunity, that is, you know, equally important as how you execute on solving and taking advantage of it. So I really feel like there's two things there. One is the opportunity/problem, because not everything solves the problem. Some things are just you know, what they call blue ocean, right? It's— it opens up possibilities. And then the next piece is, how did you execute on it?
