- The Storyteller's Playbook
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- Lessons from Coach Prime
Greetings, Chief Storytelling Officers.
Last week was rough after the terrorist attack in Israel. Many of my friends, clients, and family were impacted either directly or indirectly. There are no words to make things better and it’s a reminder how fragile life can be.
Sometimes the work we do feels so small and yet it’s worth pushing on because the only way to build a better world is to keep moving ahead. With that, let’s get into the newsletter for this week.
-Robbie
Lessons from Coach Prime
Last week I filmed a deep dive video about someone who is hot in the world of college football.
He’s getting a lot of attention for his communication and storytelling style, as well as his unmatched confidence in his vision.
He’s challenging college football’s status quo.
I’m going to share the video with you in a minute.
Before I do that let's dive into a hot take that's been on my mind for years:
Is LeBron James the greatest basketball player of all time?
I bet this isn’t where you expected me to go but it applies to founders.
Now, before you start chanting "Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan," hear me out.
LeBron surpassed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history while also holding the fourth-highest scoring average in history. But why does it seem like something's amiss?
Let's unpack this.
LeBron James has been an absolute force in the NBA for an extended period that feels impossible to count.
His longevity and consistency are awe-inspiring. However, despite his remarkable achievements, some folks still want to find reasons to bring him down. They point to his fewer championship rings than Russell or his less-than-perfect finals record compared to Jordan.
The LeBron paradox.
This relentless scrutiny of LeBron is something many high achievers can relate to. Whether you're a successful CEO, entrepreneur, or leader, you've likely encountered similar challenges. People initially celebrate your success, but as you rise, they start searching for flaws.
It's a phenomenon I often observe in the world of Venture Capital and entrepreneurship.
LeBron James was hailed as the Chosen One during his high school days, and everyone loved him until he began showcasing his greatness. Once he reached the pinnacle, criticism and backlash followed.
This pattern is familiar in the journey of many great individuals.
Greatness, it seems, can push people away and invite harsh criticism.
Take Elon Musk, for instance. He was beloved when he was pioneering green energy with Tesla. However, as he ventured into new territories like Twitter (and turned it to X), the narrative shifted.
Musk's intentions to open up free speech and create a public forum drew controversy, and he suddenly became the target of media scrutiny. It's reminiscent of Harvey Dent's quote from The Dark Knight: "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain."
The moral of the story here is that if you aspire to achieve greatness, you must develop a mindset that shields you from negativity.
Haters, naysayers, and obstacles are inevitable companions on the path to success. Society's tendency to challenge and criticize those who dare to be great is a part of human nature.
Now, there’s a new target on the scene of the sporting world.
You might know him as Deion Sanders aka Prime Time.
It's no secret that Prime has revolutionized the way he communicates, leads, and makes an impact on his players and the audience.
He's led Jackson State and the University of Colorado to major turnarounds (even with the OT loss to Stanford this week).
Colorado went from 1-11 last year to currently 4-3.
But what I love most about Coach Prime is the way he’s using storytelling to build his program. He uses it in the locker room. He uses it on national television. He uses it on social media.
What he’s demonstrating is the way a leader can inspire a group of people to step up to a bigger stage than they thought possible.
The video is for individuals in visionary leadership positions, especially those in business- entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, venture capitalists, or anyone else interested in understanding the power of storytelling to inspire and lead.
Beware the shady investor
A founder sent me a message this week about an investor acting in a real shady way. They acted like they were interested in investing only to gather research to pass to another company in a similar space.
This is some real shady shit and it’s important to stay vigilant out there if you are a founder. I can also promise you that word gets around and any founder I know will be warned not to deal with this firm.
Reputations matter and make sure to hold investors to high standards. This type of behavior is unacceptable.
Resources for Founders
This Founders podcast episode on Kobe Bryant is chef’s kiss.
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This video from Garry Tan’s channel featuring Andrew Lee breaking down how to raise a Series A.
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How do you demonstrate traction? Here’s one take from a Midas List VC.
Two ways to get help on your storytelling and fundraising.
Join the waitlist at Potential AI. At Potential AI we’ve built the platform for founders to walk through our process and let our AI craft your 3 minute long Founder Origin Story and Startup Vision Story. Another way to say it, our AI builds your story to raise capital.
Apply to work with me privately over at Competitive Storytelling. This is one on one work typically for Series A and later companies given then expense and criteria I look for in a founder. Two founders have closed their rounds over the last two weeks.