Episode 53: Why a Founder’s Backstory Matters–Even for Firms Managing Billions | Story Snacks Pt. 1
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Introducing Story Snacks! A bite-sized, jam-packed series for fund managers who are ready to master strategic storytelling in less than 20 minutes per week!
Listen in today as Stacey answers every established firm’s burning question, “Who cares about the founder?”
Plus, learn:
Why a founder’s backstory matters–even for firms managing billions
How to honor a founder’s legacy through storytelling
Why senior fund managers struggle to talk about founders–and how to overcome this
Different approaches for sharing stories about co-founders
Strategies to share the backstory in meetings
You’ll walk away from this episode with a better understanding of how to leverage your firm’s and founder’s backstory to drive growth and develop a strategic narrative.
TRANSCRIPT
Below is an AI-generated transcript and therefore it may contain errors.
[00:00:00] Craving more knowledge, but don't always have time to sit down for a five course meal? Take a quick snack break with StorySnacks. Bite sized content to feed your funnel. Each short episode features Stacey digging into one question. This series has her talking stories, sales, and so much more. Oh yeah, it's time for StorySnacks.
[00:00:26] So with FactStory, why are we talking about one person? Let's go. We're a firm. Who cares who the founder is? How do you handle co founders and backstory? Ow. Ow. I'm going to repeat the question if I can after I stop the bleeding of my heart. With backstory, why are we talking about one person? We're a firm and who cares about the founder?
[00:00:49] Okay. Ouch. So here's the deal. I'm going to take the most extreme example of this so that we can kind of address this question. So the most [00:01:00] extreme example of this would be Your firm's been around for 20, 30 years. Okay. Let's say you manage 20, 30 billion dollars. And now you get me some chick telling you that you got to tell like the founder's backstory.
[00:01:13] I get it. The reason that it matters. Is because before you have the 20 or 30 billion, somebody, the founder had the idea to start this firm for a reason based on a philosophy that most likely embraced something different, something unique, something that that founder or founding team believed the market needed.
[00:01:37] And lo and behold, the market did need it because hi, you've been around for 20, 30 years and you have 20 or 30 billion. So the trick with backstory here is how do you honor that legacy? How do you honor the legacy from the founder? Pull it forward to the present, the products, the strategy, the [00:02:00] people. And keep pulling it forward to the future of where you're going next.
[00:02:06] That is really quite a tapestry, I think, because you're, again, it's nodding back to the founder and showing how those Day one principles still apply. I think it's difficult, but it matters. So that's like the most extreme example where I could see somebody saying, well, like the founder's dead or like they're no longer here.
[00:02:29] They're not even involved in the firm. What their name's not on the door. Why do we care? It's because at one point it mattered a lot and maybe actually it's hurting you that you're not talking about it anymore. Now, so if that's the extreme example, let's take the more typical example, which would be anyone else.
[00:02:48] Basically. I mean, I think we can all agree that extreme on the other side would be you're a startup or you have less than five years of track record and you're a founder fund manager, like you're [00:03:00] leading the firm. Obviously your backstory is super critical, but even if you're in the middle place, it's still applies.
[00:03:08] I think it's difficult for people, especially very senior people, senior fund managers, to talk about the founder if it's not them. I still encourage you to work on it because you chose to work at that firm. Why? Probably had something to do with the founder and those values and that philosophy and those differentiators.
[00:03:29] So I think it's super critical at all points in your evolution. Let's take the co founder thing. You have a couple options here in my mind. One would be to tell sort of a joint back story. So let's say, for example, that you both work together at a prior firm. Then you could kind of talk about that. How did you come to know each other together, right?
[00:03:53] And you both worked at this firm together, and what was that about? And what was the messy middle for the two of you? And why did you decide to [00:04:00] leave? To set up this new co and what are you going to do different? What are you honoring again from your previous firm? And what are you going to twist? So I think that matters.
[00:04:10] That said, each of you have your own back story. So you can also do that. You could each have a back story and you could show how it meets up and joins together and goes forward. The other potential scenario would be you have one co founder who's more face forward, who's gonna be kind of the face, the heart, the soul of the firm like we always talk about.
[00:04:35] So you may choose to just tell, make that person sort of the main hero of the story and have the co founder, if they're gonna be maybe more behind the scenes, maybe they're just a secondary hero in the story. I've seen that happen where there's a co founder who's like, I really kind of just don't want to be like front and center here and my partner does.
[00:04:57] So let's just honor those vibes. And [00:05:00] that's fine. I think you just have to practice. and iterate and continue kind of seeing what works when you're in meetings and you can tell them both in any number of ways.
[00:05:13] Are you an investment boutique looking to grow your business and need a little help? If you feel like you're fighting for the spotlight and well, still stuck in the shadows of the bigs, join us in the Boutique Investment Collective, Havener's new membership community dedicated to the specialist in the investment industry.
[00:05:29] In the collective, we'll guide you through the billion dollar blueprint we've used to help boutiques add over $30 billion. In a UM, you'll refine your story, focus on your ideal target market, and practice your pitch. You'll rethink your marketing materials, rewrite your emails, and refresh your differentiators.
[00:05:47] We'll even help you step up your LinkedIn game and give your profile a makeover. You want to grow your biz, we've got your back. Learn more about The Collective, the curriculum, and the amazing coaches who will help you on your journey. Visit [00:06:00] havenercapital. com slash collective. High five. Hope to see you in a coaching session soon.
[00:06:14] This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions. The information is not an offer, solicitation or recommendation of any of the funds, services or products or to adopt any investment strategy. Investment values may fluctuate and past performance is not a guide to future performance.
[00:06:33] All opinions expressed by guests on the show are solely their own opinion and do not necessarily reflect those at their firm. Manager's appearance on the show does not constitute an endorsement by Stacey Havener or Havener Capital Partners.
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