One True Voice
Coaching a brilliant founder toward her boldest presence
Commissioning client
Founder
No. of employees
5
MEB category
Influence
Capabilities
Organization
Year founded
2015
Direct-to-consumer shoes
Business type
Ownership model
Consumer products
Industry
Private
Pre-seed
Phase
2020
Years of collaboration
Speaker coaching
Function
Focus
Emboldening presence
Executive counsel
Executive presence
Event / engagement preparation
Strategic messaging
Communications strategy
In the wake of challenging engagements, commissioned by founder for speaker coaching to find her boldest voice.
Review past experiences - from first request to post-event follow-up - to better understand her current state and chart a course to her bolder state
Find her optimal “pocket” for confidence, storytelling, and influence
Assess and determine strategic priorities for her involvement and when to defer to brand marketing
Identify engagement types (context, objective, production, platform, etc.) and determine + articulate which she will accept or pursue
RELIEF | CLARITY | CONFIDENCE
Not every founder is wired to be the charismatic fundraiser and storyteller celebrated by Silicon Valley. The most effective founders know who they are, what they want for their business, and lead with their strengths - especially those that are unexpected.
The founder of Suavs, an accomplished shoe designer and consumer product company owner, learned the hard way how she’s not wired for the cinematic founder experience: on stage before an audience under hot lights.
Following a number of challenging founder engagements, we worked together to identify the environment and context in which she will shine, and determine how and where to lead with the brand and business over her founder experience. This work reset her understanding and expectations of the founder’s presence, allowing her the opportunity to redefine it for herself.
We established personal + business standards for vetting her opportunities, and created preparation protocols to foster a more confident presence. We also determined her messaging platform to help form a more consistent and cohesive narrative aligned with her business and impact priorities.
case study: narratives
case study