Founders
You can explain the product perfectly and still watch people not get it. The book is the sequence that closes that gap.
The Book
Storybuilding
Your Brand From Their* Standpoint
* Customer, User, Investor, Donor, Partner, Supplier, Boss
What happens in a person’s mind when they encounter a brand? Three steps, always in the same order. This is the whole method — how to see them, and how to build a story that survives all three.
Options to buy
The question
Why do people not get it, when you have explained it so clearly?
Because they were never listening to your explanation. They were running three checks, in a fixed order, mostly without noticing: is this for someone like me? do I understand what they are and how they compare? and can I picture my life after saying yes? Fail the first and they never reach the second. Most brands answer the third question first and wonder why nobody stayed.
Storybuilding is what you do about that. Not better words for the story you already have — the story rebuilt from where your customer is standing, in the order they actually need it.
Who it is for
Three people keep buying this book
Marketing leads
You inherited three versions of the story and a brand book nobody opens. This is how you get one version your colleagues will actually use.
Consultants and coaches
The full method, canvases included, so you can run it with your own clients rather than take my word for any of it.
What is inside
Six parts, twenty-six chapters, five side quests
The full contents, exactly as they appear in the book. Page numbers are the book’s own.
Part 1 p. 1
The Big Why
Why a story is a realignment tool and not a marketing exercise.
- 01What is Storybuilding3
- 02Why Storybuilding Really Matters9
- 03This book is Interactive19
It sneaks in a brand realignment without triggering corporate resistance. That’s why I call it the Trojan Horse of brand strategy.
Storybuilding, p. 10Part 2 p. 25
Encountering a Brand
The three steps every customer goes through, in order, whether you planned them or not.
- 04Recognition31
- 05Perception47
- 06Projection55
- 07Self-Centered Brands61
Imagine your brand is a party. If people don’t instantly get who it’s for, what the vibe is, and whether they’ll enjoy themselves, they’re not stepping inside.
Storybuilding, p. 43Part 3 p. 69
Understanding
Seeing the world through your customer’s eyes, then turning the same lens on yourself.
- 08Practical tips71
- 09Your Stakeholders (Customers)77
- ASide Quest: Trigger Marketing101
- 10Your Organization (Company)107
- BSide Quest: Your Category141
It’s like a dentist trying to understand your workout routine—interesting, perhaps, but not relevant to your cavity.
Storybuilding, p. 81Part 4 p. 147
Storybuilding
Building the story itself: the structure, the sequence, and the test of whether it is the right one.
- 11Storybuilding Framework149
- 12Test if It’s the Right Story179
- CSide Quest: Your Competitors’ Positioning185
- 13The Story191
- DSide Quest: Your Tagline205
This is a framework, not a religious doctrine.
Storybuilding, p. 172Part 5 p. 209
How You Will Use It
The same story, worked through six different kinds of company — including a case study you can follow end to end.
- 14What and where211
- 15Types of Application217
- ESide Quest: Your Offer221
- 16B2C — Business to Consumer231
- 17Case Study: Felco239
- 18B2B — Business to Business245
- 19Non-Profit253
- 20Marketplace261
- 21Investor271
- 22Internal Project Pitch277
But here’s the secret: just because B2B is all about logic, data, and ROI doesn’t mean emotion takes a backseat. Stories still matter—sometimes even more. They just need a suit and tie.
Storybuilding, p. 245Part 6 p. 283
Conclusion
What you have learned, and where the book came from.
- 23Wrap Up285
- 24Acknowledgments293
- 25About the author295
- 26Epilogue299
From the book
Three pages, printed as they are
Not a summary of the method — the actual pages, so you can hear how it is written before you decide whether to spend an evening with it.
Page 3
The opening
The first page of chapter one, in full.
Picture yourself at a dinner party. One guest won’t stop talking about themselves—their awards, their genius ideas, their latest life-changing vacation (that you definitely did not ask about). Another actually asks about you—what you do, what you care about, maybe even laughs at your jokes. Who would you rather be stuck next to when dessert takes forever? No contest. We connect with people who make us feel seen, heard and understood.
Storybuilding is about making your brand that good conversationalist—the one that listens, understands, and makes people feel seen. It’s not about shouting your message into the void; it’s about crafting a story that fits into your audience’s world, their challenges, and what actually matters to them. Whether you’re talking to customers, investors, or that donor who still isn’t sure about you, the secret isn’t what you want to say—it’s what they need to hear.
It’s the art of positioning your brand from their standpoint.
Page 62
What it looks like when it fails
From chapter 7, Self-Centered Brands — one customer, all three steps, in order.
Imagine a homeowner, Maria, looking for a gardening service to maintain her backyard. She searches online and comes across “GreenPro Landscaping,” a company whose website prominently displays awards, certifications, and technical jargon about soil types and advanced irrigation techniques.
Maria’s immediate reaction is: “Is this for me?”
Unfortunately, GreenPro Landscaping’s homepage fails to answer that question. Instead of lush garden photos or happy homeowners, it looks more like a LinkedIn profile for a very proud agronomist. Maria quickly feels overwhelmed and unsure if they cater to residential clients like her or focus on large commercial projects. She bounces faster than a squirrel spotting a bird feeder.
Maria gives the site a second chance, and is told about nitrogen absorption.
Ultimately, Maria hires a competitor whose website simply says: “We create beautiful gardens for busy homeowners. Leave the work to us and enjoy your outdoor space.”
Green thumbs don’t grow on self-centered soil.
Page 193
The whole method in ninety words
The shortest version of your story — the one for when someone asks what you do.
Which is better?
- I mow lawns.
Or
- People are ashamed of their messy lawns, but are too tired after work to take care of them.
- I mow their lawn.
- They are proud of their yard in front of their neighbors.
Big and square
Colorful
Practical — you work in it, not just read it
Worked examples: B2C, B2B, marketplace, non-profit, investor, internal pitch
Beyond the pages
The book is the map. These are the tools.
Every copy comes with the working material, because a method you only read is a method you do not use. None of it is an upsell — it is included, and it is the reason the book calls itself interactive in chapter 3.
Articles and case studies
The longer worked examples that would not fit between the covers.
Videos
The canvases explained by someone filling them in, which is a different thing from reading about them.
Customisable AI prompts
Each exercise as a prompt you can point at your own company, so the first pass takes an evening rather than a quarter.
The Storybuilding Community
Where people doing this on their own compare what came out. Membership comes with the book.
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