My story

Once upon a time, there was a fragile child, who, early on, showed signs of vulnerability, weak health, weak stomach, that turned Kid into a very thin little girl. Despite this apparent fragility, Kid had beneath the “thin” and “fragile” look - an incredible determination to learn, to advance. 

Also, Kid loved walking out in the open air, running in the forest, playing with other children, making friends. 

But, being the youngest child, Kid was always overprotected, she was told: “you need help”, “you are too small”, “you need to be protected”.... you are “the Dopey” in the house!!!

Being so often told this story, Kid turned into a quiet child, never too outspoken, always shy, cautious not to disturb others, afraid to be wrong. With every step, Kid was turning more and more into a “Dopey”, the smallest dwarf in the Snow white story.
 

One day however, “Dopey” left the cozy comfort of home and moved away to study on an island among strangers, in a large family with 5 children. 

In this foreign family everyone was encouraged to help, to contribute to chores in the house and to share his/her ideas.
 

Kid finally was seen, as she really was - a strong, determined child, full of creativity and talent. Kid was encouraged to open up, to share her thoughts, her ideas, her colorful perspective full of optimism that was boiling inside.
 

This is how Dopey turned into FireDragon.
 

Kid started to enjoy being the FireDragon and became independent, full of ideas, helping herself and others to overpass limits and barriers.

Suddenly Kid could enter the best schools, be accepted in the best conferences, find ways to make money, had the courage to push the limits. Kid’s life became colorful and rich in possibilities.
 

It is the “FireDragon” in Kid that drove Kid further and further ahead. Kid became confident and somehow overheating with power and success.
 

This overheating helped for a while, but slowly, as Kid grew over confident, overpowering others and blocking new ideas, Kid remained alone - close friends, family, even close business supporters left - fed up with Kid’s emerging arrogance and absence.
 

Left alone, Kid suffered, rewinding back what had happened, what might have driven everybody away... At first, there was anger and frustration, then pain, then silence. In silence Kid found peace and the power to stand up and continue the journey.
 

Kid started listening truly to others. Kid started seeing the world with kind, open eyes. Kid observed the beauty in others and welcomed their magic. This is how Kid left behind the FireDragon and discovered the warmth, the elegance, the kindness, the joy -yet the strength of the Black Panther.
 

The Black Panther, an elegant figure is quiet,  present, incredibly sharp and firm. The Black Panther watches the world, is in the world, cares for the world. She moves only when her voice is needed and does this with strength and precision of ONE move, THE move.
 

And the journey goes on...
 

Similarly, in a start up, the creator has to tell the personal story of how he/she got passionate about the problem.

The story should start from the personal angle of the creator - with the struggles, challenges and ideally the ‘happy’ end… that portrays the product, as the unique solution that addresses impactfully the highlighted problem.

The personal, engaging point of view is the secret of a well told story - the PITCH.

Now, back to you, the entrepreneur:

• How did you personally reach this problem?
• Who accompanies you in the journey to solve this problem (co founders, first customers, first supporters, investors, etc.)?
• What are the steps in your journey towards tackling the problem?
• What is your biggest aha thus far, on the journey to solve the problem?
• How did you use this aha (insight) to create an unique solution (differentiated product)?
• What is the unique wow factor in your product?
• What is the story of the problem you are tackling?

See the 7 points - for the structure, the questions and practice you can make for your start up