Sticking to My Story

The Alchemy of Storytelling for Startups

By: Donna Griffit

Narrated by: Donna Griffit

It is the dream of every founder: Standing in front of a group of investors pitching your startup while they shower you with money and praise.

The reality is vastly different, most founders fail to raise capital from investors, often due to an underwhelming pitch in a crowded sea of startups.

Imagine having an unfair advantage, the method to create a pitch that is compelling, motivating and, most importantly, gets results?

That's where Donna Griffit’s book Sticking to My Story comes in.

Tim Draper called this book the new bible for startup founders for a reason. It’s the A-Z recipe for creating a powerful pitch deck with all the right ingredients. Filled with tips and stories of what worked and what failed, peppered with insightful quotes from Silicon Valley Leaders.

The book will take you through:

• What investors talk about after you leave
• Getting meetings and avoiding mistakes
• Most importantly, how to craft a story-led pitch deck that gets results

Donna believes that there are no boring stories – there are layers of data obscuring the beauty of the story. Let Donna help peel them away and polish your story until it “shines like the top of the Chrysler building”.

Donna Griffit, Corporate Storyteller, has worked globally for over 18 years with Fortune 500 companies, Start-Ups and investors across industries. She has consulted and trained clients in over 30 countries, helping them create powerful presentations, pitches and messages. Donna magically spins raw data into compelling stories that captivate audiences and drive results. Through her guidance, clients have raised over $1.5 Billion.

Stewart Butterfield, CEO of Slack, said: “If there’s one piece of advice I could go back to give myself, it is concentrating on the storytelling part, on convincing people. If can’t do that, it doesn’t matter how good the product is"

Take the advice of the founder of one of the biggest startups in Silicon Valley, listen to this book to know how!

©2023 Donna Griffit (P)2023 Donna Griffit

A must read for any aspiring entrepreneur

I've been looking for insight on how to best create and structure my pitch deck, and while the web is full of great advice, nothing really seemed to put it together for me. Until I came across Donna's amazing book.
Speaking from experience, and with stories and examples that really bring the message to live, in less than six hours (I listened to the book while taking amazing notes) - I've got a super clear game plan and clarity on where my current-stage story falls behind.
This book is narrated beautifully by Donna herself, and is a great and super important one to listen to for any aspiring entrepreneur!

One of the best!

Donna Griffit offers a compelling and practical guide for entrepreneurs looking to leverage storytelling to drive business success. I liked the real-world examples and actionable advice, she is also emphasizes the importance of authenticity, emotional connection, and a clear narrative arc. Her writing style is engaging, and she provides exercises to help readers apply the concepts directly to their own startups. This book is a valuable resource for anyone seeking to master the art of storytelling to differentiate their business and engage their audience.

This is a great story about how to tell a story

Donna Griffit's book should be required reading from High School to University. I believe the skill set that Donna teaches and the principles that she explains in her book are useful in any occupation and many industries. In other words, this book isn't just for startup founders. Regardless if you are in corporate management, the nonprofit sector, or in education, you will find it useful. She uses storytelling to teach you how to tell your story or to present the information you have in a story framework. Regardless of the situation, if your objectives are capturing your audience's attention, maintaining their interest, and enabling them to understand and remember your key points, this book is for you. Ok you can tell I enjoyed this book ( full disclosure I listened to it on Audible ) This is a book I will use as a reference in the future to continually improve my presentation skill set

Excellent, incredible!

I think it’s excellent, with all the analogies and examples. I have spent the past half a decade learning, reading books, and listening to podcasts about entrepreneurship, and I find the book quite incredible.

Read this before starting your journey

This is an essential guide for entrepreneurs seeking to raise capital from venture capitalists (VCs). With practical insights and proven strategies, Griffit navigates the complexities of securing funding, from crafting compelling pitches to building investor relationships and negotiating favorable terms. This concise and engaging resource equips founders with the knowledge needed to successfully raise funds from VCs and propel their startups forward.

World class advice for a bargain

Really enjoyed this book. The material is clearly laid out and easy to follow. Best of all it works. I also have the Kindle version of the book I use as a reference. Answered so many questions I had. If you are trying to launch a business and can’t get the story unwound and out of your head this is a great place to start. Donna also happens to be a pretty engaging narrator as well.

Donna is such a great help!

Donna has a great way to help startups and entrepreneurs refine and simplify their offering, plans, and opportunity. Her audiobook and consulting provide an experienced ear to get you where you need to go. Recommended!

A True Game Changer

I couldn’t recommend this book any higher. I had the privilege of hearing Donna speak at an event and was really interested in what I could learn from her book. I truly believed that my pitch deck was polished, easy to follow and effective, but it was failing to hit the mark with investors. Donna’s invaluable insight turned that belief on its head and made me look at everything through a completely different lens. I could see exactly what was wrong and how any soul was missing, because I completely left out any sense of a narrative journey that I could take my readers on. I’m back to the drawing board with the deck but feel like I have all the tools to rebuild it from scratch and create the most effective pitch possible. This is an essential read and an absolute bargain, as you cannot get this level of practical and actionable insight anywhere else.

What an amazing book!

This is the Bible for startup startup pitching!
I'm a 10 years veteran entrepreneur - and still - so many gems!

Full of great stories to make the “how to” memorable

Full of great stories to make the “how to of getting funded” memorable. The author is also an excellent narrator and the book was an easy listen. There’s so much information on what works and the why behind it that I think it should be a prerequisite to any funding request.