“We congregate around emotional stories” | Rand Fishkin, CEO of SparkToro

How Stories Happen

The hardest question to answer when we show up publicly might be the simplest question we receive: “Tell me about yourself.” Who are you? How’d you get here? What’s your story?

We then face a choice: we can make the story about us, or we can make it about the thing we’re there to say. We can make our own stories about the audiences we wish to serve, and we can do so without feeling like we’re bragging and even without any newsworthy moments in our past.

Meet Rand Fishkin, cofounder and CEO of two companies (audience research platform SparkToro and indie video game maker Snackbar Studio). He’s an entrepreneur who’s navigated the roller-coaster of startup life, written an incredible book about it (Lost and Founder), and gone on the journey with hundreds of thousands of professionals following his every move. Rand has spoken at countless events, sharing his (often difficult) journey with audiences ranging from fresh-faced founders to seasoned veterans.

In this episode, Rand shares his personal story as he’d present it from the stage, illustrating for us the power of stories the more “strategic” thinkers among us might think unwise to share: stories of failure, struggle, and genuine emotional turmoil. You’ll hear the power of having an "enemy" to galvanize your cause and attract your tribe, and why sharing failures and other difficult experiences can forge stronger connections and teach more valuable lessons than sharing wins and case studies.

Rand’s style is a breath of fresh air in communities that rarely get so real, and it’s a big reason he resonates deeper than most.

Jump into the conversation:

(01:14) Meet Rand
(10:43) Rand’s Story
(18:46) Dissecting the Story

Resources:

⚫ Follow Rand on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/randfishkin/

⚫ Follow Rand on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@randderuiter

⚫ Visit SparkToro: https://sparktoro.com/

⚫ Visit Snackbar Studio: https://snackbarstudio.com/

🔵 Follow Jay: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayacunzo/

🔵 Subscribe to Jay’s newsletter: https://jayacunzo.com/newsletter

🔵 Learn about Jay’s coaching and consulting: https://jayacunzo.com/

🟢 Created in partnership with Share Your Genius: https://shareyourgenius.com/

🟢 Cover art designed by Blake Ink: https://www.blakeink.com/

🟢 Find and support our sponsors: https://jayacunzo.com/sponsors

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PS: Enrollment into the Creator Kitchen membership has reopened! This is our education-and-coaching program, with plenty of live time working on your ideas with Jay and cofounder Melanie Deziel (author, speaker, ex-NY Times). We specialize in helping smart experts become trusted thought leaders, with an emphasis on premise development, differentiation, storytelling, and content creation.

Learn more and enroll at https://creatorkitchen.com

"They take something theoretical and actually help you do it."— Kitchen member (they're called chefs!) Susan Boles