Brand stories sound fake the moment they say “we believe in changing the world” — a brand can be swapped out and the sentence still works, which means it tells the reader nothing. Strong brand stories instead name a specific 2017 weekend, a specific tool the founder threw away, a specific person they failed before they got the model right. These prompts force that specificity in About pages, pitch decks, and values docs — and they ban swap-friendly abstractions. Pair with the case study prompts for the customer-side equivalent of the same specificity.
Best for
- About pages and “Why we built this” sections
- Pitch decks (origin slide, mission slide)
- Press kits and founder bios
- Internal values / brand voice docs for the team
- Series-A / fundraising narrative drafting
1. Founder origin in 200 words
My background: {2-line bg}. The thing I kept noticing: {observation}. What I tried first that didn’t work: {attempt}. What broke through: {fix}. Write a 200-word founder origin story in first person. Voice: honest, slightly self-aware, ends on the principle I extracted.2. Brand origin scene
Write a 150-word "the moment we knew we had to build this" scene for {brand}. Be specific: where, when, what was said. End on the question we tried to answer next.3. Values manifesto
Our 4 values: {V1}, {V2}, {V3}, {V4}. Write a values manifesto: each value gets a 1-line headline, 2 sentences of explanation, and 1 concrete commitment we make because of it.4. “Why we’re not for everyone”
Write a 200-word "why we’re not for everyone" page for {brand}. List 3 types of customers we’re not the best fit for, and recommend alternatives honestly.5. Anti-positioning
Most competitors in {industry} do {common practice}. We don’t — we do {opposite}. Write a 200-word "what makes us different" section grounded in this anti-positioning. No "best in class."6. Mission statement that doesn’t sound fake
Write 5 mission statement variants for {brand}. Each must name: a specific audience, a specific outcome, and a specific approach. Strip "world-changing" abstractions.7. Brand voice notes for the team
Document our brand voice in 1 page. Include: 3 voice adjectives + opposites, 5 phrases we use, 5 phrases we avoid, 1 paragraph of "in customer support email", 1 paragraph of "in marketing copy."8. Origin story for a pitch deck
Write 3 slides of origin story for a pitch deck: (1) the world we saw, (2) the moment we decided to build, (3) what we’ve learned since. Each slide: 1 headline + 30-word note.9. About-page intro paragraph
Write 3 versions of the opening paragraph for {brand} About page. Voice options: warm-personal, confident-mission, honest-self-aware. Each 60 words.10. “What we don’t do” honesty section
Write a 150-word "what we don't do" section for {brand}. List 3 things we deliberately do not offer and why. Voice: confident, not apologetic.11. Tagline + 1-line pitch pair
For {brand}, write 6 tagline candidates (≤8 words each) paired with a 1-line pitch (≤25 words each) that expands the tagline. Each pair must encode a different angle: outcome-led, audience-led, contrarian, mechanism-led, emotion-led, time-saved. Mark which pair fits an About-page hero vs a deck cover slide.12. Customer-quote-led origin
Below are 5 unfiltered customer quotes about {brand}: {paste}. Pull the 1 line that best names what we actually solved (not what we claim to solve). Write a 180-word brand origin paragraph that ends on that line as the punchline. Do not paraphrase the quote — keep the customer's words verbatim.Common mistakes
- Generic “we believe” statements that survive find-and-replace with any competitor’s name
- Mission statements that work for literally any brand in the category
- No specific scene, year, or person — abstraction is the giveaway
- “World-changing” / “best-in-class” / “passion-driven” — abstraction triggers readers’ filler-detector
- Story written entirely about the founder, with no customer ever appearing
- Values listed without commitments — “we value transparency” with no concrete promise behind it