Your story can be polished, rehearsed, and beautifully produced. But if people don't believe they're seeing the real you, none of that matters.

The most compelling founders don't always have the most impressive stories. They're the ones willing to share what really happened, why it mattered, and what drives them. That's where authenticity comes in.

In this issue, I'll explore the what, why & how of authenticity, plus:

Enjoy telling the story only you can tell...LG

Authenticity is one of those words that gets thrown around in business so much it almost stops meaning anything. Be authentic. Be real. Be yourself.

But when it comes to telling your story, authenticity is not a buzzword. It is you, inside and out. It separates you from everyone else, and at the same time it connects you to the people you need most: customers, investors, employees, and partners.

So let's break down what it actually means, and why you need it.

SHOWING UP AS YOU

First, what does being authentic mean anyway?

Merriam-Webster has a few definitions. The one I love for storytelling is this:

"true to one's own personality, spirit, or character."

That definition centers on being and showing who you really are. Not who you think investors want. Not a polished version borrowed from another founder's keynote.

If you want to learn what that looks like, one of the founders to study is Scott Harrison. He built charity: water into a nonprofit that has raised $860 million for clean water projects around the world. Before any of that, he spent about ten years as a nightclub promoter in New York, a life he has called a “dark, kind of decadent selfish existence.”

Most founders would bury that part. He leads with it. When he tells the charity: water story, he starts with who he used to be, the good and the bad, before he ever asks anyone for a dollar.

The research backs this up. In a widely cited paper, psychologists Michael Kernis and Brian Goldman broke authenticity into four parts, and one of them is behavior: acting in line with your values instead of acting to please others or win a reward.

Authenticity is not just how you describe yourself. It is how you show up.

THERE IS ONLY ONE VERSION OF YOU

There are more than 8 billion people on this rock we call Earth, and there is only one version of you.

No one has your combination of knowledge, network, and experiences. You came up with your idea for a specific reason, under a specific set of circumstances. That is your differentiation.

Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the most authentic storytellers out there. The son of immigrants from the former Soviet Union, he took over his father's New Jersey liquor store, renamed it Wine Library, and helped grow it from about $3 million a year to $60 million.

When he launched Wine Library TV in 2006, he did not act like a sommelier. He wore Jets gear, ranted about his team, and spit into a New York Jets bucket on camera.

Plenty of people knew wine. Nobody else was Gary. That was the whole advantage.

PEOPLE CANNOT ARGUE WITH WHAT YOU FEEL

There is a hidden element to being authentic when you share your story. It is what I call your emotional facts.

How you feel. Why you are doing this. What keeps you going.

Anyone can argue with you about what is right or wrong, or why things happen. People can even dispute the facts to justify their side of the argument. What they cannot argue with is what you believe and how you feel about that belief.

What you feel is what you feel. That is a fact. Put your emotional facts into your story, and you give your audience something no competitor can copy.

They can still doubt whether you mean it. That is why what you do has to back up what you feel.

YOU CANNOT FAKE WHAT YOU BELIEVE

And this is huge. When you tell people how you really feel and what you believe, it builds self-confidence and conviction.

Barbara Corcoran never hides the lows. She started her real estate business with a $1,000 loan from her boyfriend, Ray Simone.

Then he announced he was marrying her secretary. As they split the company, he told her, “You’ll never succeed without me.”

Most founders would leave that out. Corcoran tells it everywhere. She has said those words “branded my soul.”

She does not sugarcoat her reason. She wanted to prove him wrong. She built The Corcoran Group to do it, growing it into one of the largest residential real estate firms in New York.

Years later, when an offer to buy the company came in at $20 million, she said to tell them she would take $66 million, because 66 is her lucky number, and hung up. She sold it for $66 million.

The heartbreak. The grudge. The lucky number. None of it is polished, and all of it is her.

You believe what you are saying, and they believe you believe it.

BELIEF BUILDS TRUST AND CONNECTION

When you believe in yourself, it shows up as confidence. And that confidence builds trust with your audience, because you are showing them who you are regardless of what everyone else thinks.

It does not mean everyone will agree with you or like you. It does let them know you are true to yourself and your character. And research suggests that matters more than being agreeable.

A team of Yale researchers studied why people dislike hypocrites so much. People judged hypocrites even more harshly than people who flatly lied about their own behavior, because a hypocrite sends a false signal about who they are.

But people who openly admitted they sometimes did the very thing they criticized were not judged negatively at all. They discovered that people can handle a founder they disagree with.

What breaks trust is a founder who turns out to be someone other than who they said they were.

IT GIVES YOU THE POWER TO INFLUENCE

And this is the payoff. It comes down to persuasion.

Ask yourself: who would you rather connect and do business with? Someone who is genuine, the same on the inside as they are on the outside? Or someone who is not who they appear to be?

Most of us already know the answer. It is why people say we do business with people we know.

When your story matches the person telling it, every room gets easier. Investors feel like they are betting on someone real. Customers feel like they know who they are buying from. The people you hire feel like they know who they are following.

That is influence. Not a clever pitch. A real person people want to back.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Authenticity is not a buzzword. It is a chain reaction.

Being who you really are makes you different. Owning your emotional facts gives you conviction. Conviction earns trust. And trust gives you the power to influence.

There is only one version of you, and no one is better at being you than you. So stop trying to tell somebody else's story. Tell yours.

Authenticity isn't about sharing everything, being vulnerable for the sake of it, or trying to impress people. It's about being true to who you are, owning the experiences that shaped you, and making sure your story reflects what you believe and how you act. Here are three ways to bring that authenticity into your storytelling.

#1. Get Personal. That's Where The Story Lives.

Scott Harrison didn't start with clean water. He started with his decade of nightclub promoting and the life he wanted to leave behind. Those experiences explained why his mission mattered.

ACTION: Look back at the decisions, disappointments, and revelations that brought you here. You don't need your entire life story. Pick two or three experiences that explain why you started your business and what drives you today.

#2. Own Your Motivation. Even The Messy Parts.

Some of the strongest founder stories include motivations that aren't particularly flattering. Anger, frustration, fear, or wanting to prove someone wrong can be as powerful as a noble mission. What matters is being honest about what drove you.

ACTION: Ask yourself what really keeps you going. What gets you out of bed every morning? Don't replace those feelings with something that sounds better in a pitch deck. Share the emotional facts that explain your decisions.

#3. Sound Like You. Not A Press Release.

Your personality is part of what makes your story different. The words you use, your sense of humor, and even your imperfections help people connect with the person behind the business. Polishing those away can make your story sound like everyone else's.

ACTION: Read your founder story out loud to someone who knows you. If it sounds like something you'd never say over dinner, rewrite it. Drop the corporate language and rehearsed lines. Tell your story in the words you actually use.

52% of consumers say they would stop buying from a brand after an inauthentic experience.

That's according to a 2026 Emplifi study of approximately 1,650 consumers in the U.S. and UK. The same research found that 93% believe authentic brand engagement builds trust, while 85% say they're willing to pay more for brands they consider authentic.

Think about that. Authenticity can influence what people are willing to pay, while inauthenticity can make them walk away. Your story might be what attracts customers, but how you operate your business determines if they keep believing it.

Lining up your story with your behavior protects you from the gap. But authenticity is also one of your biggest advantages. In this short video, I break down why. There is only one version of you. Your experience is your differentiation. And the "emotional facts" in your story (how you feel, why you are doing this, what keeps you going) are the one part nobody can argue with. That is where confidence comes from, and confidence is what builds trust and influence with your audience. Watch here:

Why Authenticity Matters, What It Is & Why You Need It When Telling Your Story
https://youtu.be/wqtoJgK-y2Ahttps://youtu.be/wqtoJgK-y2A?si=iE23X_TvZ6w55q22

Need help with your story? I got you.

Send an email to [email protected] and someone from my team will circle back with you.