What if you could build an army of champions who grew your business for you?

Champions are the ones who turn your story into their mission. They give you reach you could never buy, credibility you could never fake, and loyalty you could never earn alone. In this issue, I’ll show you why champions are the secret weapon every founder needs along with:

Enjoying this trip down champions lane…LG

Champions. Superfans. Evangelists. 

Every founder needs them.

Champions are the people who don’t just buy your product or service, they believe in it. They will tell your story when you’re not in the room. They carry your mission into conversations you could never be part of. They are your early brand advocates that are going to go to the mat for you. 

And without them, your growth will crawl. With them, it can explode.

Here’s why champions are your single most important growth engine.

You can’t build momentum as a tribe of one.

But when you turn 10 people into champions, and they each share your story with 10 more, suddenly you’ve grown from one voice to 100. That’s exponentiality. That’s how champions multiply your reach faster than any ad campaign ever could.

Howard Schultz understood this when he built Starbucks. He didn’t just sell coffee, he sold belonging. By creating the “third place” between home and work, he gave employees and customers a culture to champion. Baristas often became the brands first superfans, evangelizing the brand from behind the counter, long before Starbucks became a global icon.

One champion can be louder than your entire marketing budget.

You can only have so many conversations in a day. But champions? They carry your story at scale.

That’s the difference between DIY (doing it yourself) and DIFU (doing it for you). Your champions accelerate your message far beyond what you can achieve on your own.

Blake Mycoskie tapped into this with TOMS Shoes. His “One for One” model didn’t just sell footwear, it sold a mission. Every purchase meant a pair of shoes for a child in need. Customers couldn’t help but share that story, turning casual buyers into passionate brand advocates.

People don’t just buy products, they buy stories they can spread.

Everyone expects you to talk about your own company. But when others do it for you, it carries weight you can’t manufacture.

According to research by WOMMA, word-of-mouth referrals convert at 5x the rate of paid ads and influence 13% of all consumer sales, about $6 trillion a year. And studies by Nielsen show 88% of people trust personal recommendations more than any other form of marketing.

Scott Harrison built charity: water on this principle. He didn’t just ask for donations — he made supporters the heroes. His birthday campaign, where people gave up their birthdays to raise money for clean water, turned everyday donors into passionate evangelists. They weren’t just contributing to a cause, they were carrying a story, and they shared it everywhere.

When someone else tells your story, it instantly gains power you could never give it.

A great story doesn’t just inspire action, it inspires ownership.

When people feel like part of your mission, they defend it, protect it, and spread it like it’s their own. A study by Deloitte shows referred customers stick around 37% longer and spend 16% more over their lifetime than non-referred customers.

That’s the lasting value of champions. They aren’t one-time buyers, they’re lifetime brand partners.

So how do you turn someone into a champion? You give them a story worth carrying.

Stories are the ultimate leverage. They’re what make superfans evangelize and advocates amplify. They give people something to share at dinner tables, in group texts, on social media.

Your story is the spark. Your champions are the fire.

Champions are not optional. They are the heartbeat of your brand’s growth.

Howard Schultz showed us how employees can become champions of culture. Blake Mycoskie proved how a mission can turn customers into brand advocates. Scott Harrison revealed how making supporters the hero transforms donors into evangelists.

Now it’s your turn.

Find your champions. Arm them with a story worth repeating. And let them carry your brand into rooms, networks, and communities you could never reach on your own.

Because champions don’t just help your business grow, they help it last.

Now that you see why champions are essential, the next question is: how do you actually get them? A powerful story is your greatest tool, but you also need to make it easy for people to step into that role. Here are three quick ways to start finding, creating, and equipping your champions today.

The New York Times Insights Group found that people share content mainly to build and strengthen relationships. Their study showed that we share to bring value or entertainment, to define ourselves, to deepen connections, and to spread the word about causes we care about. 

That’s exactly why champions matter. When someone shares your story, they’re not just promoting your brand; they’re strengthening their identity and relationships in the process. The more your story helps people connect, the more likely it is to turn them into champions who keep carrying it forward.

Brendon Burchard’s heartfelt storytelling is why this video has millions of views and why he’s built a cult-like following.

In it, he shares how heartbreak and a near-death experience revealed three simple questions “Did I live? Did I love? Did I matter?” that can transform the way we measure our lives. His vulnerability and passion make people want to follow him and share his message with others