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LAST WEEK’S POLL RESULTS
When was the last time your CEO or founder publicly shared their personal story behind starting your organisation?
Three-quarters of respondents to last week’s poll said that their CEO never shares their origin or keystone story publicly. This result didn't surprise me.
So today, I want to help you address this. It’s not as hard or scary as you might think - once you have a framework to follow. This is what I'll be sharing with you today. A full end-to-end process for sharing your story in a way that will benefit your work and support your cause.
Today’s newsletter has a trigger warning for suicide.
In this edition
WEEKLY POLL
Founder's Story: Deployment Barriers
What's the main barrier stopping you (or your CEO/founder) from sharing your founder story?
- Don't know which format or platform to use
- Concerned about making myself too vulnerable publicly
- Not sure my personal story is relevant or interesting enough
- Don't want to centre myself when it should be about beneficiaries
- Haven't carved out time to write it properly yet
- Worried about how colleagues, funders, or community might react
- Something else
Poll results will be shared in next week's edition.
THIS WEEK’S BIG IDEA
Your founder story exists. You just haven't deployed it yet.
Founder and CEO stories matter. They're proof your mission isn't theoretical.
The poll last week proved what I've been seeing for months. Three-quarters of charity CEOs never share their founder story publicly.
It's not a story issue, it's a deployment issue.
Most founders I work with freeze at the same point. They understand why their story matters. They know it could build trust with funders. They've even drafted something in their head.
But they don't know how to share it without making themselves vulnerable in ways that feel unsafe. They don't know which format to use. They don't know where to start.
So they don't start at all.
The deployment ladder nobody talks about
Here's what most people get wrong. They think sharing your founder story means one big reveal. A TED talk. A Guardian feature. A viral LinkedIn post.
I'd recommend that those shouldn’t be the first places you share your story.
I've delivered 80+ public talks about founding my charity, Naz and Matt Foundation. But I didn't start there. Sadly, because of the tragedy that led me to start my charity, it was pretty public. Very public. Live on Sky News at breakfast. Then on BBC News.
I wouldn't recommend you do it that way.
Using knowledge gained over the past 11 years, I've developed a founder story ladder to guide you. A way to start small, test what works, and build confidence before you go public.
Why founders avoid this work
I need to be honest about something. Sharing your founder story will cost you.
When I started sharing ours, I was also dealing with immeasurable grief, PTSD, trauma, and trying to cope with the impact of our very private lives suddenly becoming public. I hated the vulnerability. And there was no way to escape from the visibility
But I kept doing it because the story helped people. LGBTQ+ individuals found our support services because they heard the story and recognised their own lives in it. And over time, policymakers, politicians, government agencies, and funders came to understand why we existed rather than just what we did.
The cost was real. But so was the impact.
I'm not recommending you follow my path at all. In fact, I'm recommending the complete opposite. I’m sharing my experiences to help guide you toward a safer, calmer, and more pragmatic approach to sharing your story.
If you're hesitating to share your founder story, that hesitation isn't weakness. It's wisdom. You're protecting something sacred. The question isn't whether to protect it. The question is whether keeping it hidden is serving your mission.
Start where it feels safest
You don't need to share your founder story publicly to make it useful.
Start with your team. Tell them why you founded or joined the organisation. What happened in your life that made this mission feel non-negotiable. What you hope they understand about why this work matters to you personally.
That conversation changes how they see the organisation. It changes how they talk about your work to others. It changes how they understand the stakes.
Then expand to your board. Then to major donors in one-to-one conversations. Then to funding applications where your lived experience demonstrates you understand the problem deeply.
Only after you've tested it in controlled environments do you consider going public.
The magnetic effect happens at every level
You don't need a million-view LinkedIn post for your founder story to work.
When I mention in a funding application that I founded Naz and Matt Foundation after my fiancé died by suicide, that single sentence changes how funders read everything else. They understand our mental health work isn't abstract. They understand why LGBTQ+ support matters to us specifically.
That's the magnetic effect at work. Your story pulls people toward your mission because they understand it's rooted in something real.
This works in board meetings. In donor conversations. In team recruitment. In partnership discussions.
You don't need scale. You need strategic deployment in the moments that matter most.
What deployment actually looks like
Over 11 years, I've shared our founder story across every format you can imagine.
Guardian features. BBC interviews. Two Channel 4 documentaries. Government training sessions. Police workshops. Charity conferences. LinkedIn posts. Funding applications. Partnership pitches. Podcasts. Poems. Folk songs. School talks. Books.
Each format served a different purpose. Each reached different audiences. Each created different outcomes.
An audience that sees your LinkedIn post isn't necessarily the same as the audience that sees a documentary on Channel 4. Appearing on BBC World News isn't necessarily going to connect you to the same people who would attend a police training workshop.
You need multiple formats. Not because one isn't enough. But because different audiences need different entry points.
Where most people get stuck
The biggest barrier isn't writing your founder story. It's choosing where to deploy it first.
So here's my advice after 11 years of doing this badly before doing it well.
Start with the format that feels lowest risk and highest value. For most charity founders, that could be a funding application. You're already writing them. You already have to explain why you're qualified to do this work. Your founder story answers that question.
Add two paragraphs. One about what led you to start the organisation. One about why that personal connection strengthens your approach.
That's it. No LinkedIn post. No press release. Just two paragraphs in a document only the funder sees.
If that feels manageable, you're ready.
The Founder / CEO Story Deployment Ladder
Deploy your founder story progressively across six levels, starting with lowest risk and building toward public visibility.
Level 1: Internal team (safest starting point)
Share in team meetings or away days
Explain why you founded the organisation
No recording, no documentation
Purpose: Team understanding and alignment
Level 2: Board and trustees
Share in board meetings or governance sessions
Context for strategic decisions
Controlled audience, high trust
Purpose: Board buy-in and mission connection
Level 3: Major donors and partners (one-to-one)
Share in relationship-building conversations
Personalised to their interests
Private, confidential setting
Purpose: Deepen trust and demonstrate authenticity
Level 4: Written applications and reports
Funding applications (most valuable starting point)
Impact reports for existing funders
Partnership proposals
Purpose: Demonstrate lived experience and credibility
Level 5: Public speaking and events
Conference presentations
Panel discussions
Charity sector events
Purpose: Establish thought leadership and sector presence
Level 6: Public media and content
LinkedIn articles and posts
Press features and interviews
Documentary and broadcast media
Purpose: Broad reach and public positioning
How to use this ladder:
Start at Level 1 or 4 (whichever feels most manageable). Test your story at that level for 1-3 months. Refine based on responses. Only move up when the current level feels comfortable.
You don't need to reach Level 6. Many founders create significant impact stopping at Level 4. The goal isn't maximum visibility. It's strategic deployment in the contexts that matter most for your mission.
Template: Your first 500 word founder story structure
Complete this template before sharing your founder story in any format:
1. THE MOMENT OR DECISION (100-150 words)
What specific event, realisation, or experience led you to start (or join) this organisation?
[Be specific. Name the moment. Show what changed in you.]
Example: "In July 2014, I lost my partner, Naz, to suicide. Standing in our flat, surrounded by the life we'd built together, I realised that if I continue to keep our relationship a secret, nothing will change. I couldn't let another young person feel they had no other way forward."
2. WHAT WAS AT STAKE (75-100 words)
What would have happened if you'd done nothing? What problem became non-ignorable?
[Connect your personal experience to a broader pattern you couldn't unsee.]
Example: "I could have grieved privately and moved on. But I kept hearing from LGBTQ+ people from a similar background to Naz - isolated, unsupported, struggling and alone. The invisibility that contributed to Naz's death was still harming others. That pattern wouldn't stop unless someone made it visible."
3. THE TRANSFORMATION IN YOU (100-150 words)
What did this experience change about how you understand the problem?
[Show how your lived experience gives you insight others might not have.]
Example: "Losing Naz taught me that religious and cultural homophobia doesn't exist in isolation. It's part of a wider, intersectional type of domestic abuse that connects to honour-based abuse, shame, forced marriage, bullying, coercion, social conditioning, and emotional blackmail. It needs to be fully understood before you can make real progress tackling it."
4. HOW THIS CONNECTS TO YOUR MISSION (75-100 words)
How did your personal transformation lead to starting this organisation?
[Show the direct line from your experience to your organisational approach.]
Example: "I was close to taking my own life when I heard Naz's voice asking me to stay. To stay alive and set up a group or organisation or something that would help prevent other people like us from going through something similar."
5. WHAT YOU NEED OTHERS TO HELP WITH (50-75 words)
What becomes possible when others support this work?
[End with invitation, not demand. Show what their support enables.]
Example: "Eleven years later, we've supported thousands of people. But the need has only increased. With your support, we can reach more isolated families before crisis hits, before another young person feels like the only way forward is to take their own life. That's what this work is about - making sure nobody faces what we faced alone."
AI Prompt: Repurpose your story across different formats
Note: To get the best results, first download my Social Impact Storytelling Framework, then upload the file along with the prompt below.
Copy and paste this into ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Personally, I recommend using Claude for this. Then replace the [placeholder content] with your own words.
AI PROMPT:
I need help adapting my charity founder story for different contexts.
Here's my founder story (500-word version):
[PASTE YOUR FOUNDER STORY HERE]
I need you to help me create three different versions:
1. **Funding application version (200 words)**
- Focus on demonstrating lived experience and credibility
- Show why my personal background strengthens our approach
- Professional tone, suitable for Trust and Foundation applications
- Lead with mission connection
2. **LinkedIn post version (300 words)**
- Start with the moment or decision
- Create emotional connection without exploitation
- End with clear insight about the work, not a hard sell
- Conversational but authoritative tone
3. **One-sentence version**
- For introductions, bios, or when someone asks "Why did you start this?"
- Must capture the core connection between personal experience and mission
- Professional but human
For each version:
- Maintain UK British spelling and grammar (ie. organisation, centre, realise, programme)
- Don't romanticise trauma or vulnerability
- Don't over-explain - trust the reader to make connections
- Keep dignity central - this isn't poverty tourism
Challenge me if:
- Any version exploits the story for sympathy
- The connection between my experience and our mission isn't clear
- I'm telling instead of showing
- The tone feels manipulative rather than authentic
Be direct. I'd rather you tell me if something doesn't work than waste time polishing a weak version.Join a Monthly Impact Storytelling Sprint
Four weeks. A small group of charity leaders and impact professionals. We work through founder stories, impact narratives, and deployment strategies together. Live teaching plus co-working accountability. Waitlist is currently open. Only 15 spaces available per cohort.
It's called The Social Impact Storytelling Sprint.
Want access? Leave your details and I'll add you to the waiting list
🛠️ Tools I’m enjoying right now
Grain: A powerful AI note taker that's useful for documenting stories and case studies. I've been testing a few of these AI note takers recently. I’ve also tried Fathom, Tactiq, and Zoom’s AI Companion. Next week I'll be testing Granola.
Wispr Flow: I'm now using this for virtually all my non-confidential emails, DMs and when I want to document my ideas fast with words. No editing a transcript afterwards. Just talk. It’s how dictation should be.
I genuinely use the services I promote. I may earn a small commission if you sign up using one of these links.
Deep Work Music for Changemakers - My Curated Music Playlist
New tracks added weekly - I've carefully curated over 10 hours of binaural beats and (mostly) vocal-free music for focused work on Spotify. I listen to this playlist most days - headphones on, distractions out. It's helped me write more, think clearly, and stay in flow longer.
Subscribe to my playlist
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https://www.impactstoryteller.org/
Until next week, sending you safe and peaceful energy
Matt Mahmood-Ogston
Award-winning impact storyteller, photographer and charity CEO.
Work with me
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