Return on Clarity.
Positioning and corporate strategy: What makes your company different? Where do you want to go? Why should others believe in it?
We work out the answers with founders and leadership teams and bring them together in one clear company story. So customers, employees and investors understand what you stand for and what you plan to do.
Let’s talk →If you aren’t understood, you lose.
Trust. Business. The chance to win others over.
When you are in the thick of running a company, you often lose sight of your own story. Too close, too many details, too many different perspectives. Sometimes everyone says something similar and still means something different.
We look at it from the outside, listen and ask questions. Together, we pin down what defines you.
When you need us.
Growth
The company has moved on. Your story no longer fits.
Change
You need to explain what is changing, why it is necessary and what it means for the people involved.
Winning investors
The numbers alone are not enough. Investors need to understand what makes you different and what opportunities the company holds.
Leadership change
New leadership has to explain what it stands for and what it plans to do.
Positioning
You can’t say clearly enough what sets you apart from the competition and why customers should choose you.
Crisis
You need to explain carefully what happened, what you are doing now and why people can trust you.
Selling, acquiring or fundraising: More on M&A communications →
One shared story for leadership and communications.
Together with you, we develop the story your leadership team can agree on. It explains who you are, what makes you different and where you want to go.
You can use this story in conversations, presentations and texts. Inside the company and externally.
The process
How we find your company story.
We clarify what you want to achieve, who needs to be involved and when you need the result. This becomes our shared work plan.
We review your materials and talk to the leadership team. How do you describe yourselves? How do you present yourselves externally? Does that match your goals?
We hold in-depth interviews with people who know the company from different angles. This shows us common ground, differences and open questions.
In a workshop with the leadership team, we discuss the findings. We clarify which statements matter, where you agree and what still needs to be decided.
We distil the findings and write down your company story. As a continuous text or as questions and answers.
We discuss the draft, work in your feedback and agree on the final version. You also get the key messages for your communications.
What you have afterwards.
- A company story your leadership team has agreed on.
- Clear statements on what makes you different and where you want to go.
- Answers to the important questions of customers, employees and investors.
- Wording for conversations, presentations, your website and other texts.
That way you don’t have to work out again what you actually want to say each time a communications task comes up. That is the Return on Clarity.
Not sure where to start?
Start with a Story Audit.
The Story Audit is the first step in our process, and you can also book it on its own. We look at how you explain your company, where questions remain open and what you can improve. You get an assessment and specific recommendations for the next steps.
Request a Story Audit →About FutureStory.
I’m Nikolaus Röttger. I was editor-in-chief of WIRED Germany and Gründerszene, and I co-founded Business Punk. For around 20 years, my job has been to understand complex subjects, ask the right questions and boil them down to what matters.
I founded FutureStory in 2019. Today we do this work as a small team for companies, founders and executives.
What clients say about working with FutureStory.
“You manage to break down even complex processes and structures, distil them and put them into words. The result: a brand story that people grasp quickly and that convinces.”
Bernd OswaldCo-Founder, GROPYUS
“The new clarity in our positioning and strategic direction gives us orientation for our brand, our offering and our decisions, internally and externally.”
Amir AliManaging Director, smartpatient
“Anyone selling their company or raising capital needs numbers and a story that explains the value. FutureStory delivers that.”
Sven HensenM&A Advisor, makanta services
“It was fascinating how quickly and how well you grasped what matters. You lit a small fire of enthusiasm across our entire team.”
Jörg SchnermannManaging Director, LapID
“FutureStory supports us with strong writing and concepts. Their strength is getting complex topics to the point and telling them clearly.”
Ute WeilandManaging Director, Verein Berliner Kaufleute und Industrieller (VBKI)
“Nikolaus is the ideal sparring partner. He sees the whole situation and gives clear recommendations.”
Dr. Christian HeiseChief Strategy & Technology Officer, SPIEGEL Group