The Art of Uncopyable Stories (And the Best Birth Story Ever)

At a Glance:

• A crazy birth story

• The new rules for great storytelling

• A cool Ursula Le Guin quote

It Begins With a Final 

Albert Dong’s life started with a scene better than the opening of a Netflix series. 

Five minutes into his mother’s final exam at Columbia, she hears a drip. In a silent room, the entire class hears it. 

Her water breaks. 

She calmly tells the professor what’s happening.

…and then returns to the exam. 

She finishes, goes to the hospital and delivers Albert, returns home, and the next day gets a call:

“I just wanted you to know you got the highest score in the class.”

This is mythic living. 

Storytelling hits the archetypal, the emotional. And it’s about to become a lot more important.

Why I Talked to Albert

My next book is about human connection as the last true advantage. 

As part of that research, I spoke to Albert, who has helped hundreds of founders tell their stories, especially when fundraising. He can bridge the divide between the story a founder wants to tell and the story that actually moves people.

He doesn’t talk about brand promises, taglines, or decks, but about their inner life. His rules: 

Rule #1: Everyone Has a Great Story

Most founders don’t think they have a story worth telling. 

Albert believes the opposite: Every life contains frustration, confusion, longing, joy, failure, and small triumphs. What matters is not the scale. 

It needs to be relatable.

Rule #2: Emotional Truth Reigns 

Some founders inflate their greatness without humanity. People smell this immediately.

Per Albert, “The most powerful stories are rooted in universal emotions and themes.”

Don’t jump to the conclusion of greatness. Tell the real story that will get you there, with all of its conflicts and obstacles.  

Rule #3: Confidence Is More Important Than Content

Story effectiveness triples in effectiveness when founders believe it. He calls it the “confidence coefficient.” 

A story told with conviction beats a “perfect” but timid tale every time. 

BUT…that conviction needs to be authentic. 

Rule #4: Oh wait, on that last one! Don’t Aim for Authenticity 

Albert can’t stand the word “authentic.”

Why?

When you tell someone to “be authentic,” they do what they think the listener sees as authentic, rather than being themselves. 

“Authenticity comes when someone is comfortable with themselves. A good coach nudges them in that direction.” 

Authenticity is the result, not the goal. 

Rule #5: People Invest in the Founder’s Story

Albert spends his time getting to know the human. What drives them, what do they care about most deeply, what values drive their actions? 

Technical founders trying to be salespeople come off like Spock giving a motivational speech. Salespeople trying to be scientists are equally out of place. 

The right story contains no theater.

Rule #6: Playbooks Kill Story

Startup culture makes everyone sound the same. Founders cling to playbook narratives, personas, pitches, and buzzwords. 

All of that is BS. And it’s perpetuating the sameness and suffering I write about in my book. 

To tell a transcendent story—and build a meaningful organization—a founder must reject the inherited values and connect with something more profound. 

Imagination is the new advantage. 

Why Albert’s Words Matter

In an era when AI can clone everything, the only moat left is your humanity. As Ursula K. Le Guin said, “Story is our only boat for sailing on the river of time.” For her, new stories = new worlds and old stories = old prisons.

Good stories happen when we stop trying to prove our worth…and let the energy flow through us. 

With Love,

Dave 

Finding financially frustrated? Hit reply - I'd love to hear your story.

Thanks for reading. If you know someone who wants to deepen their leadership approach and create human-first moats, please share this newsletter.