# 166: Storytelling Tips for Hardware Product Launches

- Show: [Product Startup](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup)
- Published: 2023-03-09
- Length: 22m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-03-09-166-storytelling-tips-for-hardware-product-launches
- Listen: https://productstartup.com/

## Summary

Steve Multer, author of 'Nothing Gets Sold Until The Story Gets Told,' explains how hardware startups can leverage corporate storytelling to build community and secure investment. He outlines three pillars of effective storytelling—value, passion, and connection—and argues that founders must be the primary advocates for their products to overcome 'glossophobia' and gain stakeholder leniency. Multer cites long-term success stories like Cisco and NetApp’s FlexPod to demonstrate how maintaining a narrative sustains product relevance over decades.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-03-09-166-storytelling-tips-for-hardware-product-launches#t=0) Introduction: Steve Multer and Corporate Storytelling
- [2:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-03-09-166-storytelling-tips-for-hardware-product-launches#t=150) History of Storytelling: From John Deere to Modern Startups
- [5:54](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-03-09-166-storytelling-tips-for-hardware-product-launches#t=354) The Three Pillars: Value, Passion, and Connection
- [9:53](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-03-09-166-storytelling-tips-for-hardware-product-launches#t=593) Overcoming Glossophobia and Becoming the Story
- [13:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-03-09-166-storytelling-tips-for-hardware-product-launches#t=790) Stakeholder Leniency and Community Building
- [16:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-03-09-166-storytelling-tips-for-hardware-product-launches#t=996) Long-Term Brand Legacy: Cisco and NetApp Case Study
- [19:19](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2023-03-09-166-storytelling-tips-for-hardware-product-launches#t=1159) Book Promotion and Free Resources

## Topics

- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Nothing Gets Sold Until The Story Gets Told (product)
- Cisco (company)
- Panasonic (company)
- Siemens (company)
- HP (company)
- Philips (company)
- Xerox (company)
- John Deere (company)
- The Furrow (product)
- Apple (company)
- Nike (company)
- McDonald's (company)
- NetApp (company)
- FlexPod (product)
- Mako Design + Invent (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [S1 E7: Level Up Your Hardware Product Pitch with Haje Kamps](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-builder-circle/2023-06-27-s1-e7-level-up-your-hardware-product-pitch-with-haje-kamps) (The Builder Circle)
- [Ep. 39 - Starting a Hardware Company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2025-05-15-ep-39-starting-a-hardware-company) (Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast)
- [CES 2019 Special: Stas Gayshan, CIC-Boston](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2019-01-16-ces-2019-special-stas-gayshan-cic-boston) (EE Times Current)
- [S2E37 Defied the odds:  A Physical Product Development Firm That Focuses on Startups & Small Businesses, Mako Design + Invent –Kevin Mako](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-08-23-s2e37-defied-the-odds-a-physical-product-development-firm-that-focuses-on-startu) (Being an Engineer)
- [S4E41 Neil Thompson | Technical Pitches: Revealing Flaws, Using Stories, & Wiggling Toes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-10-27-s4e41-neil-thompson-technical-pitches-revealing-flaws-using-stories-wiggling-toe) (Being an Engineer)

## Citing this page

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