Very Short Interview With Entrepreneur, Part 2

When I first was made aware of this assignment I was stumped; I was certain I didn't know of ANY entrepreneurs. I read over the assignment again a few days later while I was at work and tried to think (again) of any possible entrepreneurs I even remotely knew. Then it hit me: I did know one and he was sitting at the desk less than three feet away from me.

I'm going to tell you about a very inspiring individual. I've had the pleasure of working with Brandon Telg for the past two years. Brandon created quite the passion project called Self Narrate. Self Narrate helps individuals (and groups of individuals) tell their real life stories to empower them in understanding their experiences so that they can grow and learn (individually or together as a group). Self Narrate believes everyone has a story and they want to help you tell it.

Even though Brandon took a few entrepreneurship courses while he was in graduate school here at the University of Florida, he started off our conversation by saying, "I never thought I'd be doing this [Self Narrate]." After taking an interpersonal leadership class and was required, via an assignment, to "tell his story" in 20 minutes to his entire class, Brandon experienced the benefits of storytelling and realized his experiences mattered to someone else. He wanted other people to have the opportunity to feel what he felt when he shared his story, so he and a classmate began offering people all over campus $1 to tell their story. Brandon and his classmate discovered most people believed they didn't have a story worth telling. However, they did encounter a few people who, when they shared their stories, were relieved or reached an epiphany just because someone stopped to listen.

At the end of our conversation, Brandon revealed the one thing he wished he was taught in his classes before he became an entrepreneur. "I wish I was taught where to find clients!" he exclaimed. Brandon explained how it's difficult for him to develop his own unique client base because what he does is so specialized and different organizations want to use his services.

To conclude our conversation, I asked Brandon what his favorite quotes were:

"There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." - Maya Angelou
"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how." - Friedrich Nietzsche
This assignment made me realize entrepreneurs come in all different forms. Entrepreneurs are more than just individuals in suits trying to get you to buy the products they came up with. This is why it took me so long to realize that Brandon is an entrepreneur! Brandon is just like anyone else who has a big passion for something. However, Brandon isn't pushy for you to buy something from him. Brandon just wants to know your story because he's so passionate about storytelling. I think a great deal of entrepreneurs can learn something from Brandon and Self Narrate. Entrepreneurship is founded on, and fueled by, passion and thanks to Brandon, Self Narrate is a great example of just that.


Feel free to learn more about Self Narrate by visiting the following website:
http://www.selfnarrate.com/