Finding Your Happy Place in Brand & Life

Published November 28, 2018

November 28, 2018

Written By Melanie Spring

“The whole essence of story isn’t about being likable.”– Marc Gutman

Marc Gutman and I met at his Happy House – an old coal shack renovated into his office space – outside of Boulder, Colorado. It was the perfect location since this week we’re talking all about finding your happy place. Marc is an amazing storyteller who I’ve known from Maverick, Entrepreneurs’ Organization and weirdly overlapping social circles. We could talk for hours – but here’s an hour we recorded on the podcast just for you.

Marc grew up in Detroit, Michigan before hopping into his car after college and driving to Hollywood where he began his storytelling career. He’s the founder of Wild Story, a brand story messaging consultancy. Marc found his happy place in between being a master storyteller and a strategist working with outdoor brands.

“When you talk about putting your values where your money and your mouth are – that’s what brand is really about.” – Marc

Listen in as we talk about balance, work-life integration, finding your personal and professional core values and the art of sticking to them. We use Nike as a case study for the power of having enough courage to show up for your brand. The kickass-ed-ness of using your brand to polarize. And how taking big risks can lead to huge wins (like 30% increase in sales for Nike after their Colin Kaepernick ad.)

WARNING: This episode contains adorable puppy-appreciation breaks:

Check out Marc’s office – The Happy House – and adorable pup here:

AS HEARD ON THIS EPISODE: Find out more about First Descendants and the work they do for young adults with cancer and how you can support their work. And make sure to tune into Wild Story’s new podcast Baby Got Backstory!