Bad storytelling is killing startups. And most founders don't realize it's happening to them.

In this episode, Olivia O'Sullivan, General Partner at Forum Ventures, breaks down why the ability to tell a compelling story is the single most underestimated skill a founder can have. Not just for pitching investors. For hiring talent away from Google. For converting your first customers. For building a company people actually want to be part of.

Olivia took Forum Ventures from zero inbound deal flow to over 6,000 founder pitch submissions per year. Not through ads, not through a PR agency. Through a disciplined LinkedIn content strategy built entirely on one principle: stop posting for yourself and start posting for your audience.

In this episode:

• Why bad storytelling costs founders capital, talent, and customers

• How to make top talent leave Google to join your startup

• From zero to 6,000 inbound pitches, The LinkedIn strategy behind it

• The 2-week challenge that built Olivia's posting habit

• Why most thought leadership is just product placement in disguise

• The audience-first framework Olivia gives Forum's 500+ portfolio founders

• Why a post with 14 likes can outperform one with 14,000 impressions

• How to get in front of VCs when you have zero warm intros

If you are building a company and nobody knows your name yet — this episode is your playbook.

SKIP TO:

00:00 Hook: why bad storytelling kills startups

00:38 Welcome to the Grown On Podcast

01:38 From creative writing major to VC General Partner

03:44 What Olivia actually means by bad storytelling kills startups

05:35 How to make top talent leave Google for your startup

07:44 Why Forum Ventures made LinkedIn a firm-wide strategy

08:17 From zero inbound to 6,000 pitch submissions per year

12:27 The 2-week challenge that changed Olivia's LinkedIn trajectory

15:35 The real reason Olivia's engagement numbers are unusually high

19:40 Why fake thought leadership is costing you your audience

24:44 Vanity metrics vs. actual business results on LinkedIn

27:31 The LinkedIn playbook Olivia gives Forum's 500+ portfolio founders

34:35 Warm intros vs. cold outreach: getting in front of VCs without connections

38:09 Build your audience before you need your audience

38:43 Olivia's favorite LinkedIn accounts to follow right now

Connect with Olivia: https://www.linkedin.com/in/oosuli/

Hosted by Caitlin Bigelow, CMO at Blazel. The Grown On Podcast steals the playbooks of the sharpest organic builders in tech so you can apply them to your own growth.