We Started With the Origin Story - Everything Else Followed

“Whatever we built, it would start with the origin story.”

We met on a five-day online marketing challenge.

We’d been assigned to the same team — just two strangers with wildly different backgrounds:

Kevin, a writer and storyteller with decades in film, fiction, and TV work.

Johanna, a designer and strategist with a love for systems, visuals, and the tech that brings ideas to life.

But the thing that clicked first wasn’t a shared vision.

It was a story.

Johanna had read an ebook Kevin wrote on mastering storytelling. She’d read some of the origin stories he’d written for other people — not for brands, just for people trying to make sense of the moments that shaped their lives.

That led to Johanna sending Kevin a message:

“Collaboration with you keeps coming up for me. Not sure how or what… but maybe there’s something we’re destined to create together.”

Kevin’s answer?

“An immediate yes to that, Johanna!”

We had no plan.

No product.

No framework.

But we had one certainty:

Whatever we built, it would start with the origin story.

We didn’t know the steps.

We didn’t know what our offers would look like.

We just knew that the people we wanted to work with — the ones trying to build something real — needed to begin the same way we did:

With story.

So we began — slowly.

Call by call, we started building.

First the name.

Then the logo.

Then the process.

We didn’t realize until later how perfectly our skills complemented each other.

Kevin came with language, empathy, and narrative clarity.

Johanna brought design, structure, and momentum.

And both of us?

By total coincidence, each had a sunrise in our personal brand logo.

It took a long time to land on a name — but when we did, it was obvious:

StoryRise.

Because that’s what we believe a brand should do.

It should rise from a real, honest story.

Not just to stand out — but to stand true.

We didn’t have it all figured out when we started.

We still don’t.

But we know this:

If you build from your story, the rest will come.

We’ve seen it - in ourselves, and in our clients.

If you’re ready to start building your brand from the inside out, check out our Branding for Beginners book and online course. All available through our StanStore.