Why Brands That Show Up As Human Are The Ones Breaking Through

Forbes

3 days ago

Ran Wei Baker is Head of Marketing at Microsoft for Startups, focused on human-centered storytelling and founder-first brand building.
In a time when content is everywhere and attention is scarce, what makes someone stop scrolling, lean in and actually care?
It's not the latest product release. It's not a flashy campaign slogan. More often than not, it's a moment of real human connection: a story that feels honest, relatable and rooted in something deeper than features and benefits.
As marketers, we've all heard that 'authenticity matters.' But too often, it's treated as a tactic rather than a core strategy. The truth is, when authenticity leads, connection and results follow.
At Microsoft for Startups, we work with early-stage companies around the world to help them build fast, scale smart and sell more. While our value proposition includes access to cloud infrastructure, technical support and go-to-market resources, what consistently performs best across every channel isn't what we offer, but who we serve.
By centering our brand storytelling on our founders—their challenges, their grit, their missions—we've been able to create more immediate, emotional and lasting engagement with our audience. And this is something any marketer can apply, regardless of industry or company size.
Here are three tips for applying this strategy in your own organization:
• Lead with people, not products. Instead of starting with features, start with the humans behind the innovation. What drives them? What have they overcome? What do they believe in?
• Make your users the storytellers. Let your customers and community narrate the impact. Real voices build real trust.
• Use every format to humanize. On social, share behind-the-scenes moments. On your blog, go deeper than surface-level wins. At events, invite users to speak to their lived experience, not just to the product or technology.
Founder Stories That Spark Connection
Consider the example of Thea Myhrvold, founder of Getbee, a startup rethinking how people buy and sell online by reintroducing human interaction into digital commerce. At a time when online shopping has become largely transactional, Getbee's live video platform enables real-time connection between brands and consumers.
When Microsoft for Startups featured Thea's journey, from her early experience in retail to her vision for more engaging online experiences, the response stood out. Audiences connected not just with the product, but with Thea herself: Her energy, her expertise and her passion for innovating at the intersection of technology and humanity made the story instantly compelling. The piece sparked higher-than-usual engagement and led to follow-up interest from partners and other founders.
Another example is Typeface, a startup helping brands scale personalized content creation using generative AI. What stands out in their story isn't just the technology, but their mission to help marketers create with both speed and authenticity. When we highlighted the founder's perspective on democratizing creativity, it sparked conversations beyond AI, touching on the evolving role of brand voice and the future of storytelling.
I recommend asking yourself: Who are the people behind your brand? What stories are waiting to be told?
Replicating The Approach Across Channels
We've replicated this approach across formats, and here's how you can, too:
• On social, share snapshots of your users pitching, building and reflecting on their "why."
• On your website and blog, highlight user stories that look beyond the usual success metrics, exploring what drives them and what they've had to overcome.
• When hosting events, encourage your customers to go beyond the demo and speak to the journey that got them there.
Final Thought: Making It About Meaning
These stories remind us that audiences aren't just craving inspiration; they're craving connection. In a world of polished noise, the unpolished often feels most powerful.
For fellow marketers, especially those in high-growth or innovation spaces, here's my challenge: Don't just tell us what your product does; tell us what it means to the people using it. Let your users, customers and communities be the storytellers. Show us the impact through their eyes. The most powerful brand stories today aren't about the product. They're about the people it empowers.
Authenticity isn't just good storytelling—it's good strategy. And as platforms, preferences and attention spans continue to evolve, I believe it will only become more essential to how we build meaningful, memorable brands.
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