The case for storytelling: Want your region’s tech scene to grow? Start with a story, new data says

Author Ursula Le Guin put it best: “There have been great societies that did not use the wheel, but there have been no societies that did not tell stories.”

Decades of brain science demonstrate why: Our world is too complex for our brains to process everything, and exchanging experience in the environment became a survival adaptation. Storytelling didn’t evolve from the development of language, one theory holds; instead, humans invented language to advance storytelling. 

This is so foundational that we overlook it. As author Daniel Taylor put it: “We live in stories the way fish live in water.” 

The omission happens everywhere, including in ecosystem-building circles. Entrepreneurs seek professional help with investor relations. Economic development leaders will splash out for a shiny website and yet another strategic report. But storytelling? Well, gosh, that comes later, say some. Marketing can figure it out. 

This is wrong-headed for one clear reason: Storytelling isn’t an output of stuff we do, but an input into why and how we do it. The entrepreneurship boom has changed place-based economic development, and the emerging “ecosystem stack” requires a storytelling approach. Though just about every region and all 50 U.S. states have an entrepreneurship and tech workforce strategy, fewer than two dozen of them have any dedicated coverage — including the handful Technical.ly presently reports on.

I intend Technical.ly to provide storytelling services to more ecosystems, so consider this my making the case for why this work is no trivial after thought.

Storytelling leads narrative change

We’ve always heard that stories matter. Since the 1990s, rigorous research has piled up that it isn’t just feel-good, new-age nonsense.

“Information is remembered better and longer, and recalled more readily when presented within the context of a story,” writes researcher Kendall Haven in his 2007 book “Story Proof.” He cites studies that demonstrate storytelling enhances comprehension, memory and emotional engagement.

We know why. When humans listen to a story in an fMRI machine, our brain activity lights up as if we are actively experiencing the story, notes academic Jonathan Gottschall in 2012’s “The Storytelling Animal.” Research shows humans do not engage with story as an observer — but as a participant. Our brain rewards us with dopamine when we find out how the story ends, because we might learn something about survival. 

It’s simple evolution: The reason stories are sticky is because your brain is scanning for tips. 

And the brain makes no distinction between fiction and nonfiction, as novelist Lisa Cron shows in 2016’s “Story Genius.” When a reader identifies with the character and plot, the information sticks. Stories aren’t an escape from reality, as we so often say. Stories are how we learn how to navigate reality. 

That informs my working definition: Storytelling is a process that uses character and plot to share ways to navigate a complex world.

This follows for where we live. Compelling data and hard facts don’t shape opinion about places, per new research out of Germany — authentic local stories from real people do. That’s why one of Kauffman Foundation’s central pillars from its 2019 ecosystem building playbook was storytelling.

What does storytelling in this context actually accomplish? 

• Reinforces success changes local opinion, which helps attract and retain others
• Highlights resources and best practices makes more information more accessible, serving to boost local intellectual capital and contributing to improved economic mobility 
• Challenges gaps and places for improvement bring attention and can drive action

Over a million years, humans evolved to respond to genuine, unfiltered and consistent stories from other humans. Why do so many leaders spend so much time and money doing everything else?

‘Most people know what a story is until they sit down to write one’

A storytelling process is inherently cyclical — publishing should invite feedback which should inform future publishing. 

Technical.ly uses storytelling as part of our journalism. Journalism comes with an ethical framework, and ultimately our responsibility is to help a community come a bit closer to its truth. Storytelling is an effective tool for journalism but the two are not the same. 

Likewise, storytelling is not just another word for marketing. Great marketers understand storytelling. But storytelling is a practice just like being data-backed is a practice. It’s not a department, it’s a worldview. 

Around the country, there are standout state and regional economic development orgs experimenting with storytelling tactics:

• The Pittsburgh Innovation District launched a high-end podcast studio for locals to tell their story; Technical.ly has joined in. 
• The Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce is funding its own standalone startup news site, not unlike how Visit Philadelphia long pioneered a tourism-focused content brand. 
• Likewise, the West Virginia Department of Commerce has branded its Daily304 content strategy.

Entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs), individual ecosystem builders and the exploding category of content creators all contribute local stories. This is made possible because the platforms are familiar and the barriers to entry are low: live events, newsletters, websites, social media, podcasts and video. 

Two other big components of storytelling are often overlooked: What stories are being told, and who is listening.  

That first one is something a lot of people trick themselves into thinking is easy. As novelist Flannery O’Connor put it: “Most people know what a story is until they sit down to write one.” 

Storytelling is inherently generous. Help people understand something new about the world, and you get their attention long enough to change minds about something. For good or for bad.

Trouble is that a lot of organizations (and people) struggle to tell their own story because it’s difficult to reach the distance that’s required to tell an effective story. Remember: The primary reason we listen to stories is because we’re looking for insight into our own lives. Too often we’re too selfish, or at least too close, to let others in.

That last part — how to grow, engage and sustain an audience — is at least accepted as challenging. Media-making is so easy now that many overlook how hard it is to sustain. This reminds me of the concept of a community company: Informing and engaging a group of people with integrity earns trust and can have financial reward, but that must be a consequence, not a starting point. 

Data: Local storytelling drives wider recognition

Helpfully, the effects of storytelling are becoming clearer and more measurable, even in the narrow case of tech, startup and innovation ecosystems. 

• Within 5-7 years, regions with a dedicated ecosystem storyteller get on average 58% more follow-on coverage than peer regions without one, according to early results from an ongoing Technical.ly analysis.
• Ecosystems with storytelling grew twice as big as regions that started off as peers 10 years prior, according to a small subset with available data
• Storytelling strategies earned ecosystems coverage beyond peer regions conservatively valued at between $500k and $1.5M.

Here’s how this first phase of the analysis worked. From 50 states and regions of various sizes, Technical.ly paired places that in 2010 had similar populations, economies and the same number of verified results in Google News, a decent index of high-quality local, national and industry publishers. Though not all-encompassing, those publishers have had high SEO value and, now, are most likely to inform LLMs and other data sources: They’re ideal for economic development leaders intending to raise their ecosystem profile. 

Of these ecosystems analyzed, six peer-regional pairs had at least a decade from when one added a dedicated news resource for its startup and tech ecosystem (there aren’t many anymore). Half are Technically markets, and the other three had a different independent ecosystem news and information provider.

Those pairs are of various sizes, parts of the country and including both regions and states:  Atlanta/Dallas; Kansas City/Indianapolis; Philadelphia/Phoenix; Pittsburgh/Cleveland; New Jersey/Connecticut and Delaware/Rhode Island.

From the very same starting point, the six places with a dedicated news resource earned on average 58% more stories a decade later than their peer region. Consider a few specifics:

• Even over a decade in which Phoenix’s population surged past Philadelphia’s, and where more state and federal investment moved in Arizona than Pennsylvania, the storytelling outcome is clear. In 2024, startups in Philadelphia — a Technical.ly core ecosystem — generated nearly 50% more stories from a range of national and local sources, than Phoenix. 
• Even as Indianapolis strung a series of big ecosystem wins, and its population hovers far above the region we paired it with, the storytelling case study is clear. In 2010, both Indianapolis and Kansas City had a similar number of ecosystem stories. In 2024, Kansas City — where Startland News operates — generated 68% more than Indianapolis.
• Compare Atlanta and Dallas, two big, important fast-growing regional cities. In 2010, they were peers. After a decade of Hypepotamus’s reporting, Atlanta had a third more stories in 2024 than Dallas.
• Delaware presents a compelling small-state story. Both Rhode Island and New Hampshire have more residents and have benefited from Boston tech spillover. In 2010, all had a similar number of coverage of its startup ecosystem. By 2024, Delaware — a Technical.ly satellite ecosystem — had a stunning 85% more than Rhode Island, and almost double New Hampshire. 
• Look at New Jersey and Connecticut, two densely populated states surrounding and supporting New York City’s economic engine and a global media headquarters. In 2010, they were virtually indistinguishable as startup ecosystems. In 2011, NJ Tech Weekly got its start. In 2024, New Jersey earned 15% more storytelling than Connecticut.

Interestingly, each of these ecosystems have more general business publications, most behind paywalls, subscriptions or required memberships — as is the trend for business news and industry providers. All also have economic development and entrepreneur support organizations that produce more general marketing assets, like newsletters and social media posts. All have thriving local content creators and influencers. 

Something changes when the storyteller is a professional, and accessible. 

Want to put a dollar figure to that additional follow-on coverage that ecosystem storytellers brought? 

Taking together an average of industry assessments, we used a conservative average of $5,000 of value created for a given independent news story — a mix of value for the entrepreneur, their company and the place or ecosystem it is a part of. (Keep in mind that the data set already ignores content marketing that isn’t indexed by Google News.) 

Using this metric, Atlanta last year got $1.5 million in value from Hypepotamus as compared to Dallas, and Kansas City got almost $400,000 from Startland News as compared to Indianapolis. Pittsburgh got $500k over Cleveland and Philly got $1.3 million over Phoenix via Technically. Delaware won more than $300,000 in extra storytelling over its peer base of Rhode Island, and the New Jersey startup ecosystem got more than $115,000 in added storytelling value when compared to Connecticut.  

These independent storytelling operations all have relatively tiny budgets. The figures above suggest a 5x-10x return on annual value creation. 

Data: Local storytelling drives ecosystem growth

Many factors drive regional growth, but ecosystems that invest in independent storytelling stand out. Using data from Startup Genome, which estimates value by tallying up startup valuations and exits over two-year periods, we can see the difference.

• Whereas Atlanta and Dallas were once peers in 2010, now Atlanta is far and away the winner: a $54 billion startup ecosystem over one less than $40 billion;
• Whereas Phoenix’s population and overall economy has grown much faster than Philadelphia, when it comes to its tech and startup ecosystem Philadelphia has run away with it: almost triple as big a tech and sciences startup economy 
• Even with population differences between Ohio and western PA, Pittsburgh is far and away the ecosystem winner over Cleveland: by almost 8 times;
• The data set evaluates Indiana as a state, not Indianapolis as a region, and yet, storytelling-rich Kansas City’s ecosystem is effectively the same size as the entire state of Indiana

Put it together, and the average storytelling ecosystem is twice as big as the one without storytelling.

Investing in storytelling today will win your ecosystem a higher profile, better connections and then a faster-growing startup economy. 

Storytelling is just a tool of leverage: Once an ecosystem outgrows its few highly connected community leaders, you’ll stay stuck in lower gear until there’s a tool to distribute ideas more widely. 

A small event might be 20-30 people. A small ecosystem news story might get 200-300 views; over time that can grow to 2,000 to 3,000. Obviously bigger stories can far outperform that. On social, modest impression numbers can ring even higher. Because of the web’s scale, we grade digital reach to a higher standard. But for local ecosystem building, storytelling is an obvious accelerant. 

We overlook storytelling because it is so ancient. Storytelling is not an output of stuff you do. It’s an input in the ecosystem you’re building.