Magnetic Stories

CREATION STORIES: HOW AND WHY IT ALL STARTED

A couple of years ago, I purchased some swimwear for my husband for his birthday. They were tailor-made out of recycled fishing nets. Since he's a fisherman and someone who hates baggy board shorts, I knew they would be a hit (which they were). I noticed on the company's website there was a tab for ‘Our Story’, so obviously I clicked through to have a read. Now, as far as ‘our stories’ go on websites it wasn't bad, but I instinctively thought there would be a more interesting story about why the company started. I mean, it's a pretty unique idea, don't you agree?

I contacted the owner. It turns out that she spent a lot of time at the beach after the birth of her third child. She noticed that women had a large variety of options when it came to swimwear, yet men seemed to have a choice between tight speedos or baggy board shorts … and not much in between. It was during that time, while taking a break from her other job, that she started designing tailored swimwear for men, and came to the idea of using recycled fishnets through her interest in sustainability and recycling.

This to me was a far more intriguing story than what was on their website.

Most organisations tend to have a pretty interesting story behind why they were created. But in many cases they are reluctant to share it for a variety of reasons.

First, I think a lot of small organisations want to appear bigger than they are; they avoid sharing the founder's story, believing ...