If you’re starting a business in a mature market, like Melbourne’s cafe scene, a strong Backstory is now a non-negotiable.
But even once you know your backstory, how can you combine this with Connection Economics to disrupt an already mature market?
Serotonin recently opened their doors and may just be the best model we’ve seen this year:
- Seratonin isn’t a cafe, its a leader of a happiness movement that consists of eating, exercise and education
- The Serotonin story is a statement of beliefs that allows other ‘believers’ to self-identify with the Serotonin tribe
- The team aren’t ‘staff’, waiters or trainers but are Serotonin ‘Dealers’ (introducing new language is important so tribe members can identify who’s ‘in’ and who’s ‘out’)
- Private exercise sessions offer further opportunities for Serotonin to personally connect to its tribe in real life
- The homepage has a prominent, above-the-fold request for an email address (which other cafe does this?), so Serotonin can start indoctrinating members and taking them on a journey of becoming. Visitors aren’t subscribing to an email list, they’re signing up for a movement.
Serotonin has a very strong backstory, but what’s most impressive is how they wove this backstory with Connection Economics to lead us somewhere we didn’t realise we wanted to go in the first place.
Their Backstory entices us to take part in their Frontstory.
* We are not connected with, nor do we receive any commissions from Serotonin for these observations
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