Visibility, familiarity, and ultimately trust are the currency of commerce. Bernadette Schwerdt, founder of the Australian School of Copywriting and author of a best-selling book on the subject, argues that while better copy and higher ad spend help, nothing moves the needle like a personal narrative. She suggests that the gap between a brand with instant traction and one stuck in anonymity often comes down to how well the founder tells their story.
Schwerdt emphasizes that this isn’t about fairytales or whimsical once-upon-a-time narratives. It is about a business story that highlights who the founder is, what they do, and why they do it. The principles behind these narratives remain largely unchanged from the bedtime stories read to children decades ago. Parents read to children because simple lessons are more memorable when wrapped in something worth listening to, rather than just a command. The same structure works today. When applied to business, it gives people a reason to remember the company, talk about it, and buy from it. If a founder has the courage to put the person behind the brand on display, results tend to follow in the form of more media coverage, speaking gigs, and leads.
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Visibility builds familiarity, familiarity builds trust, and trust is what makes people buy. When Schwerdt interviewed some of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs for her latest book, a clear pattern emerged. The founders who scaled fast were not necessarily the most qualified or the most funded. They were the ones who learned how to tell their story and share it with the wider world. This narrative approach humanizes the business, transforming a faceless corporation into a relatable entity. In a digital setting saturated with noise, a genuine human element is often the only signal strong enough to cut through the static and create a lasting impression.
From Backpacker to Shark Tank: Janine Allis
Janine Allis provides a concrete example of this transformation. She did not start with a plan, a degree, or a safety net. She left Melbourne in her early twenties with a backpack and curiosity, worked her way across Europe, then returned home years later as a single mum with a baby and no clear direction. She took whatever work she could find, building resilience and belief along the way. The idea for Boost Juice came not from a boardroom, but from her kitchen bench, testing recipes with toddlers at her feet after spotting a trend in the market overseas and bringing it back to Australia.
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Once Allis learned how to tell that story properly—with a clear narrative arc and the ability to make people laugh, cry, and feel something—opportunities arose. She secured speaking gigs, appeared on media outlets, and later leveraged that personal brand to land spots on Shark Tank, Survivor, and a reality TV show with Gordon Ramsay. That personal story became the foundation upon which a group of brands worth hundreds of millions was built. It was the context that allowed investors and consumers to understand the value of the business beyond just the product itself.
The Visibility Factor in Business Scaling
Another founder who stepped out from behind the desk to tell her story is Kirsten Tibballs. She is well known to fans of MasterChef or those who have seen The Chocolate Queen, but her backstory adds depth to her public profile. Tibballs did not follow a traditional path. She barely attended high school due to ill health, and left early to start an apprenticeship in a small bakery on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula. The hours were brutal, starting at 2:00 a.m., six days a week, but she loved the work. From there, she won a scholarship to compete in Europe, travelled the world refining her craft, and returned to Australia to build something of her own.
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What began with six students and two trestle tables teaching chocolate-making in a dusty warehouse for an equipment supplier, grew into Savour Chocolate & Patisserie School. She knew that for the school to succeed, she needed a profile and a public presence supported by a story. She methodically pursued media opportunities to tell it and demonstrate her skill. She submitted media releases, created showreels, and secured small TV spots, anything that gave her a platform to show what she could do. That persistence led to appearances on The Bert Newton Show, daytime TV shows, and features in The Australian and Gourmet Traveller. The invitation that changed everything came in the form of an appearance on MasterChef Australia.
