At Edmonton Startup Week, leaders from Taproot, CBC and Digital Journal discussed how founders can ditch the jargon and turn their company’s purpose into a compelling narrative that lands with journalists and customers.
“Why are you telling me this now?” asked Mack Male, co-founder and CEO of Taproot. “What is the connection to what’s going on in the world or in the context that can help me, as a journalist, make your story relevant for the people that you’re trying to reach?”
That question captured one of the session’s central themes: how relevance, humanity, and authenticity shape the relationship between founders and the journalists they’re trying to reach.
The media panel took place at Edmonton Unlimited during Edmonton Startup Week which runs from Oct. 6-10, bringing together entrepreneurs, investors, students, and community partners for 79 events citywide.
The panel titled “Pitch, Purpose, Power: Stepping Up Through Storytelling” gathered founders, communicators, and creatives to explore how business stories can reach real audiences and why so many fail to do so.
Moderated by broadcaster Ryan Jespersen, the panel featured Tara McCarthy, host of Edmonton AM on CBC Radio One, Mack Male of Taproot, and Chris Hogg, CEO and executive editor of Digital Journal.
Jespersen opened the conversation by asking what founders most often misunderstand about working with journalists and how reporters decide which stories are worth telling. His questions set up a candid discussion about the intersection of media, storytelling, and entrepreneurship.
Together, the panel offered practical advice for founders on how to craft stories that resonate beyond their own company walls.
Building relevance through human connection
For Male, good storytelling begins with purpose and empathy.
“The best stories always have some sort of personal connection,” he said. “That human connection is what really separates the memorable stories.”
Jespersen asked whether founders should think differently about telling their own story compared to getting it told by the media. Male said that distinction matters because journalists and audiences have different goals.
“Founders should always know what the journalist’s job is,” he said. “You have to make it easy for them to sell your story to their editor.”
When getting pitched, he asks entrepreneurs to step back and consider why their story matters now. The answer, he said, should be more than a product announcement.
“If you can make that connection between your work and what’s happening in the world around you, it changes how a journalist and your audience see you,” he said.
McCarthy sees the same principle play out daily in her work on air.
She said she looks for stories that feel relevant to her listeners, not just to the founders telling them.
“The focus statement of a story is people doing something for a reason,” she said. “I want to know why the people behind this company or idea are doing it. Sometimes it’s a personal story, sometimes it’s a shared history, but those are the background bits that show the heart of something and really elevate the idea.”
When entrepreneurs skip that step, McCarthy warned that the story can risk sounding transactional, and it becomes just another press release in a crowded inbox.
“If all I’m going to do is get a short email from you that attaches some press release about something you want me to know about, I want that to jump off the page,” she said. “I want to hear and feel the personality behind what you’re telling me.”
Hogg echoed that point, saying the same applies to business journalism.
“The purpose behind what we cover is elevating voices and normalizing innovation,” he said. “When we find an entrepreneur who is willing to talk about the things they’ve done wrong along the way, it adds a lot.”
Overcoming the jargon trap and the AI effect
The conversation also explored how language can build or erode credibility. Male noted that Taproot had to change how it described its work.
“When we started, we used to talk about how a free press and a well-funded press is integral to a democracy,” he said. “What we’ve learned is people don’t always connect with words like ‘journalism’ or ‘democracy.’ We had to evolve to talk about reliable local intelligence and helping people make informed decisions.”
That shift, he explained, mirrors the challenge founders face: finding language that connects mission to audience without losing authenticity.
McCarthy warned that overpolished messaging, especially when written by artificial intelligence, can strip away the humanity that makes stories compelling.
“Right off the bat, I could smell the stink,” she said, describing a pitch from a business whose website was filled with AI-generated images. “Even if there are real people behind this business, they’ve lost themselves under this cloak of AI.”
Hogg agreed that authenticity cannot be automated. He said AI should support creativity, not replace it.
“Technology can help scale a story, but it can’t supply the meaning behind it,” he said.
Male added nuance, saying AI can be a helpful tool when used thoughtfully.
“If English is not your first language and you’re using ChatGPT to write the thing, that’s a benefit to you,” he said. “It’s about effort in, garbage in, garbage out. You can still convey what Tara is talking about, that personal, human stuff, if you put in the effort.”
Hogg added that AI could help level the playing field for storytellers who might otherwise struggle to get noticed.
“The sameness of coverage is at a huge risk if we always hear from the same voices,” he said. “If AI can help entrepreneurs demonstrate relevance and context for their story, it can actually help diversify who gets heard.”
The value of consistency in a fragmented media landscape
The panellists agreed that while the media landscape has never been noisier, the fundamentals of storytelling remain the same. Clarity, consistency, and connection still matter most.
“Fragmentation has been a problem since social media hit 20 years ago,” said Hogg. “Everyone has a microphone. It’s entirely democratized to tell your story.”
He said that freedom also raises the bar for clarity and purpose, because audiences now have endless options for where to focus their attention.
While much of the conversation focused on how founders can work with journalists, Hogg also pointed out that media coverage is only one part of the equation.
He encouraged founders to treat social media as an extension of their storytelling, not just a channel for visibility.
“Founders should think about the audience first,” Hogg said. “If your story helps people understand something new or see progress, that’s what earns attention.”
He added that the effort to show up regularly builds trust over time.
“Being consistent is worth its weight in gold,” Hogg said. “Just showing up every day and creating value matters more than chasing vanity metrics.”
Male said that reality has shaped how Taproot approaches growth. He explained that Taproot has avoided platforms that demand constant attention, such as TikTok, and instead automated social media posts to focus on meaningful reporting and community impact.
“We made the choice intentionally,” he said. “We don’t have the resources to do everything. So we focus on doing what we do really well and serving that core audience.”
Given her work in radio, McCarthy also encouraged founders to think more creatively about how their stories are told. She suggested that entrepreneurs can make it easier for journalists to say yes by identifying what makes their stories visually or audibly interesting.
“If you’re inviting someone into your world, show them something they can capture or hear,” she said. “That helps your story land.”
The power of story as economic infrastructure
As the discussion closed, the panellists reflected on what is at stake for Canada’s innovation economy. When founders tell stronger, more transparent stories, they strengthen the entire system. Storytelling connects communities, surfaces lessons, and builds trust across regions and sectors.
Hogg tied that responsibility to Digital Journal’s mission and cautioned founders not to compare their journey to the polished versions of success they see in headlines or on social media. He said stories told honestly form the connective tissue of Canada’s innovation economy.
“We sat down and thought about what we do as storytellers,” he said. “We landed on ‘elevating voices’ because every time we talk to someone who doesn’t look like the mold of perfection, there was a lot to learn. It changed the craft of what we do and how we do it.”
Authentic storytelling, the panellists agreed, is not about promotion. It is an investment in credibility and the foundation of a stronger innovation ecosystem.
Final shots
- Storytelling is not about spin. It’s about sensemaking. Founders who connect purpose to audience build more trust than those who lead with polish.
- McCarthy’s call for humanity and Male’s focus on relevance highlight how storytelling makes innovation visible, relatable, and repeatable.
- When founders and journalists understand each other’s goals, stories travel farther and carry more meaning.
- Through storytelling, experience becomes shared learning that helps innovators see patterns, make sense of change, and move forward with confidence.
Digital Journal is an official media partner of Edmonton Startup Week
