Nixing Startup Taglines, with Marcus Allen’s Help
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There are few things in this world I can’t stand. One is mayonnaise. (Though if you call it aioli, I’m sometimes OK with it.) Another is the adoption of a tagline by early-stage teams, especially when they make it part of the logo. The odds are just so high that your strategy will need to change, and that your tagline — emblazoned everywhere — will become a liability. Besides, a lot of startup teams are so proud of a cute tagline that they punt on the harder, more necessary work of fleshing out real strategic narratives to power sales, fundraising, recruiting, and product.
So imagine my reaction when, in the middle of pitching a strategic messaging engagement to the CEO of a venture-backed San Francisco startup, he asked if part of my deliverable was going to be “a really great tagline that just totally captures what we do.”
But just as I was about to say, “Don’t use a tagline,” I stopped myself. And for that, I have National Football League Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen to thank.
How Marcus Allen Helped Disabuse One Startup CEO of His Desire for a Tagline
A few weeks before the call with the tagline-infatuated CEO, I attended “Nerding Out,” a semi-regular event sponsored by the Cowboy Ventures team for their portfolio companies. This one, moderated by Next Play Capital’s Ryan Nece and Cowboy’s Noah Lichtenstein, featured a panel of sports luminaries — including Marcus Allen and fellow NFL star Jim Plunkett, as well as Australian tennis great Rennae Stubbs — all speaking on the topic of leadership.
For much of the evening, the athletes shared their experiences as leaders, both on and off the field. (Plunkett: “I was an easygoing guy, but in the huddle I was in charge. You did not disobey me.”) At some point, though, a member of the audience asked, “Is there one leader who most helped you reach greatness?”
All the panelists gave inspiring answers, but the one that stuck with me was Marcus Allen’s. The leader who he said most helped him succeed? A man I had never heard of: Ray Willsey, the backfield coach for the Oakland (and Los Angeles) Raiders during their Super Bowl championship teams of 1980 and 1983.
As soon as Allen said Willsey’s name, Plunkett — who quarterbacked both of those teams — nodded in agreement.
Coach Willsey’s Two Magic Words
Marcus Allen said that nearly every other coach he had ever played for spent most of their time telling players what not to do.
“For instance,” Allen said, “take a punt return. Every other coach would tell us, ‘If you’re about to be tackled, don’t cut back, because you’re probably going to lose yardage.’”
But, according to Allen, Willsey never said the word don’t. Instead, he always said make sure.
“Instead of telling me not to cut back, he would say, ‘Well, if you are going to cut back, make sure you have plenty of room to run.’ By saying make sure instead of don’t, he was telling me that he had faith in my ability to make decisions.”
Allen said that Willsey was the leader, more than any other, who taught him to think for himself on and off the field, to have faith in his own judgment.
One tagline down, many to go
So instead of telling the startup CEO that he shouldn’t use a tagline, I channeled Ray Willsey.
“Well, if you’re going to use a tagline,” I said, “make sure you’re totally confident that your strategy and positioning are not going to change for the next several years. Because that tagline is going to be plastered everywhere.”
The CEO thought for a moment. Then he asked, “Do you think we could get by without a tagline for a little while?”
Thank you, Marcus Allen.
About Andy Raskin:
I help early-stage teams nail strategic messaging and positioning — for sales, marketing, fundraising, and recruiting. My clients include companies backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers, First Round Capital and other top-tier investors. I also lead business storytelling workshops for teams. More at http://andyraskin.com.
