1041: How to Tell Compelling Stories and Build Brands with Alex Neist (CEO of Hostage Tape)

Mar 17, 2025

Join Alex Neist, the dynamic founder and CEO of Hostage Tape, as he reveals the secrets to compelling storytelling and brand building. He discusses why brands like Hostage Tape and Liquid Death create emotional connections with consumers. Learn the essential elements of inspiring stories and the potential pitfalls of crafting them. Discover how relatable narratives can transform professional interactions and strengthen brand identity, emphasizing that vulnerability can drive authenticity and trust.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Books

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

The Power of Emotional Storytelling

Great stories don't need to be wild or oddball but must show change.
People buy emotionally from brands and then justify with logic afterwards.

ANECDOTE

Personal Story Behind Hostage Tape

Alex hit rock bottom after a divorce and lived in his aunt's basement.
He discovered mouth taping to improve sleep and coined "Hostage Tape" to represent feeling held hostage by poor sleep.

INSIGHT

Bold Branding Attracts Attention

Hostage Tape is branded as the "Liquid Death" of the sleep space, gaining attention through bold, polarizing branding.
Attention is critical because customers buy the brands they remember when ready to purchase.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

Storyworthy

Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling

Matthew Dicks

In 'Storyworthy,' Matthew Dicks provides a comprehensive guide on the art of storytelling. The book is divided into three parts: Finding your story, Crafting your story, and Telling your story. Dicks shares his own stories to illustrate key points and offers tips and exercises to help readers improve their storytelling skills. He emphasizes the importance of identifying a 'five-second moment' of transformation or realization in every story and provides techniques for making stories engaging and memorable. The book is designed to help anyone become a better storyteller, whether for personal or professional purposes, and highlights how storytelling can deepen connections with others and enhance one's own life[1][3][5].

Never Split the Difference

Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It

Tahl Raz

Chris Voss

VOSS/RAZ

This book, written by former FBI hostage negotiator Chris Voss and co-author Tahl Raz, provides a masterclass in influencing others through negotiation. It distills the Voss method, revealing skills such as establishing rapport, creating trust with tactical empathy, and transforming conflict into collaboration. The book is filled with real-life examples from Voss's career, illustrating how these techniques can be applied in both professional and personal life to achieve goals and defuse potential crises.

Breath

The New Science of a Lost Art

James Nestor

In 'Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art,' James Nestor delves into the history and science of breathing, revealing how modern humans have lost the ability to breathe correctly. The book takes readers on a global journey to ancient burial sites, secret Soviet facilities, and other unusual locations to uncover the hidden science behind ancient breathing practices like Pranayama, Sudarshan Kriya, and Tummo. Nestor collaborates with pulmonary experts to test long-held beliefs about breathing and presents evidence that slight adjustments in breathing can significantly improve athletic performance, rejuvenate internal organs, and alleviate various health issues such as snoring, asthma, and autoimmune diseases.