This conversation features Jack Altman, CEO and co-founder of Lattice, speaking with Lulu Cheng Meservey, a communications strategist who has worked with companies like Substack, Activision Blizzard, and Andreessen Horowitz portfolio companies.

The discussion explores why communications has become increasingly critical for startups, examining how founders build "aura" and magnetic personal brands that drive recruiting success. Meservey breaks down the science of storytelling through narrative arcs and psychological frameworks, drawing from sources like Prospect Theory and Public Opinion to explain how humans process information and form opinions.

Key topics include the balance between authenticity and strategic positioning, Napoleon's legendary recruiting tactics, the relationship between communications and company valuation, and why human persuasion will remain irreplaceable even as AI capabilities advance.

Why Communications Became the Ultimate Startup Skill

"We're all just pattern recognition machines" - founders see that companies with the most founder aura and impressive cults are winning and getting the best people

Aura is fundamentally about communication ability: "You can't be bumbling your way through a sentence and not able to describe what your company does and then still have aura as a founder"

The most successful communications focus on "what are you trying to achieve" rather than generic goals like "people love me and think I'm great"

The Science of Story Arcs and Reputation Management

Every great story requires a problem and resolution - "A narrative arc is literally an arc. It goes one direction and then it comes back the other direction"

People have a "homeostatic set point" for how much reputation someone deserves - being perceived as underrated drives people to actively help you succeed

"Underrated is a compliment. Overrated is an insult" - people feel satisfaction correcting perceived discrepancies in reputation

Founders must position where they are on the narrative arc because "people will fill in the rest of where they assume you're going to go"

The Three Circles Framework for Strategic Messaging

Effective messaging sits at the intersection of three circles: things that are true, things that are relevant, and things that are strategic for the business

"All press is good press" fails when companies prioritize relevance over strategic value - viral moments can damage trust-dependent businesses

Word choice matters enormously - English offers vast vocabulary options where "each word that you choose should be load-bearing"

Napoleon's Recruiting Playbook for Modern Founders

Napoleon gave soldiers "a cause bigger than what it seemed" - at the Battle of the Pyramids, he said "40,000 years of history are looking down on you"

Strategic branding transformed perception - renaming failed "Army of Britain" to "La Grande Armée" and calling doomed bridge defenders "les hommes sans peur" (the men without fear)

"The little corporal" earned loyalty by being "in the trenches" - aiming cannons himself rather than just giving orders from above

Modern examples include Brian Chesky's personal recruiting and Scott Wu at Cognition, where "incredible engineers feel proud that Scott is a peer"

Psychology-Based Sales and Risk Framing

Prospect Theory shows people need double the upside to take equivalent risks - "willingness to take a risk is basically double if we're trying to avoid downside than if we're trying to get new upside"

Bad sales pitch: "What you've got now is mid and we've got something much better" - this positions customers as taking risk for potential gain

Effective approach: Position status quo as "the losing state" where "your competitors are moving to firm land" while offering safety and leadership

The Future of Human Communication in an AI World

"Comms is the final bastion of human ability" - the skill of persuading humans will remain uniquely human for decades

Form factors will continue evolving rapidly - "You need to outrun your own ideas" as successful tactics get copied and become saturated

Media relations are improving after a "nadir" - moving toward "a new equilibrium of collaboration" rather than dependence or boycotts