Guest Post by Kashish Jain
I guess this is what you would call a blog takeover. Yes, I’m quite literally taking over Bob’s blog, as this is the fifth in a collaborative series between me, Kashish Jain, and Professor Bob Cargill, born from a summer 2025 partnership. As a recent Marketing graduate from Northeastern University, I’ve been working alongside Professor Bob to help grow his online presence across his blog, Substack, Instagram, and YouTube — and in the process, I’ve been learning priceless lessons about personal branding, storytelling, and human connection. ~ Kash
If you ask most marketers about strategy, they’ll pull out a deck with bullet points and KPIs. But I’ve learned something different: sometimes, the story is the strategy.
Where I’ve implemented this the most is on my food page on Instagram (@foodwithkash). To me, strategy means beyond the monetary and collaboration value, it’s more about the stories of the people.
In the pictures below, you can see me make a delicious French crepe, next to Anthony, who was trying to teach me how to do so. He is someone from Paris, France, who left his city a few years ago to bring his passion for authentic French food to the United States, and started his own crepe brand called La Petite. This was a collaboration that goes beyond any monetary value, it’s the stories of the people and their food that resonate with me. That is the power of storytelling. Watch the final reel here.
Think about it. We connect with people, not logos. We remember emotions, not taglines. And that connection happens when you’re willing to bring your own experiences into the conversation.
Working with Professor Bob has been like a masterclass in this. He doesn’t just share marketing tips — he talks about his early jobs, the races he’s run, the moments that shaped him. That human layer makes his content relatable and memorable.
I’ve seen it in my own work, too. The more I told my story — the struggles, the pivots, the little wins — the more people engaged. I started getting messages from students asking how they could follow in my footsteps, and recruiters reaching out because they “felt like they knew me.”
Storytelling isn’t a marketing add-on; it’s the foundation. And here’s the best part — no one else can tell your story the way you can. If you’re unsure where to begin, start with one personal experience that taught you something. Share it simply and honestly. You’ll be amazed at how quickly it resonates.
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