From Crime Scenes to Med Tech — How Storytelling Drives Technology Adoption | Jason Ellinger
How does a news photojournalist covering crime scenes become a med tech storyteller funding nonprofit impact? In this episode, Donna P. Mitchell speaks with Jason Ellinger, Co-Founder of Beard & Bowler Productions, about how covering an 11-year-old's funeral made him rethink his entire career — and how his company now uses the HERO Grant model to fund nonprofit storytelling through corporate revenue.
TOPICS COVERED:
- The StoryBrand 7-part formula: why you're the guide, not the hero
- How the HERO Grant model funds nonprofit storytelling through med tech revenue
- The number one mistake businesses and nonprofits make with storytelling
- Why 70% of Beard & Bowler's revenue comes from med tech filmmaking
- The Master Operating Prompt (MOP) and voice maps for AI-driven operations
- Custom GPTs that turned days of story editing into hours
- Second-degree recon: AI-powered LinkedIn outreach
- Why protecting your network matters more than automating it
(00:00) You're Not the Hero, You're the Guide
(00:09) Introduction
(01:58) Jason Ellinger — Who Is Beard & Bowler
(04:09) The 11-Year-Old's Funeral That Changed Everything
(06:31) Deacon Willie Davis and the Community Garden
(08:11) Finding the Why — Storytelling for Impact
(08:52) How the HERO Grant Was Born
(10:31) The Number One Mistake Businesses and Nonprofits Make
(11:05) The 7-Part StoryBrand Formula
(12:23) Why 70% of Revenue Came From Med Tech
(14:40) The Impossible Goal — 50 HERO Grants in One Year
(15:48) The Flip — Team Buy-In and 100% Conviction
(17:15) Pivoting From Nonprofit to Enterprise
(21:45) AI Adoption — Automation for Nonprofits and Executives
(24:01) Master Operating Prompt and Voice Maps
(26:18) Custom GPT for Story Editing — Days to Hours
(28:13) Second-Degree Recon — AI-Powered LinkedIn Outreach
(30:19) Donna's Gut Check — Protecting Your Network
(33:22) Med Tech Storytelling — Nerve Blocks to Ankle Replacements
(35:05) Who Jason Wants to Reach
(36:29) How to Connect With Jason
(36:57) Closing
ABOUT THE GUEST: Jason Ellinger is the Co-Founder of Beard & Bowler Productions, a commercial filmmaking company focused on helping medical device companies tell the human stories behind life-changing innovation. His career spans hard news photojournalism to nonprofit storytelling to enterprise med tech filmmaking. His company built the HERO Grant model — using purposeful corporate work to fund nonprofit storytelling so world-class stories don't come out of mission-critical budgets.
ABOUT DONNA P. MITCHELL: Founder of The Transformation Authority™ and CEO of Mitchell Universal Network LLC. Official Member of Forbes Business Council. 48 years of Fortune 500 experience across 5 industries, enabling 150,000+ professionals.
GET THE BOOK: Pivoting to Technology Adoption: Mind the Gap amazon.com/dp/B0GP3CWH2H
CONNECT WITH JASON: Website: beardandbowler.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mrbow1er
CONNECT WITH DONNA: LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/donna-mitchell-a1700619 YouTube: @TheTransformationAuthority Website: pivotingportal.com
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SPEAKING & ADVISORY: pivotingportal.com/speaker
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