Most businesses just don’t know how to tell their story. Storyline exists to close the gap between the quality of your work and the quality of your digital presence. We’re strategists, not vendors, and we care whether it works.
Free 30-minute call. You’ll leave knowing what to fix first.
After building Combat Flags from a garage and then leading digital strategy for Fortune 500 brands, Dan noticed a gap that bothered him.
The big companies had strategists, research, and a plan connecting every channel. The small businesses doing some of the best work had none of that. They had a nephew who “does websites,” an SEO package they didn’t understand, and a social account that went quiet whenever business got busy. Dan knew that gap firsthand, because he’d built a brand from nothing and had to figure out marketing without a playbook.
Most small businesses are told to “post more” and “run ads.” They get tactics without strategy, and nobody helps them figure out what to say, where to say it, or why it matters.
So they end up with a website that doesn’t match their work, social accounts that go quiet for months, and a nagging feeling that competitors are showing up everywhere while they’re stuck.
We believe every business that does good work deserves to be found by the people looking for it. Marketing shouldn’t be guesswork. It should be a system built on something true about who you are.
Storyline was founded by a small business marketing strategist whose entire career has followed one idea: story builds trust, trust builds influence, and influence builds lasting relationships. The scale changed with every chapter. The mechanism never did.
Before marketing, Dan served in the U.S. Army. It’s where he learned that trust is earned, and that clear, honest communication beats loud every time. He’s an Army veteran turned marketer, and that lesson shows up in everything Storyline builds.
Dan founded Combat Flags and built it from a garage to more than $1 million in revenue and a combined Facebook and Instagram following of more than 135,000, including 85,000+ on Instagram. The brand earned national media coverage, donated more than $125,000 to Stop Soldier Suicide, and was successfully exited.
After a larger e-commerce company acquired Combat Flags, Dan kept working with the brand as an independent strategist. He rebuilt its website, which lifted purchase conversion by 137%, and its email program, which grew email-driven revenue 185% year over year.
As a senior digital and content strategist at Sodexo and Trane Technologies, Dan led global brand launches, creative teams, and multi-channel programs. The results included a 158% landing page conversion lift, a 94% increase in thought leadership downloads, and a 16% increase in organic search traffic at Sodexo.
Storyline is where it all converges. Dan took the strategy he’d used at enterprise scale and the scrappiness of building a brand from zero, and turned them into one system built for small businesses. He leads every engagement personally, and Storyline takes on a limited number of clients at a time so each one gets real attention.
”I’ve spent my entire career on one idea: story builds trust, trust builds influence, and influence builds lasting relationships. Whether I was serving in the Army, building Combat Flags from a garage, or directing digital strategy for a Fortune 500 brand, the mechanism was always the same. Storyline is that mechanism, built into an agency. I’m not a vendor selling hours. I’m a strategist who cares whether it works.”
Dan B., FounderThese aren’t slogans. They’re commitments we keep even when they cost us business.
We never sell a service we haven’t connected to a business outcome. If you ask for social media management but your real problem is messaging clarity, we’ll tell you, even if it means a smaller engagement.
We explain the reasoning behind every recommendation. You should understand your strategy well enough to challenge it. If you can’t, we haven’t done our job.
We build systems that get stronger over time, not one-off pushes that expire. Every piece of content, every update, and every touchpoint should add up to something larger.
We care whether it works. That means telling uncomfortable truths, pushing back on bad ideas (including our own), and measuring what matters instead of what’s easiest to report.
Like finally having a strategist in your corner, someone who knows your business and tells you the truth.
You’ll work directly with a strategist who has been in the room with Fortune 500 CMOs and in the back office with a founder trying to figure out Instagram. Both matter equally to us.
Storyline is a Davidson, NC marketing agency built for small business owners across Lake Norman and Charlotte, typically with 1 to 25 employees, who are good at what they do and ready to grow. You’ve outgrown DIY marketing. You know you need to do more, but you’re not sure what to prioritize, where to start, or who to trust.
If that sounds familiar, you’re exactly who we built this for.
In Davidson, NC. We work with small businesses across Lake Norman and the Charlotte area, including Cornelius, Huntersville, Mooresville, Kannapolis, and Denver, NC.
Storyline was founded by Dan B., a small business marketing strategist, U.S. Army veteran, founder of the e-commerce brand Combat Flags, and former senior digital strategist at Fortune 500 companies Sodexo and Trane Technologies.
Storyline works with small businesses, usually with 1 to 25 employees, that do great work but aren’t showing up online the way they should. Our clients are ready to stop guessing and start building a marketing system that lasts.
You work directly with Dan, who leads every engagement, so the person who understands your business is the person shaping your marketing. We take on a limited number of clients at a time so each one gets real attention.
Yes. Storyline covers brand positioning, website development, SEO and GEO, social media, email marketing, content strategy, and content creation, with Dan leading every engagement. Every service connects to one system.
Let’s start with a conversation about where you are and where you want to go.
© 2026 Storyline Digital Marketing
