What’s the Story?
IN THIS CASE, THE STORY HAS FOUR PAWS
Story was our founder Lizzie’s first dog, a beagle mix who always had a lot to say. The best companion in sniffing out new trails and countless adventures.
Story knew exactly what she liked, knew how to appreciate the finest things in life, and wasn’t afraid to tell you all about it.
She’s the inspiration for Story Sales & Consulting’s mission: helping great brands enthusiastically share the products they’re passionate about.
Our story
We go way back — and we know the path ahead
We grew up in the same small northern Michigan town surrounded by water and beautiful views on every side. It wasn't until a summer job at Carey's Shoes, a downtown Charlevoix institution with over a century behind it, that we actually got to know each other.
That summer was equal parts shoes and Madonna. We fitted customers, restocked shelves, and sang along to the same songs on repeat, while a lasting friendship took root. We were roommates in our first year of college — business school for Lizzie, art school for Laura — and after that we kept the connection alive with quick trips crisscrossing the state.
Since then, we've lived on opposite coasts and built entirely different careers. That hasn't put distance between us. We've stayed each other's honest sounding board through every stage of life, with shoes, dogs, and outdoor adventure the constants along the way.
That honesty carries over into working together. We get to the heart of the matter fast, and between us, we've sat on both sides of the table, brand and retail. This means our strategies account for how the whole deal actually works.
Now we’re putting that to work for the brands and retailers we partner with: strategy and marketing from two people with deep roots across industries, who don’t sugarcoat the best solutions for each other — or for you.
Our team
Sales & marketing support from a small team with a big network.
We have a broad bench of trusted partners so we can scale our team accordingly, pulling in the right expertise to keep things moving without sacrificing our high-touch, relationship-driven approach.
Lizzie Peterson
With 18+ years in the outdoor industry, Lizzie has a perspective that's hard to come by in sales and business development: she's been on both sides of the table.
Her career began in retail, where she worked as a buyer, including with a chain of more than 600 stores, before moving to the brand side. She spent 11 years at Keen Footwear, working with major accounts like Dick's Sporting Goods, REI, and Zappos, including six years managing the Bass Pro Shops account.
Along the way, she's helped develop brand strategies for entering the U.S. wholesale market, figuring out how to take a brand's vision and turn it into a strategy that resonates with retailers.
Away from work, you can find Lizzie hosting mah jong games, showing her rescue golden, Ruby, what the good life entails, and convincing friends and strangers alike to love the things she loves with her infectious enthusiasm.
Laura Horon
Laura offers the power of a boutique agency paired with an easy, friendly manner, making it surprisingly painless to get from “we have an idea” to “this is exactly right”.
With two decades managing everything from quick-turn assets to omnichannel campaigns, she knows how to make the pieces work together and get out the door without a pixel out of place. From the screen to the retail floor, she makes sure every touchpoint feels authentic and helps move the brand forward.
She's particularly good at managing the messy jumble of ideas at the beginning of a project and turning it into something useful: a retailer-ready presentation, a cohesive campaign, or a system that scales.
Her home has hosted dozens of foster dogs and cats, a pack of rescue Great Danes, and currently, a chatty cat named Darkness oversees Laura and her wife on their frequent cross-country RV trips.
