Sounds Like Cool Studios

The story
has the
answers.

Story intelligence for organizations and businesses that are ready to build what lasts.

See How We Work Together About Gwendolyn
$670K+ Raised through story-led campaigns
100+ Community stories shaped
17.2M+ Media reach
Botanical garden conservatory with lush tropical plants and glass dome

"She has this way of sharing your voice that is not only deeply healing to personally see in written form but that also gets your message out in a way that always sounds deeply authentic."

Emily Moon · CEO, MoonRising
The philosophy

Want to know what direction to take your work?
Trace through what got you here.

In that story — your story, your people's stories, your community's story — you'll find the threads of what has always mattered. And that's the moment we know what everything else must be built from.

Read the full philosophy
What we build together

Story is the brief.
Everything else follows.

01
The Listening

A 75–90 minute recorded conversation that goes beneath the surface. Holding space for the real story — the one underneath the one you think you're telling. The moment where truth becomes visible is the moment everything else can be built from.

02
The Thread

Every person carries a thread that connects their story to everyone else's. Finding that thread — what it reveals about your organization, your brand, your people — and naming it clearly is the foundation of everything that comes next.

03
The Assets

Essays, short-form stories, pull quote graphics, social content, email features, video scripts, editorial photography direction. The full range of content your organization needs — produced from the story we found together, not manufactured from thin air.

04
The Architecture

Over time, the individual stories connect. Patterns emerge. Themes surface. A Cross-Story Synthesis, a Narrative Framework, a Culture Document — the strategic layer that makes story a durable organizational asset, not a one-time campaign.

The work in the world

Story, done right,
moves things.

$500M Jocelyn's Corner · Housing Policy

Jocelyn had never told anyone at work about her ten years of housing instability. She trusted Gwendolyn with the story she'd kept hidden. That story — told right — changed California law.

$200K raised in two weeks. SB1079 funded to the tune of half a billion dollars over five years. One 90-minute interview. One three-minute video. One story that was ready to be told.

17.2M+ Seasons of Strength · Community

After an EF-4 tornado tore through Newnan, Georgia, Gwendolyn waited until the cameras left. Then she went in — and found a story about community that had been building for decades.

100+ recorded voices. 50+ team members. $38K in funding secured. A performance the Mayor of Newnan proclaimed a weekend for. Coverage across Fox 5, 11Alive, NPR, and Rough Draft Atlanta.

TED+ Rootstock · Thought Leadership

The Kernel of Truth process — two hours of deep listening with entrepreneurs, C-suite leaders, and political figures — surfaces the driving force behind their work that they didn't know how to name.

Clients have gone on to give TED Talks, build aligned businesses, and create thought leadership platforms from the clarity that one session produced. The story was always there. It just needed to be found.

What people say

She has an incredible ability to uncover the true core of your message and weave it into absolute gold. After every single meeting with her, I felt more seen, more elevated, and more clear on exactly what magic I am here to spread.

Krystal Thompson
Krystal ThompsonCEO, The Aura Lab

You made what I went through in 30 years have a purpose. Then you helped show me how all of those things have shaped my business and why I'm such a good coach. Why I'm meant to be a leader. Why my voice matters.

Alex Marie
Alex MarieCEO, Grace Alexander

Her work led us to surpass a $100,000 launch in just five weeks, and an over a quarter-of-a-million-dollar year. Her first month with us was the same month we went from 10–20K months to 20–45K months.

Emily Moon
Emily MoonCEO, MoonRising LLC
Gwendolyn Kuhlmann, Story Intelligence Strategist
The person behind the work

Gwendolyn Kuhlmann

Classically trained opera singer. Civic storyteller. Founder of Seasons of Strength — a community oral history project that grew to 100+ voices and 17.2 million in media reach. She built Sounds Like Cool Studios because she kept seeing the same thing: organizations and businesses sitting on stories that could change everything, with no idea what they had.

Read Gwendolyn's full story
Ready to begin

The story is already
there.

It's in the way your organization came to be. In the people who built it. In the moment a community member trusted you with something they'd never said out loud before. The question is whether it's working for you.

See How We Work Together →
Start here

The Brand Story Assessment

A conversation about how you feel about talking about your brand — and whether your story is actually landing. We'll look at your social presence together and assess where you think you've been telling your story, and what's really coming across.

Free of charge.

Book Your Assessment See All Offers First