The Real Story Behind Stoked: Bringing Humanity Back to Buying
What if the most persuasive salesperson for your brand isn’t on your payroll, because they already bought?
I’ve always been a considerate buyer, especially for more expensive products or something that is part of a change I want to make in my life. I research for hours, compare specs, read “verified” reviews, and still feel stuck. Can you relate?
Static testimonials feel staged. Influencer videos feel paid. I want a real human who owns the thing to tell me**, “Here’s what I love, here’s what I’d watch out for, ask me anything.”** That person rarely shows up.
For example, I once wanted to build a deck or an outdoor entertaining space in my backyard. I talked to contractors who offered full-service builds, and to companies that shipped DIY kits with glossy photos and promise-filled copy. Each option had its pros and cons, and the more I researched, the more paralyzed I felt. What I really needed was to walk into someone’s backyard who’d actually done it to see it, feel it, and hear what they’d do differently. That kind of real-world connection would have turned uncertainty into confidence.
Then a cargo-bike company reached out to us after losing the community platform they relied on. The previous service they’d used had unreliable communication, irrelevant features, and no way to connect buyers and owners in real time. They wanted to rebuild something similar in-house, but realized it would take too much time and effort away from their core mission. Instead, they came to Stoked. We built a simple, human-centered replacement that let prospective buyers talk directly to real owners before purchasing. It worked. People moved from hesitant to confident because they could speak with someone like them — no scripts, no shill, just lived experience.
In that moment the penny dropped: this wasn’t a one‑off tool; ** ** it was the missing layer between community and commerce.
We started Stoked to make buying more human and more honest. Our mission is to help premium brands connect the customers who already love their products with those still deciding, turning genuine advocacy into a powerful advantage.
Prospects can have a real conversation with a real customer, ask honest questions, schedule a meetup, and make decisions with confidence. Advocates feel more connected to their purchase because they are helping others make a choice that is more aligned with their own. And customers are more likely to purchase because they already feel part of the brand story before they buy. Brands stop projecting a feeling and start inviting people into it. The result is fewer regrets, fewer returns, and customers who feel like they truly belong.
It’s not about Stoked being the hero, or even your brand. It’s about your customers, the ones who truly love what you’ve built, sharing their real stories so others can buy with confidence.
Why now? Because AI can generate a thousand “reviews” before breakfast. Trust is scarce; humans aren’t. The next decade belongs to companies that prove they’re real by putting real people in the loop.
Why us? Between us, we’ve sat in all three seats: prospect, advocate, and brand owner. We’ve built and shipped software, run communities, and felt the frustration of “good marketing” that still doesn’t feel true. Our compass is simple: use technology to help people help each other.
We’re building Stoked for the brands we wish existed when we were buying: brave, founder‑led, community‑minded companies who’d rather earn trust than rent it. If that’s you or if you’re a customer who loves something enough to talk about it, let’s make buying feel human again.
— Ricky Chilcott, Co‑founder, Stoked
