Faith Driven Entrepreneur

In part two from the Alpine Inn, Henry, Rusty, and William field more questions from our guests but first give some background on Inklings, the gathering of faith driven entrepreneurs in the Bay Area who meet regularly in the same vain of the original Inklings gathering of faith driven thinkers C.S. Lewis, J.R.R Tolkien, Dorothy Sayer and others. The team moves on to walk an entrepreneur who is struggling to find his place in the local church through why the institutional church is a necessary part of community, with some ideas as to how his entrepreneurial talents could even serve the local church. The team shares a bit on how diversity of walks and experiences within the church is actually the key to its success because it creates a place from which collective wisdom can be shared. Another entrepreneur, currently a student, asked about what great books the team were reading and we found out Henry is more of a people guy while William and Rusty had to confess to maybe over doing it in the book buying departm

In this week’s episode, we take the show on the road. In the first live broadcast, Faith Driven Entrepreneur sets up at the Alpine Inn in Portola Valley, California. This Q&A took place before our Inklings gathering of faith driven entrepreneurs. We tackle questions about how to honor family and loved ones with prescene, our individual learnings from our own entrepreneurial journeys and how the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) can follow you anywhere. Tune in as we answer these questions and more from entrepreneurs in the Bay Area!

This is a special episode for us. One, we think, definitely worth hearing. Why? Well there are few things more important in our lives than effective story telling. There are few better people (maybe no one??) that do a better job at helping people tell their stories than Nancy Duarte from Duarte Design. They help CEOs of Fortune 100 companies tell their stories, and maybe something more impressive: they are the “go-to” firm to help TED presenters tell their stories well. As you might imagine, they’ve got a great story, one based in their faith and firmly rooted in Scripture. We think you’ll like it and that it will be a blessing for you. Also, we did something a bit different this time through. William and I (Rusty was on the East Coast) took the podcast on the road to the offices at Duarte Design.

God needs our success and our money to do his work on earth, right? What is the most important question for us to answer: How to give, where to give, why to give? How do we define "net worth"? There may not be a more important topic for a Faith Driven Entrepreneur to tackle, than how to think about generosity. We worship a generous God who has given to us generously, and we, as do all Christ followers, have an opportunity to respond. How should we do it as entrepreneurs? How do we think about ownership? How do we think about giving? How do we think about God? In this episode I share my "born again-again" story. If my depiction of how God worked through my life as I struggled with how to think about 90/10...80/20...0/100. We talk about finding a finish line, and we each share a bit of our own stories and those that have been an inspiration to us. You'll note that I refer to the Alan Barnhart story which has made such an impression in my life. You can find the short version of h

In this episode, Henry, William, and Rusty explore the topic of expressing gratitude in the workplace. They discuss how we can be more intentional with showing our thanks and appreciation to others as leaders. A starting point for this outpouring is finding a way to be grateful ourselves. When we do this, it resets our perspective and causes us to be grateful for others, their work, and their contribution. Time and time again, employee surveys would show that they feel unrecognized, and unappreciated. This need to be changed as leaders should continually be thinking of creative ways to express gratitude in the workplace. Tune in this week to hear some normal and abnormal ways to do this (including an appearance by mass quantities of rubber chickens). As Christ followers, we should have an unfair advantage because Christ is our model, and his gratitude extended into death on the cross. Join us to hear more thoughts and as always, please send us yours!

In part two with Vic Ho of Fivestars, Vic expands his thinking with regards to how faith and work come together in his life. We discuss Vic's observance of the Sabbath and how it transformed his personal and professional life.  How he changed from a constant worrier to a man of peace that knows God has Fivestars' destiny in His hands - the successes and the failures.  Then, stay tuned as Vic describes how he thinks Gideon is the best biblical story concerning customer acquisition (worth the price of admission alone here!).  Vic's personal journey reminds us that God’s yoke is easy and his burden is light.  Additionally, he needs nothing from us but surrender of all things, including our work! Join us to hear the rest of Vic's story, I am highly confident you will be challenged and encouraged. 

This week we are honored to sit down with the man, the myth, the legend, Vic Ho, Co-founder and CEO of Fivestars.  Vic is a long-time friend of both Henry and William, so it's true joy to have him on the program. What's the lifeblood of a business?  We would argue that customers are on the top of this list.  Well, that's what Vic focuses on day in and day out.  Customer acquisition and customer retention.   What else is on the top of that list?  Finding unique ways to integrate God on the journey.  Vic covers more of this in Part 2 coming out next week, so stay tuned. Vic worked at Goldman Sachs and McKinsey prior to starting Fivestars, and it was there that he discovered the value of customers.  He worked on building customer loyalty programs and then a landmark study came out showing it was six times more expensive to get a new customer than it was to hold onto a current one.  From there, Fivestars was born, an innovative software platform that helps small businesses (currently over 13,000 of them) retain t

In this week’s episode, one of our listeners, Marty, asked "how do you discern your calling".  This is an incredibly light and easy to answer question that barely impacts an entrepreneur's journey, so this will be short.  Of course I'm kidding, this is something we have all asked ourselves, and is something that is incredibly difficult to navigate alone ... so we had to phone a friend.  We are super super lucky to have Dave Blanchard from Praxis join us on the podcast to help our listeners think through this issue. Dave and cofounder Josh Kwan started Praxis, which is a business accelerator with an aim to advance redemptive entrepreneurship.  Currently in its seventh year, Praxis is designed to help entrepreneurs build a community, create mentorship, and provide discernment for building ventures.   And wow, they are GOOD at it!  Dave and Josh have been an incredibly blessing to us personally and to the broader faith and work movement. The accelerator has helped 150 entrepreneurs from 150 different c

In the week’s episode, Henry, Rusty, and William discuss how we can love on our team members through performance reviews.  As entrepreneurs, it’s highly likely that you are overseeing a team.  As Christ followers, how do we display Christ in the performance review? To set the stage, our resident HR expert, Rusty, advises that performance reviews are designed to help people to become better.  With this motivation in mind, it’s important to not look backwards, but to look forward.  The manager should set goals with the employee. Do not wait six months or twelve months to give feedback.  It’s important to give continuous feedback to team members.  Like a coach leading an athlete, continuous feedback is superior to just periodic encounters.   Henry observed that different people seem to have different needs in this area.  Some crave feedback, while some do not crave it all that much. According to Rusty, we should remember that one size fits one, not one size fits all.  To display Christ during this process, Rusty

In this week’s episode, we have a SPECIAL GUEST!  Missy Wallace, Executive Director at the Nashville Institute for Faith & Work (NIFW) joins us and gives us her insights into the convergence of faith and work.  She tells us a bit about her own journey, how she developed her theology of faith and work, the founding of NIFW and how she is equipping entrepreneurs today.  One unique takeaway is that Missy noticed how in Genesis, we see that God basically brought structure from chaos.  Similarly, Missy observed that in the marketplace entrepreneurs' job is also to bring structure from chaos.   Throughout the interview, Missy will tell us of stories of various entrepreneurs who have been part of NIFW's entrepreneur support group and how they have grappled with the ups and downs of their chosen career path.  These stories range from an entrepreneur coming into a 7-figure event being scared of wealth, to an entrepreneur wrestling with a bankruptcy, to a woman who knew she was called to elderly healthcare from the

In this episode, Henry, Rusty, and William tackle questions from our valued listeners.  Marty asks, "how do we keep a Christ-centered attitude while growing a business?"  For Henry, It’s about identity. It’s almost impossible when the goal is solely financial success.  We should seek God first. If there’s frustration at work, it’s an opportunity to pray to God.  Rusty brings a tactical point of view, and recommends starting the day prepared.  Spending time with God is top priority.  We should boot up with God first in order to avoid crashes, or at least minimize them.  William reminds us that we can’t forget our first vocation; we are beloved children of God.   Our friend, Mike, asks "As a founder, how do i shift work responsibilities over to new employees as I get overwhelmed and simply can't do it all anymore?"  For Rusty, it goes back to trust.  His litmus test for delegating work is to 1) assess if he himself is good at it; 2) is it routine? and 3)  does he like to do it?  If so, he wi

In this week's episode, we discuss how we should view the “40-hour work week” in relation to our faith, family, and overall balance of life?  When we unwrap this topic, it touches on issues of prioritization, and leadership. As entrepreneurs, we are wired to work, and work a lot.  It’s almost romantic to admit that we work 50-70 hours per week (or much much more :).  But at what cost? We must recall that there are at least two groups of people whom we affect with how much we work: family/spouse, and employees/teammates. From the employee’s perspective, they see what we do.  We are modeling to them all the time. If they see us working long, ridiculous hours they will feel compelled to do same.  If we send emails at 2am, they will think they need to be ready to respond at 2:01am.  Remember, the shadow of a leader is large. The second group of people that we impact with how much we work is of course our loved ones.  Rusty shares with us a personal experience during his early career. In 1998, he and his wife move

n this episode, Henry, Rusty, and William tackle the very difficult issue of when a coworker or a colleague feels that he or she has been wronged. One of our listeners from Northern California asked the question, “How do I deal with burned relationships with former founders, employees, or colleagues, who are also Christians?” As Faith Driven Entrepreneurs, we of course all try to keep Christ and scripture at the center of our work. When conflict arises, what framework can we look at to help us process conflict and reach a Godly resolution? William suggests a three part framework in this area: forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration. It should be noted that forgiveness only takes one person, while it takes two to reconcile. Lastly, it takes maturity to restore the relationship after tough trials, and this is a step often forgotten. Rusty offers that it is best to address the conflict quickly while Henry suggests that we have to check our motives and make sure our actions give God glory. What happens th

Whether it is in personal relationships, marriage, or business, being equally yoked with other Christ followers is no doubt highly advantageous. In 2 Corinthians 6:14, the Apostle Paul said, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” While this passage historically is Paul’s warning against idolatry (as verses 7-18 seem to support), this scripture highlights the question of what are we to do in business relationships when it comes to working with those who may not be Christ followers. In this episode, Henry, Rusty, and William provide their experience and viewpoints on the issue. Henry starts off by providing the evolution in his own thinking about the subject matter. Initially, Henry was focused on hiring or partnering the most qualified and best person for the job regardless of the person’s faith. Over time, he began to see that going through the hills and valleys of business, the person whom you ar

In this episode, Henry, Rusty, and William discuss the issue of calling. Many of us have heard God calling us to a particular purpose. Romans 8:28 says “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” To fulfill God’s purpose, we may be individually called to contribute through our lives and work. In the work context, Rusty reminds us that you can be a Faith Driven Entrepreneur in any sector, whether it is in private, public, or the ministerial space. We look for God for drive and direction. How do we know that we are being called? What does it mean to have a calling? Citing Pastor Tim Keller, William gives us a framework, which consists of three elements: Affinity - what are you naturally drawn to Ability - strengths and weaknesses Opportunity - what’s needed of me We all have an affinity towards something, whether it is a particular type of work, or industry. Of course, it is not enough to be attracted to a type of work, we

A pastor is in a unique position to influence his leaders who are in the marketplace in many different ways, and this week we turn out attention to how a pastor might support entrepreneurship within his congregation. This week, Henry, and William interview special guest, Pastor Andy Wood of Echo Church, about his journey in ministry and the world of entrepreneurship. Andy is lead pastor of Echo Church located in San Jose, California, just south of San Francisco. Early on, he was influenced by his father who was a business owner. He recalled watching his father going through the “highs” and the “lows” of running a business. He saw that back in those days there was really no place for an entrepreneur in the Church for someone like his father. That is, the pastors he knew did not know how to empower local faith centered entrepreneurs. Today, Andy's vision with his ministry is to partner with entrepreneurs because he believes that business has the ability to transform culture and entrepreneurs will have a lea

As Christians, we are all called to make disciples based on the Great Commission. How does that apply at work? In the workplace, how do we live out our faith honorably without perhaps overstepping the professional line? In this episode, Henry, Rusty, and William tackle the question should we even evangelize at work in the first place? When it comes to expressing our faith at the workplace, it’s important to discern and hear God’s voice. Our vertical relationship with God affects the horizontal one with our fellow teammates. Henry also reminds us that we would do well to be mindful of whether we are being willful or faithful. There are several ways that evangelism at work could take place. In an organization, the first thing it can do to evangelize is to express its values and principles explicitly. A company should be clear on “why do we what we do?” Even by simply stating them, a leader in an organization can communicate at the outset what the company is about. Sometimes, a company’s evangelistic fervo

In a competitive marketplace, a company’s benefits package is an announcement of its values and mission. We don’t really have look any further than the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do to you. In scripture we are told “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 12:31) Jesus here compared loving one’s neighbor as loving the “self.” Clearly, God knows that we love ourselves. The charge here is to love others with that same love. Generally speaking, the best benefit that a company can provide to any employee is rewarding them with meaningful work. (Eph. 4:28) When work is missional the employee and employer both benefit synergistically. In order to compete, an employer can love on its employee by providing “at-market” benefits or even “above-market” benefits. Benefits such as medical coverage, dental, vision, 401K, bonuses, stock options, and other incentives are fairly standard. Providing an employee with at market or above market benefits serves several purposes: 1) it is an opportunity

Today's Podcast tackles the question of how to think about competition. We know that we want to run the race as if to win it. (1 Corinthians 9:24). But how do we win? What is our heart posture? Do we win at all costs? What are our motives as we compete in the race. We talk about Competition in industries like telecom, where competitors can also be customers. Rusty talks about his time at PepsiCo and how Roger Enrico thought of the new entry of Eagle Snacks from Anheuser Busch. We talk a bit about patent trolling too. We even talk a little bit about what it looks to compete for a job internally. We get at the concept of Abundance versus Scarcity. I think it might be helpful to think about the fact that there are 3 levels of motives and that the ordering is important: Focus on serving our customers. Get the very best out of ourselves. Bring all that we have to work as our meaningful form of worship. Understand what the competition is doing. We don't operate in a vacuum and we need to be wise as a

Entertainment is something that most entrepreneurs will be a part of, whether that is recruiting team members, hosting corporate events, trying to raise money or creating unique opportunities for your team to bond. In this episode, we talk about how we think about entertaining while maintaining a sincere heart towards holiness. While there are some black and white rules from scripture that we need to follow, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit" Ephesians 5:18 we are more likely to encounter gray areas where we need wisdom from others. Paul lays out such an example in I Corinthians 8:1-13. In this passage he mentions that while food sacrificed to idols is of no significance to God, it can be a stumbling block for others, so you should avoid in certain situations. "But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak." - 1 Corinthians 8:9 This can be a slippery slope that is best worked out in clo