Faith Driven Entrepreneur

In this episode of the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Podcast, Henry and Justin discuss a merger between Halftime and Faith Driven Movements alongside Halftime co-CEOs Jim Stollberg and Tom McGhee. The four highlight the power of partnerships and the importance of getting clear on one's unique calling. They also explore the roots of Halftime as a book and an organization where individuals reassess their lives and seek to live a life of significance. The merger aims to serve more people and help them discover their purpose and make a greater impact in the world.For more information on the merger visit https://faithdrivenmovements.org/halftime/ 

The conversation explores the themes of surrender and significance in the context of being a faith-driven entrepreneur. The hosts discuss the importance of surrendering personal ambition and aligning one's vocation with God's purpose. They also emphasize the need for community and the dangers of pursuing worldly definitions of success. The conversation also touches on the upcoming Faith Driven Entrepreneur Conference and the hope that attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding of the true significance found in surrendering to God's plan.Find more at https://faithdrivenentrepreneurconference.org/ 

In this episode, Jordan Raynor discusses his book 'Redeeming Your Time' and how entrepreneurs can uniquely struggle to manage their time. He emphasizes the importance of discerning the essential from the noise and finding peace in Christ before seeking productivity. Jordan also explores the concept of grace-based productivity and how Jesus can serve as a model for time management and shares some of the 32 practices from his book,Find the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Redeeming-Your-Time-Principles-Purposeful/dp/0593193075

In this masterclass-style episode of the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Podcast, we highlight three unique ways that community can shape the lives of entrepreneurs.Dude Perfect's Coby Cotton gives insight into how his tight-knit community of college friends has had to learn how to live as co-founders and leaders of one of the largest entertainment brands in the country.Mickey Peters shares how his lack of community nearly brought him to complete ruin and how finding community has helped him recover.And Scott Weiss talks about why the OCEAN Accelerator programs have always  emphasized the need for community amongst the entrepreneurs they serve.If you'd like to hear more about the Faith Driven Entrepreneur community groups, go to faithdrivenentrepreneur.org/groups.Coby Cotton's Full Episode: https://www.faithdrivenentrepreneur.org/podcast-inventory/episode-176-dude-perfect-the-worlds-most-trusted-source-of-entertainment-with-coby-cottonMickey Peter's Full Episode: https://www.faithdrivenentrepreneur.org/podcast-inve

Ricky Dickson, the retired CEO of Blue Bell Ice Cream, joins the Faith Driven Entrepreneur podcast to discuss his experience leading and scaling a national company through growth and incredible pitfalls. Using his new book, One Scoop at a Time, as a backdrop, Ricky shares how his 40+ year career at Blue Bell started right after college. He gives an overview of the ice cream market and how Blue Bell positioned itself as a high-quality, middle-ground option and talks about the importance of constant innovation and listening to customer feedback. He also discusses the challenges Blue Bell faced during the Listeria outbreak and how the company focused on safety and rebuilding trust. He emphasizes the value of consistency and staying true to the company's culture and values and shares how his faith has helped him find peace in the midst of challenges by relying on God and His guidance.Find more about Ricky in his new book: https://www.amazon.com/One-Scoop-Time-Stories-Lessons/

In this episode of the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Podcast, Dr. Bryan Loritts joins Joey Honescko and William Norvell to discuss the importance of deep, long-lasting friendships in the context of entrepreneurship. Pulling from his new book, Enduring Friendships: Sticking Together in an Age of Unfriending, Dr. Loritts emphasizes the need for what he calls “soul friends.” These are the people whom we can bear our souls with and who can provide guidance and support in our journeys. He also highlights the challenges that entrepreneurs face in maintaining lasting friendships, such as being productivity-driven and lacking time for people. He provides practical advice on finding and nurturing these enduring friendships, including putting oneself in the right environments and being intentional about prioritizing relationships. For more from Dr. Loritts, check out his new book: https://www.amazon.com/Enduring-Friendship-Sticking-Together-Unfriending/dp/1514008440

It’s our 300th episode!In this conversation Joey Honescko, Henry Kaestner, and Justin Forman celebrate the growth and evolution of the podcast and the entire Faith Driven Movement. They reflect on all that God has done over the past five years and dive deep into the importance of community for faith-driven entrepreneurs.The three wrestle with the challenges of finding reliable sources of community and reflect on their own entrepreneurial journeys and examine how God has used other entrepreneurs to form and shape them into the leaders He is calling them to be. They also share stories from entrepreneurs around the world who have seen the power of locking arms with other entrepreneurs. Learn more about groups here: https://www.faithdrivenentrepreneur.org/groups

One of the hardest realities in the life of every Faith Driven Entrepreneur is that things often don't go as planned. Unforeseen circumstances can cause all sorts of issues in a company, and sometimes those circumstances affect the people we employ. In this episode, we're going to look at layoffs. How can we think well about these difficult situations? And how can we love our people, even in the midst of these unfortunate, massive changes?  We'll highlight three perspectives starting with Vic Ho and Rusty Rueff, two leaders who have had to implement layoffs in their own careers. The third perspective comes from a round table discussion that William, Henry, and Rusty had with Daniel Fong, the CEO and founder, who made a choice not to lay off anybody in his company.  As we'll see in all these conversations, there's not a clear cut answer to these complex questions. Not everyone agrees and that's okay. We just want to present different viewpoints and encourage you to consult the Lord about how he might be callin

Why would a founder decide to never fire anyone?Dylan Wilk, CEO of Human Nature, joins the Faith Driven Entrepreneur podcast to share the story behind the company’s no firing policy and to explain why he believes grace and forgiveness are the greatest HR policies. He recounts a situation where an employee stole from the company and instead of firing him, Dylan chose to forgive and help him change. This experience led Dylan to establish a written no firing policy and build an ecosystem of support within the company that is rooted in the belief that God does not give up on us. Dylan emphasizes the importance of seeing the full person at work, understanding their struggles, and providing opportunities for growth and redemption.Learn more about Dylan’s story in this short documentary.

Imagine you’ve reached every expected height of success before you turned 25 and then God tells you to leave it behind. How would you respond?Dylan Wilk experienced incredible entrepreneurial highs at a young age. He flew to work in a helicopter, traveled by private jet, and kept Ferraris and Porches in his garage.And then, one day, a tragedy caused him to take a long look at his life. God called him to walk away from the business that had given him worldly success so that he could experience true grace, freedom, and love. His life was changed by a trip and eventual move to the Philippines where God has called him to extend the same grace, freedom, and love he has received to every employee, customer, and individual he encounters through his new business: Human Nature.Hear the story of radical transformation that took Dylan from Greed to Grace in this episode of the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Podcast: Stories of the Movement.

Entrepreneurs have the ability to create a workplace where people can flourish, but we have to act on that ability in order to make that happen. So in this masterclass-style episode, we're going to dive in a little deeper on this topic. The episode is organized in three parts, heart, head, and hands.Author Andy Crouch will kick us off by talking about the responsibility and opportunity entrepreneurs have to create good work and good rest for their employees. This section is all about heart change. Then, Patrick Lencioni is going to talk to our heads a little bit as he unpacks a practical tool called "the Working Genius" that enables us to know our employee's strengths so we can put them in positions to succeed. Lastly, we're going to dig into the details. As we hear from Mary Miller, an entrepreneur and the chairwoman of the board at John cower, a leading janitorial service company based in Cincinnati. Mary gives practical examples for how they drastically overhauled their company culture  to improve employee

Jared Orton is the President of the Savannah Bananas, a baseball team unlike any you’ve seen before. They create an entertainment experience that’s part dance performance, part trick plays, and part competitive baseball. Jared has experienced all the ups and downs that come from innovating in a space with a legacy. Since the organization’s founding in 2016, he and the team have had their share of doubters. But they’ve faithfully stayed true to their mission: to create something fun and joyful for every attendee. Over the years, they’ve grown from a small, regional team that struggled to sell tickets to a nationwide phenomenon playing in front of sold out crowds in major league stadiums across the country. He joins the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Podcast to talk about the value of innovation, fun, and excitement for businesses and for the world.

Culture can be a bit of a buzzword.What does it really mean for a company to have values and an identity?And how can leaders of those companies make sure those values don’t just become another page on the website or words on a wall in the office?In this episode of Stories of the Movement, we’ll hear about Booster, one of the largest school fundraising companies in the country.They’ve built a culture unlike any other in their team of nearly 1,000 employees. And Chris Carneal, the founder and CEO of the company, saw firsthand how essential Booster’s “virtues” became when they faced an unexpected and intense setback. Check out their story in this episode of Faith Driven Entrepreneur: Stories of the Movement. For more information about Faith Driven Entrepreneur and to sign up for our groups, check out our website at faithdrivenentrepreneur.org

In this episode, Joey Honescko, Henry Kaestner, and Justin Forman discuss the themes of battling idolatry and identity in entrepreneurship. They emphasize the importance of seeking the Holy Spirit and aligning one's identity with Christ, share personal experiences of wrestling with idolatry and the need for approval, and highlight the significance of meditating on God's Word, seeking counsel, and being aware of one's tendencies towards willfulness or waiting on God. Join in on this riff session by sending your thoughts to podcast@faithdrivenentrepreneur.org

The best way to fight against idolatry is to seek the voice of God.  So, what does that actually look like? In this episode, we're going to hear three perspectives from three incredible leaders around the world.  We'll head first to the UK to hear from priest and author, Nicky Gumbel for a chat he had with Henry about a framework he has for hearing the voice of God. Then, we'll make our way to the U S for another conversation with Kim Avery, business coach, and author of the prayer powered entrepreneur. And lastly, we'll stop in Taiwan to hear how pro basketball player, entrepreneur, and investor, Jeremy Lin keeps prayer at the center of his routine.

What do you get when you mix a trained physicist, a seminary grad, an entrepreneur, and a Silicon valley venture capitalist?  In the case of this episode, you get an awesome guest who somehow checks all  those boxes.   Phil Chen is the CEO of cold electric and the owner of the new Taipei Kings, a basketball team,  in the recently founded Taiwanese pro league. It also happens to be where past podcast, guests and faith driven entrepreneur, Jeremy Lin plays. Phil's career is wide reaching and impressive. But what's even more valuable is the way he has allowed his theology to shape how he leads and all these various places.   While we're going to premiere a feature video that tells Phil's story at this year's faith-driven entrepreneur conference. Today, he joins us to tell us a bit about his journey and share how rooting ourselves in scripture can help affirm our identities in Christ and empower us to pursue all that he calls us to.

Imagine you're a young entrepreneur with a lot of promise. You've got grit. You've got vision. You've even read zero to one. And recently you acquired some substantial wealth.  But there's still one problem.  You and your partner have had some pretty strong disagreements and it's time to part ways. For the most part, you've done all the hard work. You've carried this partner on your back at different points. So when it comes time to split the assets, The choice seems obvious: you keep the better half; they keep the lesser. But instead you offer a surprising alternative.  You let them make the choice. You lay down your preferences for the sake of someone else.  If this sounds insane and impractical, just wait until you hear the rest of this episode. Hear how the biblical story of Abraham and Lot inspired Sam Rhee to step aside from the role of his dreams for the sake of a colleague and how God used that sacrifice to pave a path for victory.Find the whole video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6A2LFYdC3cL

In this edition of the “riff,” Patrick Lencioni joins Henry Kaestner for a short conversation about some of the hidden idols of entrepreneurship.Then, Joey, Justin, and Henry dive further in, examining how we easily turn good things into gods. Justin and Henry share how they have learned to fight against the temptation of “safe” idols by practicing disciplines of confession, community, and prayer. Want to join in on the riff? Send your thoughts to podcast@faithdrivenentrepreneur.org or comment on our LinkedIn. We’d love to hear from you.

“For every church we plant, we need to start a business.” - Mark BattersonCan Faith Driven Entrepreneurs really partner with their churches? What would that partnership even look like?In last week’s episode, we talked about the need for partnerships between entrepreneurs and pastors. In this episode, we highlight the voices of three pastors–Mark Batterson, Chip Ingram, and John Mark Comer–who have seen the power of working alongside entrepreneurs for the good of their communities.We believe the church and entrepreneurs can do more together because they’re better together. Hear how these pastors are partnering with entrepreneurs.Last Week’s Episode: https://www.faithdrivenentrepreneur.org/podcast-inventory/episode-287-whats-stopping-entrepreneurs-from-partnering-with-the-church-with-barna-groups-david-kinnamanChip Ingram Full Episode: https://www.faithdrivenentrepreneur.org/podcast-inventory/episode-167-what-it-takes-to-change-with-chip-ingramJohn Mark Comer Full Episode: https://www.faithdrivenentrepreneur.or

Entrepreneur: what is your relationship like with your church?(We really want to know!)Church leaders and entrepreneurs have the potential to be radical partners who influence and impact communities for the glory of God together.But often, we find a strange divide between these two groups that interferes with the good work they could be doing together.That’s why in this week’s podcast episode Justin Forman and Barna Group’s David Kinnaman will be talking about ways the church can become better partners. They’ll also talk about an exciting research project underway between these two organizations.This is part of a new segment we call the “riff” where we invite listeners into the ideas and conversations we’re having, so please leave your thoughts in the comments or send them to podcast@faithdrivenentrepreneur.org.