entrepreneurs - more than an undertaking

8/8/2019 Entrepreneurs - More Than an Undertaking

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While in the Harvard Business School program

six years ago, several classmates read my bio

in a class packet and sought me out: Talk

to us about this, they said. How is it that

youve run a successul company or many years and have a

masters degree in theology? We dont see the connection.

I couldnt blame my colleagues or not seeing a relationship

between aith and business. I, too, had many times struggled

to ind connections between what I was hearing rom the

pulpit on Sunday and my work as a business person.

Religious leaders speak inadequately about business, writes

proessor Richard J. Goossen o

Trinity Western University, more

so than almost anything else they

preach on. Their proessional

vocabulary, or the most part, so

misses the point that it is painulto listen to them. The alarming

state o the churchs ability to be a

relevant orce inluencing business

can be summed up in a simple

observation: we already see many

signs o Christian businesspeople

rom every denomination

rejecting religion, and religion overwhelmingly rejecting

businesspeople.

In the book, Church on Sunday, Work on Monday, Dr. Laura

Nash o Harvard Business School and Scotty McLennan,

dean o religious lie at Stanord University, suggest that

business is not as simple as religious leaders tend to think

it is. Capitalism is requently reduced to a monolithic

concept labeled as The Market, that inevitably exploits all

participants except the most powerul. In my own experience,

misconceptions about the marketplace create hurtul

and inaccurate stereotypes that portray even Christian

businesspeople as uncaring, unthinking, exploitative, and

unengaged. What is needed is a richer and more accurate

view o business one comprising numerous relati

and actions, ull o nuances and complexities.

This is not to say that the business world is beyond crit

or the events leading up to the current economic crisis

underscore the need or serious refection and correcti

among those o us in business. Indeed, many companiebusiness schools are vigorously discussing these ailings

some political reorms and restrictions on business pra

have already been implemented. The act remains, how

that all too oten, the business world does not look to s

biblical principles to inorm business practices. In truth

Christian businesspeople have ound it easier to go alo

the status quo in their orga

and not rock the boat with

own set o ethical principle

complicate matters, the Ch

businesspersons set o valu

be ounded on the latest pobook instead o Biblical wis

part because they have not

made a connection betwee

aith and their work.

While I serve in various ro

at PLNU connecting busin

economics, and students as the executive director o th

Fermanian and Business Economic Institute (FBEI), I

an entrepreneur, perhaps one o the most misundersto

o businessperson. I did not necessarily seek the entrep

path; my undergraduate education is in communicatio

once thought I would become an educator. Instead, I d

the research shows holds true or most entrepreneurs

upon my career almost entirely by accident. Since join

PLNU in the all o 2005, much o my academic resea

personal writings have sought connections between the

and the entrepreneur. And what I have observed is a tr

opportunity or connections, but what I have experienc

signicant misunderstanding and mischaracterization.

EtEpEEu:uEtk MEth BuE

we already see many signsof Crisian bsinesseole

from eery denominaionrejecing religion, and religion

oerwelmingly rejecing

bsinesseole.


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E thE EtEpEEuPerhaps part o the misunderstanding stems rom the lack o

clarity around what an entrepreneur really is. The dominant

media images o entrepreneurs are visionary inventors such as

Bill Gates or Steve Jobs who start transormational businesses

in a garage and ultimately achieve staggering riches, power,

and infuence. This no more accurately represents the realities

o entrepreneurship than do televangelists represent the rural

pastor o a small congregation or the U.S. presidency compare

to the local civil servant. In the eld o entrepreneurship, this

mistaken typology is called the entrepreneurial myth.

In sharp contrast, 17th century European economist, Richard

Cantillon, oered the French term entrepreneur meaning one

who undertakes. Considered the rst denition o the term,

it distinguished the undertaker rom landowners and hired

labor because the undertakers had to adjust to risks and live

with uncertainty. There was no distinction in class or status orthe entrepreneur, but simply the recognition that a third actor

was emerging between the arm worker and landowner, one

who sought additional opportunity,

reedom, and fexibility.

With no direct translation or the

French word, it was very early

rendered in English as master,

speculator, and projector all

inadequate to convey Cantillons

work. This inaccurate representation

likely contributed to theentrepreneurial myth and grew out o

the publicity and attention given to a

small number o entrepreneurs who

achieved great success. Throughout

the rise o the industrial revolution and beyond, headline-

grabbing inventors, nanciers, and capitalists who achieved

incredible success while taking great risks became the archetype

or the entrepreneur. Ironically, while the specic motivations

that drive entrepreneurs are complex, success is not typically the

entrepreneurs driving motivation.

Proessor Scott Shane o Case-Western University has wr

that The real reason most people start businesses, howe

nothing to do with wanting to make money, to become

to better their own communities, to seek adventure, or ev

improve the world. Most people start businesses

simply because they just dont like working or someone

else. While Shanes research is insightul, it has a comm

limitation: rst, it does not ully appreciate the moveme

o contemporary entrepreneurship ar beyond the traditi

boundaries o or-prot business ventures, and second, th

impact and infuence o personal religious aith upon th

entrepreneurial processes.

The Kaumann Foundation, a highly infuential voice a

research group in entrepreneurship, released in 2008 a

comprehensive study that described entrepreneurship asprocess o undamental transormation: rom innovative

enterprise and rom enterprise to value As a distinct m

thought and action, it deriv

business but can operate in

realm o human endeavor.

Research and experience sh

that embedded in most Ch

entrepreneurs are strong m

communal, and aith-driven

principles which make them

natural allies or congregatiseeking new insights and so

When we consider the Kau

denition, we begin to see h

the entrepreneurial persona

might be helpul in three areas where the church is curr

engaged: critiquing the dominant culture, serving the po

doing justice, and building relationships with people and

outside the church.

embedded in mos Crisian

enrereners are srong

missional, commnal, and

fai-drien rinciles wic

mae em naral allies for

congregaions seeing newinsigs and solions


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Ctqu thE MtCutuE

Artists, poets, and activists are some o the strongest voices

calling or renewal in the Christian community. These voices

are requently at the oreront o re-imagining the church, or

they speak out against the dominant cultures infuence on the

church. In many cases, however, these artists, poets, and activists

appear to be overly academic, radicalized, or impractical, using

language and imagery that draws rom sources unamiliar to

the typical churchgoer, rendering their

valuable message irrelevant.

Yet, to the ears and minds o the

entrepreneur, some o this activist

language resonates deeply. Why?

Because the entrepreneur is, in many

ways, the voice o renewal withinthe business community, constantly

challenging the dominant culture o

business and propelling it orward

through innovation, fexibility, and

a dynamic nature. The entrepreneur

waits rom the ringes, impatient

and desiring to engage in ways o doing business that are not

yet imagined. This is not a reckless personality but rather an

observing character. And rom this observation come new

products, rms, and services. These entrepreneurs are people

sitting in our local pews each Sunday. They are the oten

overlooked small business people the armer, restaurant

owner, nancial proessional, building contractor who must

go beyond the poetic imagery portrayed in the pulpit and

ace the realities o meeting their payroll in the coming week,

dealing with an emerging competitor, or resolving disputes

among employees.

In light o the current economic crisis, renewal and chan

on many peoples minds. It appears that a proound econ

reset o some sort is underway, its exact scope and impnot yet ully dened. A signicant number o us are mak

economic and liestyle choices that are turning away rom

excessive consumerism o recent decades. Economic rea

collided with our own personal lives.

Entrepreneurship has the p

to respond and then transo

society. It is, in act, the pri

driver o economic activity

U.S. and worldwide, ar mo

eective than governmenta

or corporate expansion. Ne70 percent o U.S. econom

growth can be attributed to

entrepreneurial activity. Ov

past 20 years, two-thirds o

within industrialized count

be attributed to entreprene

Conversations between church leadership and entrepren

would be groundbreaking, or there are ew others with t

kind o practical experience and appreciation or the val

o time, talent, and treasure as the entrepreneur. The

typical entrepreneur exists largely without the governme

protections that generally avor publicly held corporation

public employee unions, and other organized groups. Th

no bailouts or the small business or aspiring entreprene

the entrepreneur compensates or this lack o ormalized

by being dynamic, imaginative, and fexible, thereby sha

numerous characteristics with the artist and the activist.

too, can envision new possibilities and are uniquely posi

to act on them.

early 70 ercen of u..

economic grow can be

aribed o enrerenerial

aciiy. er e as 20 years,

wo-irds of all jobs wiin

indsrialized conries can be

aribed o enrerenersi.


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The past decade o entrepreneurial research has done

well in chronicling the rise o social entrepreneurship and

micronance, both o which contribute to global economic

justice. While social entrepreneurship and micronance arenot a distinctly Christian notion, there is certainly a ripe

opportunity or the church to support and nurture the

entrepreneurs who stand to align their goals o justice and

mercy with those o the church.

Social entrepreneurs look at the intractable problems acing

society and eel great rustration at the lack o progress towards

solving them. Bill Drayton, widely regarded as the ounder

o the modern social entrepreneur movement, has written,

The core psychology o a social entrepreneur is someone

who cannot come to rest, in a very deep sense, until he or she

has changed the pattern in an area o social concern all across

society. Famine, clean water, housing, education, and the

administration o justice are just a ew example areas o great

importance to these contemporary entrepreneurs.

Mike Mellace, ounder o Mama Mellaces, is in the snack

business nuts to be exact. His products can be ound in

retail stores throughout the U.S. Mellace has been a riend

to the Fermanian School o Business and FBEI or several

years, and his company employs several PLNU alumni.

manuacturing plant in Carlsbad, numerous ministry ev

including a churchs primary sanctuary, co-exist with sna

production. Mellace and his partner, Mike Runion, are impressive example o traditional entrepreneurs, taking a

business idea and shaping it around serving the world in

name o Jesus.

Besides providing wholesome snacks with natural ingred

a positive mission in itsel, Mellaces non-prot oundati

also developed a product that could help end world hun

Using surplus nuts, Mellace created a peanut-based past

ortied with minerals and vitamins that World Vision p

to use to ght malnutrition globally. Statistics have show

that a child who eats three packs a day or 30 days has a

percent survival rate compared to the 5-10 percent surviv

without the product. Mellace and his partners are using

proessional talents and passion, combined with a creati

solutions-oriented entrepreneurial spirit, to ght hunger

What Mellace and his company and oundation do is ce

bold and dramatic, but it is not an aberration. There are

elements o justice, grace, and service in many entrepren

a wide variety o industries i we just take the time to loo

Ev thE p utCE


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Business Matters

PLNU students and alumni are connecting

prot with passion. The following three

businesses are about more than just yield;

theyre about making a difference. All three

are creating new capital and opportunities for

those in need. And theyre their products and

services are high quality and innovative.

Brothers Shea Parton (07), Stenn Parton

(08), and Raan Parton (04), along with Shea

Foley (07) are connecting what they produce

with what they care about. They founded

Apolis Activism in 2004, a for-prot company

thats connecting quality design with social

activism. When someone purchases a shirt,

bag, or canvas grocery bag from Apolis,

some of that money is directly impacting

various causes in countries like Bangladesh,

Nepal, and Uganda. Apolis partners with

non-prots in order to maximize the good

that their prot can do.

But their business is not just creating funds that

they can give away. Their products themselves

are being sustainably produced in order to

create jobs. For example, their highly popular

Philanthropist Briefcase not only turns a prot,

but it employs three Ugandan farmers who can

now utilize a years worth of their cotton harvest.

Micronance is another model that is creating

socially responsible businesses.

Micronance may be non-prot, but theyre

giving loans to for-prot businesses all over

the community providing them with access

to nancial capital that they can then turn

around and use to support their businesses,said Dr. Rob Gailey, associate professor

of business and director of the Center for

International Development.

Blake Armstrong (07), director of operations

at EduLeap, is using micronance to make a

difference. He co-founded EduLeap with Chris

Crane, and they are making private education

possible for young people in the developing

world. They provide loan capital and

business training to those edupreneurs, as

EduLeap calls them, wanting to start private

schools abroad. When EduLeap invests in

an edupreneur and their school, they are

creating a business while also investing in the

next generation.

EduLeap itself is a non-prot, said Gailey.

But the work theyre doing is supporting social

entrepreneurs in various countries.

Micronance is also happening locally.

Vaughn (08) helped found the Micron

Club at PLNU, and he is now working w

CDC Small Business Finance, a non-p

organization that partners with comme

lenders to provide loans to developing

businesses in San Diego. Their comm

loan program targets women, minoritieveterans who face difculty securing c

Breaking out of traditional lending by

coming up with unique capital solution

and strategizing with clients to set up t

most tting nancial plan, CDC makes

businesses development possible, wh

less-than-stellar credit may otherwise

a no on developing innovative busine

In his book Creating a Worth Without P

Muhammad Yunus, founder of the cele

Grameen Bank, calls ventures like the

social businesses they are not non-

because theyre making money. But th

also not for-prots where they are max

shareholder wealth. Rather than seek

amass the highest possible level of n

prot to be enjoyed by the investors, th

business seeks to achieve a social obj

At PLNU, Dr. Rob Gailey, director

o PLNUs Center or International

Development (CID), is helping

students make connections thatwill enable them to make this same

kind o impact. The CID, based in

the Fermanian School o Business,

provides opportunities or aspiring social entrepreneurs to

learn rom those already in the eld. There is groundbreaking

collaboration between key micronance and social

entrepreneurial practitioners, university aculty, and students

rom throughout San Diego. This collaboration, the San Diego

Micronance Alliance (SDMFA), is no theoretical platorm

students are shaping and being shaped by practitioners who

are directly involved in serving the poor not only in San Diego,

but globally.

The most signicant impact

probably the infuence these

activities have on students. F

students, these activities provtheir rst exposure to the ide

that poverty alleviation and s

business practices can go tog

They discover that they can use a PLNU degree to pursue

careers in the non-prot and social innovation sectors. Th

transormational moments in a students lie.

My hope is that as more and more students aim to ulll Je

call in Matthew 25 to serve the least o these by combini

viable business solutions with a conscientious and compas

mindset, we will nd more and more connecting points be

church and business connections that will help us, toget

navigate the challenges o global poverty.

or many sdens, ese

aciiies roide eir rs

exosre o e idea a oery

alleiaion and sond bsiness

racices can go ogeer.


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pt CECtThe use o entrepreneurship to point people to Jesus is near

to my heart. In my own lie, business interactions and peoples

interest in entrepreneurship have led to spiritual conversations

and relationships in many dierent settings and countries. These

opportunities to share my aith would never have been achievedthrough traditional evangelistic methods.

Our Personal ImpactBusiness is an opportunity to show people the impact o our

aith. When we have strong character, conduct business honestly

and airly, show transparency and generosity, and care about the

needs around us, we open up opportunities or relationship. Our

conduct gives us a voice.

Much o my work at PLNU occurs in an o-campus role, where

I meet with business leaders rom throughout the region to

discuss issues o common interest.

Since San Diego is undamentally a

small business and entrepreneurial

community, I have been able to

connect with people in diverse

settings, including aculty colleagues

at great regional public universities,

business people in companies o all

sizes, and leaders o local churches

and ministries. These initial connections oten deepen into

signicant opportunities or spiritual conversations.

I recall a meeting two years ago with a group o leaders rom avery prominent San Diego organization at a local restaurant.

Lunch was served, and the senior executive present rom the

organization asked i I would pray or the meal. What was

originally intended as a business lunch turned into a time

o ellowship, and my relationship with the organization has

blossomed on all levels.

Global OpportunitiesThese surprising points o connection have developed in other

areas as well. For the past ve years, I have been working with

ministry riends in France and Portugal on how entrepreneurship

can become a common meeting ground when traditional tools

or language ails. In October 2009, I was asked by the non-prot

organization Coherence, created by Parisians Stephen and Joy

Johnston, to speak to a group o business people in France on the

topic o entrepreneurship. Coherence partners with Greenhouse,

a traditional evangelical ministry operating or over 20 years in

the heart o Paris. Coherence has a complementary purpose it

connects local business people who are interested in supporting

sustainable development projects in the French-speakin

such as Arica and Haiti, with experts in their eld.

The ability to talk to secularized Parisians those who l

think that Christians are mentally decient is an excit

breakthrough, leading to unprecedented open doors in

Too oten we approach people outside the church with

attitude that says, we know something you dont, and th

implicit message we convey is were better than you, s

Stephen Johnston. Joy Johnston added, We also orget

all share the same deep longing or something meaning

way a lot o people outside the church express this long

through altruism. When we remember that true religion

help orphans and widows in their distress (James 1: 26-2

o a sudden this altruism becomes a place where secula

intersect with the heart o Jesus, and thats a meaningu

or us to connect with people outside the church.

This is whats happening th

Coherence. Parisians rom

and outside the church are

at that intersection. Togeth

make donations that encou

social entrepreneurs serving

poorest o the poor in Fren

speaking countries around

world. And they make thes

donations while attending events where they dialogue w

experts in various elds. This makes or a lot o meanin

interaction, and a lot o conversations that Jesus can ent

In an increasingly secular and hostile world, entreprene

is a platorm with broad potential application, allowing

connect with communities that have generally turned a

the traditional voice and vision o the church.

CCuMeaningul connections abound. At the intersection o

and entrepreneurship, we can, together, seek out ways t

salt and light in proound ways. We can envision new wengaging and transorming our culture, we can love the

through compassion and solid business ideas, and we ca

relationships with those who might not otherwise ever e

the doors o a traditional church. This is an opportunity

with possibility.

Bsiness is an oorniy

o sow eole e imac

of or fai.

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entrepreneurs - more than an undertaking

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