The internet is vast in the amount of information available. For entrepreneurs there is an abundance of resources. For female entrepreneurs, there’s even more. Pair being female with being a minority and there are an abundance of organizations trying to assist your rise. But what about the person who is following God’s calling by starting a business that can impact peoples lives and possibly lead them to Christ? What resources exist for them?
It’s important that I take the time to figure out what already exist in order to determine what the pathway for Startup Christ should be. Does Startup Christ need to differentiate itself or is it truly alone? I will not overload this post with all my findings so I’ve broken this down into multiple parts. It’s also beneficial for helping boost content and getting the site discovered. So here goes the first installment of my research on Startup Christ’s competition.
The first result I found in a search was a website called ChristianProducts.com. This website does indeed promote Christian businesses but for the most part, these businesses are overt with their mission and confined in their market. Don’t mistake what I am saying. There is nothing wrong with a business being overt with theology. However the mission of Startup Christ is not to support businesses that only benefit those who know Him. Rather it is to support and build a network of entrepreneurs who are following God in their venture.
A year ago, at the beginning of Startup Christ, I researched and found a venture capital firm called Christian VC. Their website is beautiful. At first glance I was excited to see that a Christian venture capital firm existed. It’s sort of a dream of mine to start one. But the site seemed largely like a front. It’s truly difficult to discern how much activity the organization has. They have social media presence. But their twitter is on autopilot tweeting every article from Techcrunch. However I am connected with them on LinkedIn, so perhaps there is a human face behind the front.
I really do hope so. But other factors deter my hopes. There portfolio is unimpressive to put it mildly. It’s a worthy topic of a followup article. Their portfolio ventures were started in 2015 and have no real discernible progress. I’d say these ventures were abandoned. However there is a review of the firm’s consulting services dating March 15th, 2017.
What is most concerning is their statement of beliefs is a collection of bible verses plucked from context that serve as little other than motivational quotes. Yeah, they say “Jesus Christ is Lord of all” but the website reeks of prosperity gospel. It doesn’t help that a video of Joel Osteen is displayed.
I can’t reiterate enough how Christian Entrepreneurship is not the prosperity gospel. This was round one of my search to ensure that the need God has called me to fulfill is not being fulfilled already. If it were, it wouldn’t change my calling but rather my approach. For now the search will continue.
