I hear the word “entrepreneur” a lot these days, as America is increasingly referred to as an entrepreneurial economy. However, the word is used with numerous nuances which begs the need to define exactly what one means with its use. It is often confused with words like creativity, invention, innovation, or disruption.
Here, I want to highlight just two things that certainly apply to entrepreneurs. They are either trying to solve a problem or pursue an opportunity, or both. IBEC registered its legal existence in October 2006 and had both in mind, and we have maintained that focus until now.
- The problem was that there were hundreds of businesses starting up in high-risk countries led by people (mostly missionaries) who had a grandiose vision but little or no experience or training in business. They needed help.
- The opportunity was to challenge marketplace men and women in North America to use their experience and skills to coach or provide consultative expertise to these startups, thus providing much needed help.
Back in 2006, we had never heard of disruptive innovation, lean startups or business mentoring. These ‘would-be’ entrepreneurs were largely on their own, and were not true entrepreneurs, had few critical thinking skills, and had not developed a team. Perhaps worst of all they didn’t think they needed a mentor, or they didn’t think they could afford one. Most of those early efforts we tried to help, failed.
Fast forward nearly twenty years and now this: This week I read that 74% of Christian entrepreneurs say mentorship is essential*. Wow, we have come a long way. So, it is not only Bill Gates that says,” everyone needs a coach.”
It is a privilege for IBEC to serve startups in a wide variety of industries and countries. Here is an example of how one company solved a problem and another saw and followed an opportunity.
Seed of Hope Coffee was founded to solve a problem: “Farmers in the remote mountain villages on Doi Mon Lan (Thailand) have been asking, “Will you help us find a market for our coffee? “In 2021, Seed of Hope Coffee Co. was founded by Ryan and Rebecca Stowell with that purpose in mind. Seed of Hope Coffee Co. purchases green coffee beans at a higher than fair trade price from the Akha Hill Tribe farmers. The green beans are then sorted, roasted, packaged and prepared for distribution at the Seed of Hope Roastery. In addition to purchasing from the Akha farmers, the Roastery employs local women to help sort and bag the coffee…Seed of Hope Coffee is shipped as green coffee to Phoenix, AZ, where it is then roasted and labeled as P-Rex Coffee and sold online.” Seed of Hope Coffee is in partnership with Seed of Hope Project, a Thailand Not-For-Profit which provides education and jobs in the name of Jesus, for children of refugees from neighboring countries.
Risen Events is an example of following an opportunity: Dani Goeppert saw an opportunity to serve people and foster relationships. Her company, Risen Events, based in Europe …” helps agencies and scaling businesses use event led marketing by creating their own stages utilizing immersive virtual events with zero ad spend…by leveraging the use of virtual events, and the power of relationship, Risen Events helps businesses get paid to generate thousands of leads, organically.” In short, the Risen Events team handles the details for an online event. Dani sees her vision to use AI and other tools to save time and all the while provide …”an incubator of redemption and reconciliation.”
* 2024 Barna Group Study
Larry W. Sharp, BAM Support Specialist, IBEC Ventures
Larry.Sharp@ibecventures.com