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Once upon a time four business people flew to a faraway country in Asia to observe and encourage three kingdom businesses. They came as learners but also ready to share suggestions and consulting expertise as requested.  They represented a cumulative 90 years of business experience, a recent MBA graduate among them and all four were […]

Columbus Day is celebrated the 2nd Monday of October – a memory of the first non-native American to come to our shores and stay with a permanent presence, paving the way for European expansion.  Columbus was an interesting and colorful character demonstrating some admirable qualities but also some qualities that are detractors for any successful

Dave Kier is a business owner in western Iowa in the agriculture sector.  IBEC Ventures is blessed to have Dave as a board member. He contributes much wisdom and hard work to IBEC, as well as demonstrating what “Business as Ministry” really is.  He writes daily devotionals for members of his family and his employees. 

Patient capital can be described as long-term capital where the investor does not expect a quick profit and results but forgoes the immediate return for a more substantial result such as social impact.  For financial investors patient capital sits between traditional venture capital and traditional philanthropy; between development and foreign direct investment. Earlier this month

IBEC Leadership Team: Larry Sharp, James Mayer, Gwen Rapp, Gary Willett and Robert Bush It is a good thing for every person and every organization to periodically step back, assess who they are, what they have accomplished in the past, and where they are going in the future.  The Leadership Team of IBEC Ventures, led

The last three blogs have highlighted the Triple Bottom Line of a BAM (Business as Mission) business. The goal is to be profitable and sustainable The business creates jobs and other community value Spiritual capital is created –  Kingdom values and a pathway to following Jesus I find it helpful to have practical models which

The last two blogs referred to two of the three bottom lines of Business as Mission (BAM): profitability and sustainability; and secondly, the creation of value, particularly job creation.  The third bottom line is the development of spiritual capital – making followers of Jesus. The concept of the Triple Bottom Line has been around since

Last week we began a three-part series on the Triple Bottom Line of Business as Mission (BAM).1 The first bottom line was that every business has a goal of profitability and sustainability.  The second bottom line is the creation of value, particularly job creation. Mike Baer, in referencing the Kingdom of God, understands that the

The Triple Bottom Line is a guiding force for the BAM movement.  These next three blogs will comment briefly on the meaning of each of the three bottom lines which drive us to our preferred future.  The first is the importance of a business which is profitable and sustainable. For most of the 20th century

IBEC Ventures uses the acronym ‘SME’ in two very different ways. One is “Subject Matter Expert” and the other is “Small-Medium Enterprise.” The subject of this blog is the latter. What is a Small-Medium Enterprise, and how is that relevant to what we do? Small-Medium Enterprise (SME) is defined in different ways in different countries.