Part II: The $150k ego bill

This is the conclusion from a two part essay. Part I can be founded here.

Ever walk past that mall kiosk guy cleaning shoes?

That guy has more fundraising reps than you do. He's pitched thousands. Been rejected thousands. Still shows up tomorrow.

This month alone, he'll clean 100 shoes for free just to get 10 sales. This man is battle-tested.

Meanwhile, you won't make 20 calls to friends and family because you're scared.

Experienced tech startup founders in Silicon Valley will grind through 100+ rejections to get one yes from a VC. They have CRMs. They track everything. They expect the no's.

But faith-driven entrepreneurs? We spiritualize our fear:

• "I'm not ready" (our worry on what others will think of us)

• "God will provide" (while you treat your venture like a high school project. 1 hour of work and 6 hours of gaming)

• "I'm bootstrapping" (how we hedge and protect from the rejection)

I ran ultra-lean: Burned through $150k of my own money and avoided fundraising until I was selling my 401k.

Our fear of fundraising reveals what we really believe about God's provision.

Every call sharpens your vision

Tyler Prieb challenged me during our time in Missional Labs: "Simplify. Focus on onething. Stop trying to shove the next 10 years of an entire vision in one pitch." (I am paraphrasing)

He was right.

When you pitch people, you discover what actually matters. The parts where you stumble? Not ready. The parts that flow? That's the God thing.

Every call made our vision clearer. Not just the pitch—the actual vision. What resonates reveals what God's actually doing.

You can't get this clarity hiding behind your laptop.

Ministry leaders: You're not begging, you're building

Stop thinking small.

Can you get 25 people to give $200/month? That's $5k monthly. $60k annually.

You call this "settling." I call it building an army.

Those 25 people become:

• Prayer warriors who actually pray

• Accountability when you're drifting

• Advisors who see your blind spots

• Champions who bring others

You're not asking for handouts. You're inviting people to store up treasure in heaven.

One major donor can disappear. 25 partners create unstoppable momentum.

Don’t say other people’s no for them

I learned this during my time at Echo.Church from Filipe Santos and Andy Wood.

When I was building volunteer teams I’d have a tendency to think of a person and rationalize why they wouldn’t make time to volunteer for a project that I thought they’d be great at.

They’re too busy. They’ve got a lot going on. They’re serving in other areas.

I quickly learned that God could be using my invitation to be an answered prayer in their life. So often the invitation to contribute was something they were praying and hoping to be invited into.

The same is true for financial partnership.

• That person who gives $50/month? They're praying for you daily.

• The family member who commits $200/month? They're recruiting others.

• The "small" donor with $25/month? They might be your most faithful intercessor.

But they can't join what you won't share.

If you're sitting on a vision but avoiding fundraising calls, I have a question:

Is it really a vision you're willing to sacrifice for? Or just ambition wearing the costume of a world-changing entrepreneur?

Here's the test: If you won't risk rejection for it, it's not from God.

The Kingdom can't wait for your ego to get comfortable.

The first step is always the hardest. Start with 5 people who already love you. Practice there. Build confidence. Then expand.

Email me if you're ready to fundraise. I'll share exactly how to make those first 20 calls without feeling like you're begging.

p.s. If you’re a ministry leader who wants to get your people praying more please book time with me so I can talk to you about seedling.so.

Also, this is the conclusion from a two part essay. Part I can be founded here.