LessWrong (30+ Karma)

“Church Planting: When Venture Capital Finds Jesus” by Elizabeth

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I’m going to describe a Type Of Guy starting a business, and you’re going to guess the business:

  1. The founder is very young, often under 25. 
  2. He might work alone or with a founding team, but when he tells the story of the founding it will always have him at the center.
  3. He has no credentials for this business. 
  4. This business has a grand vision, which he thinks is the most important thing in the world.
  5. This business lives and dies by its growth metrics. 
  6. 90% of attempts in this business fail, but he would never consider that those odds apply to him 
  7. He funds this business via a mix of small contributors, large networks pooling their funds, and major investors.
  8. Disagreements between founders are one of the largest contributors to failure. 
  9. Funders invest for a mix of truly [...]

    10. ---

    Outline:

    (03:15) What is Church Planting?

    (04:06) The Planters

    (07:45) The Goals

    (09:54) The Funders

    (12:45) The Human Cost

    (14:03) The Life Cycle

    (17:41) The Theology

    (18:37) The Failures

    (21:10) The Alternatives

    (22:25) The Attendees

    (25:40) The Supporters

    (25:43) Wives

    (26:41) Support Teams

    (27:32) Mission Teams

    (28:06) Conclusion

    (29:12) Sources

    (29:15) Podcasts

    (30:19) Articles

    (30:37) Books

    (30:44) Thanks

    ---

    First published:

    August 16th, 2025

    Source:

    https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NMoNLfX3ihXSZJwqK/church-planting-when-venture-capital-finds-jesus

    ---

    Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.

    ---

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