Pray.com Part 1: How it all started...

There is no greater fool than he who thinks himself wise.

“It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you in trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” -Mark Twain?

I don’t know the best way to start a company. I started this company by choosing whom I wanted to serve. I picked the customer first.

I also didn’t pretend to know what was best for the customer.

Instead, I embraced the mindset of a novice. I talked to the people I wanted to serve. I listened to their pain points.

The most basic methodology for running this process is “the mom test.” It’s a step-by-step process that teaches you how to execute customer discovery through interviews.

Before officially starting Pray.com on August 25th, 2016, I interviewed more than 57 reverends, ministers, pastors, rabbis, and equivalent.?

I also read The Startup Owners Manual by Steve Blank .

As a repeat entrepreneur, I’m glad I chose to start with a beginner's mindset.

Friendship is another word for love.

If it is true that solitude diverts us from our fear and makes us empty, then it is also true that our emptiness provides a vast space where we can welcome new people into our lives.

There is a powerful connection between our emptiness and our ability to welcome people.

After my partner died, aside from my wife Jessica Gatena , I wanted to be alone. I did my best to isolate myself.

I didn’t spend time with anyone other than my wife and my dog TJ.

I didn’t realize that giving up my former identity, opinions, and social groups left me with room in my heart to welcome not just friends but brothers.

Michael Lynn , Ryan Beck , and Matthew Potter are now brothers to me. They are also my cofounders. God brought them into my life when I wanted to isolate myself.

While building Pray.com , I realized that the people I love have become a part of me. The longer I live, there will always be more people I can welcome into my life.

These people aren’t just part of some group of friends, colleagues, or acquaintances. They’re part of an inner community that lives in my heart, a curated group of people whose relationships originate from a place of #love.

The broader my inner community becomes, the more quickly I am beginning to recognize my own brothers and sisters in the strangers I encounter.

Don’t be afraid to welcome new friends like they’re family.?

And if you’re in a season of solitude or isolation, maybe God is helping you make space for new brothers or sisters in your life… the same way he did for me with Mike, Ryan, and Matt.

Be an odd duck, not a lame duck.

I’ve always stood out from the crowd. I am 6’5," and I was always the tallest kid in school. I also grew up with micro disabilities like a lazy eye and a speech impediment. I could never hit a baseball because of my vision, and I spent elementary school in special classes twice a week.

God designed me as someone who naturally stood out.

And he gave me a choice to create either abnormally #positive results for myself or abnormally negative ones for myself.

Here are three strategies I use to create abnormally positive outcomes:

1. Eclipse the market

2. Out cool the competition

3. Be relentless

Eclipsing the market is when you find a way to go so big that it’s impossible for everyone not to see what you’re doing. You make your actions so visible that everyone on earth sees them. You block out the sun. A famous example is in the film 300, where the Persian army reigns down thousands of arrows upon 300 soldiers. It creates an eclipse when it happens. Mostly, this strategy is dependent on mindset, effort, and resources. You have to think BIG, and you have to go BIGGER. At Pray.com we’ve done this by launching at the Vatican, running TV commercials, and working with the President of the United States

Out cooling the competition is about #confidence. You can’t fake the funk. There are many ways to build confidence. I start by approaching new things with a beginner’s mindset, I track down the best teachers, I read the best books, I get super clear on my own intentions, and I work to understand the perspective of my audience. After that, I choose to believe in God’s plan for my life. At Pray.com we’ve done this by purchasing the coolest brand #PRAY, throwing live events with Run-DMC, and having inspirational superstars like Terry Crews and Drew Brees pray for our community.

Being relentless is simply ingrained. You can’t buy drive at Walmart. Anyone who knows my team would probably tell you that we are relentless. They might use a word like devoted or determined, or maybe they’ll say, “I would never bet against them.” This is a core strategy of mine. It's also why I connect with unreasonably committed people like Jimmy May , Dun Wang , and Eric Siu ? because when they’re in, they’re all in and they will never quit. I respect relentless.

God designed us to stand out and make an impact. Find some core strategies that work for you and lean into them.

Margin & Mission.

I am an entrepreneur. It’s in my blood. I can’t help it.?

As Charlie Chaplin would say, “I went into the business for the money, and the art grew out of it. If people are disillusioned by that remark, I can’t help it. It’s the truth.”

I come from a family of entrepreneurs. I married an #entrepreneur. My in-laws are entrepreneurs. It’s who we are.

One time someone asked me, “what’s an entrepreneur’s favorite #business?” my response at the time… “the one that makes the most money.”

I don’t worship #money; I do love creating things that add value, improve people's lives, and produce positive financial outcomes. It’s who I am. This is why margin matters to me.

What was new after my partner died was the importance of the mission. I never knew it co-existed with margin until I worked at the helicopter company and experienced the magic of margin and mission working together. Before that, the choice had always been binary. Work was either business (company) or it was #service (charity), never both.

With the heartbreaking reminder that life is short combined with the life-changing experience of making movies, saving lives, and catching bad guys at the Helicopter company, I committed to building my next venture with #Vision, #Mission, and #Values first.

To do this, my cofounders and I set up a retreat in Palm Desert with our first employees. I led us through a series of DISC, Meyers Briggs, and other individual personality tests so we could discuss our true #strengths, weaknesses, and core values. Even Shaun Merritt was there.

After aligning on values we already had, we watched Simon Sinek ’s video on how great leaders inspire action, then iterated on our vision (WHY), and mission (HOW) statements.

At Pray.com , our vision is to create a world where everyone can leave a #legacy of helping others. And our mission is to build tools that help people grow their faith and cultivate their community.?

We do this through our values of devotion, research, empathy, application, & mindset (#DREAM).

Anything is possible when your founders align on your vision, mission, and values.

You will naturally operate on profit and #purpose when this happens.

If you haven't tried this, I highly recommend it.

Margin and mission for the win.

thank you for reading part 1 of the Pray.com journey about our pre-seed stage and how it all started... stay tuned for part 2, which describes our seed stage and how we landed the world's top venture capitalists.

Until next time, keep in mind, anything is possible.

-Steve

#leadership #inspiration #motivation #faith #startup #entrepreneurship