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The intersection of faith and technology. Talking to leaders about faith - from tools that help faith driven organizations, to how their faith has impacted their company. Hosted by Mike Sudyk.
Jeff, you had a really successful exit. You got all the answers right. Like, everything is great.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. We figured something out. And so I, like, lean over with my phone to my wife, and she, like, looks at it. And she looks at me, and she's like, great. Can you go inside and change Rhett's diaper?
Mike Sudyk (host):That's how you know you married a good woman.
Jeff Courter:I mean, right? It really is.
Jeff Courter:And I asked a pastor at our church. I'm like, can you pray for clarity for me? And he was like, how about I pray for courage for you?
Mike Sudyk (host):What is it like to sell your company for multimillions of dollars to see that bank account balance just change when you swipe down? Is it just fanfare? Does everyone come out and tell you how great you are? For Jeff Quarter, it wasn't exactly that. And that's what I loved about this interview because Jeff talked about how he stayed grounded in the Lord at every step of his startup journey, all the way from, you know, not having any money in the bank account to big exit.
Mike Sudyk (host):Stay tuned for this episode. I'm Mike Cudic. This is Faith in Tech. Jeff, how's it going?
Jeff Courter:Hi. Good, Mike. Pleasure to be here.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. I'm very happy to have you here. So I have Jeff Quarter here who's a founder in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Has become a friend of mine last couple of years. But Jeff, you had a really successful exit.
Mike Sudyk (host):So like, you you got everything figured out, right? Like you you got all the answers right? Like everything is great.
Jeff Courter:We figured something out.
Mike Sudyk (host):That's right.
Jeff Courter:Yeah, I know. I like to say that we made 51% good decisions at the end.
Mike Sudyk (host):That's right. I like that.
Jeff Courter:That's right. Successful exit, right? Yeah.
Mike Sudyk (host):So I wanted to talk a little bit just, you know, this podcast is a faith and type podcast, but like like most people, it's like faith is integral to what you're doing even if you're not, you know, you're you were building tools for hunters, sportsmen, and that wasn't necessarily app to serve ministry, but what you were doing and and how you're making decisions. You had a lens of, you know, your faith. And so I kinda wanna talk a little bit about that. But tell me tell me a little bit about tell me what do why don't we go to the exit? Tell me about like after you get, like after like everything cleared, like, tell me about like how you felt after that.
Mike Sudyk (host):Like like check clears, okay, like, we got it, like, there's no this could go bad or something, like, tell me a little bit about where you're at, like, mentally and Yeah.
Jeff Courter:You know, it's it's interesting because you always think of the accent and you're like, you have ideas of what that would be like. Mhmm. And, probably can guarantee you it's not any of those ideas
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah.
Jeff Courter:In some variation. I remember, I specifically remember you'd, the four months, six months preceding that is a lot of work. Like, is this going to close? All the details, everything that needs to happen. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:The actual day of the exit was like relatively simple. Yeah. I remember, you know, we were on a call, I think there was like 15 lawyers on the call. Right. And they did this round robin, like, you know, make sure all everything's closed around it.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. And you kind of give your consent.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. It's like the final check off.
Jeff Courter:It is. It's kind of everything that you've done the several months before. Yeah. Our deal wasn't super contingent on a lot of things post. And so it was maybe a little more cleaner, which is, is kind of nice.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. So everybody kind of knows what they have when it closes. Yeah. But I remember I was nervous. Just, I mean, never done it before.
Jeff Courter:Right? Yeah. So like I was nervous. Is it gonna, like, what's it gonna be like? Is it gonna be and I just, I had my phone out and I was taking it and I was literally like in the room with some of my other coworkers.
Jeff Courter:I mean, we were still in like the garage, right? Like the startup garage. So this is not like Jeff in some office, you know, like I'm in the garage, I'm on speakerphone on my cell phone and this is kind of how it went down. But I re I remember, like, it was probably ten, fifteen minute call. Everybody consented, went around, hung up, and I just, like, sat there.
Jeff Courter:And I'm kinda breathing. I'm like, that's it?
Jeff:Yeah. Yeah. It's like,
Jeff Courter:you know, people some people are clapping and they understood what happened. And I remember I went home that night and we had some friends that were going to come over anyway. And you're always like, is this real? Did that happen?
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And I was refreshing, to be honest, money gonna hit my bank account? There's a payment coordinator, and I'm like, is that all going out? Because we all said it would, but what's gonna happen?
Mike Sudyk (host):Did they just cheat me? It's like, they're gone. Well, you
Jeff Courter:just don't know. You just haven't experienced it Yeah. And I remember it was actually kinda funny, It's because we were talking with them, my kids were running around, and the neighbor's kids were running around. Was kind of crazy. We're in the driveway, and I'm standing there with my wife.
Jeff Courter:And I see the confirmation of kind of the major things went through. And we were like mid conversation. And so I like lean over with my phone to my wife. Yeah. And I just pulled the screen that mattered.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. And I like just like nonchalantly like showed showed her. Yeah. And she like looks at it and she looks at me and she's great. Can you go inside and change Rhett's diaper?
Jeff Courter:In one sentence. It's like the same sentence. Right? And I like
Mike Sudyk (host):That's how you know you married a good woman.
Jeff:Right? It really is. And, you know,
Jeff Courter:she was happy, but, like, for her, it wasn't always about, like, the like, for me, like, I'm in Monsai. I'm like, this is, like, my career's worth of whatever, you know. And but, like, so in that same moment, it was good, but it also like grounded me in a way that like I needed I needed to know that was there and that was super important. And so like, you know, did I expect, you know, everybody from behind the house to come out and the band play and like, let's go take our, you know
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah.
Jeff Courter:Our lap around the neighborhood. No. But like, it was just a it was a perfect moment. And so I think that, you know, yes, you talk about like how faith plays into that, and I think, you know, part of the startup journey is you're gonna have like all these highs and lows. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. And they're going to be high and it could be like, I remember like two years prior, three years prior driving home from something and the bank hit zero. Yeah. And I'm just like, what are we going to do? Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And, and and then contrast that with, you know
Mike Sudyk (host):The accent.
Jeff Courter:I'd say everybody's successful and and, you know, you you high five and everybody. But you kinda gotta learn that, like, like God is faithful in, in the highs and lows. And it kinda like makes you play somewhere in the middle. Yeah. To where like, like the goodness of God is just like that thread of stableness.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. And, and I don't want to say you don't get as high on the highs and you don't get as low on the lows. But it's just like they have a little bit less meaning in themselves And it's, it's more of like a, it learns to be a great, a threat of gratefulness over time. Yeah. They're like, Hey, Lord, this is, this is hard.
Jeff Courter:I don't get it. But like, I'm not going to go to the bottom, rock bottom because I know that like, you're faithful and these, and I'm going to learn something. And even if it is the worst thing for the company, it's still gonna be okay because you're on the throne. Right?
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And then in the high highs, it's like, Lord, thank you for this opportunity. Like at my new company last week. Yeah. We just, landed our biggest client ever. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And we were all in the same room when we got the email and like we're high fiving and stuff. Yeah. But there's this thread that is, is like, that's awesome. But that's also not, you know, the, you know, the greatest thing in the world. And it's, it's not where joy and happiness comes from, although it's like a, it's a great win for us.
Jeff Courter:Like, just to like experience God being faithful in all those things. Yeah. And that's kind of where, when you say like faith and faith in tech or faith in really in the work, just faith in general. Yeah. But he just carries you through that.
Jeff Courter:And I think in my world, it's been in venture tech and maybe like the highs and lows are a little higher and faster and, you know, like fairly significant. And I feel like you, you'd probably get about fifteen years worth of business and about five years in a venture backed business.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. And I think when you talk about you're saying like faith and life or faith and businessman, faith and tech specifically is it is high stakes, you know, like the VC, like they wanna see the unicorn, they wanna see all this stuff. So in a sense it is exaggerated where there is more faith put in that, like venture to succeed or more excitement in like the exit and all of that because it's just everything is like exaggerated.
Jeff Courter:Right? No. I I agree with that. Yeah. Or at least that's the feeling or
Mike Sudyk (host):It's the industry. It is. Yep. It's the culture.
Jeff Courter:Yep. Yep.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. Yep. So tell me about, so I I'd like to unpack a little bit of the notion of like your identity being wrapped up in your startup. So you your background was actually in film production. You had a film production company.
Mike Sudyk (host):You built this thing on the side to I think it was basically to scratch your own itch and then turn it into a startup. So then tell me about how that how did you how did you craft your identity maybe good or bad around the startup and maybe throughout that journey? Or was that never a struggle? Like, because it's like, hey, I'm the I'm Jeff, the film production guy. I'm putting words in your mouth right now, by the way.
Mike Sudyk (host):It's like, you you can't kinda that's a little bit of identity is around that, and then you you kinda pivot into startup that is that is becomes consuming and and you're you're kinda chasing an exit maybe or you're chasing growth. Was that a was that a struggle for you in those hard times? Like, hey, this is like when you go through that lull and you're like, hey, wait, this is I kinda put a lot of my faith into this. Again, that's me putting you words in your mouth like as maybe I would maybe feel that way being in your shoes, right?
Jeff Courter:Like Yeah.
Mike Sudyk (host):Good or bad, you know, mostly bad that sense.
Jeff Courter:Just do this interview before. Yeah. No, I'll kind of like tell you some thoughts on that. When I like the reason I would say why this, that particular company made sense for me. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:I, our family grew up. We love the outdoors. Just the amount of relationships and bonding we've had through outdoor adventures, deeply in our family and my soul. And then I look at everything that I did in the film world too. Film production, I was a director of photography and, for ten plus years, like I, I really enjoyed telling stories and using, you know, using the craft of that.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. And then like I went to school for computer science. So like I, I could also, probably the one thing that made me dangerous is like, could actually go do it. Right. Right.
Jeff Courter:Because a lot of people have ideas and you either like waste all your money trying to have someone else do it. And so I'd say like my competitive advantage was that I could I could code it.
Mike Sudyk (host):Didn't need to go
Jeff Courter:out to 1AM every day and Yeah. And you get your product. And so I would say when it when it comes to identity, like those kind of like God given things in my life, like really brought me to this opportunity, I think in a good way. Yeah. In that like, the best of Jeff, I think was right for this company, in a good way.
Jeff Courter:Now, when I think of like identity though, that like, got off in tangents in different ways once that became like, Hey, you're a startup, you're the founder of this thing,
Mike Sudyk (host):you're a CEO. Which are all expectations then, right?
Jeff Courter:Yeah, they're all expectations, but then they be kind of become, part of your actual, you're in it now and this is, this is the identity that, you know, you have in the, in the venture space. Yeah. You know, in the LinkedIn world, right? Like you have this profile and you have, these things that are expected of you. And I think, like I, the, the things that I would say that brought that South was thinking I had to be an identity in all places, in all things, I.
Jeff Courter:E. I had to be the best of this. I had to embody this. I had to embody this. And instead of having weaknesses that I was okay with and verbalizing, I had to kind of be strong in everything.
Jeff Courter:And like, you know, we're supposed like the scripture would say like, where you're weak, I'm strong. Yeah. And the idea of like being publicly weak in areas. Yeah. And like bringing that to your board and saying like, Hey, I am terrible in this.
Jeff Courter:Like I ran horrible board meetings to begin with. And like, there's like shame that comes with that. And I would, but I would get like, I know more than them or like, you'd feel like, they're not bringing value or something to me and then that justifies where you're at instead of just saying like, I'm really not that good. And the more, to, to be honest, the more they get older, I'm like, people really kinda aren't that good. Like the best, I mean, you've learned some skills.
Jeff Courter:I mean, kinda, right? Like, we're, we're, we kinda like tend to mess things up a lot. Right?
Mike Sudyk (host):People are perfect as we're saying.
Jeff Courter:I are perfect. Yeah. And obviously like God gives us talent and skills and things that benefit the world.
Mike Sudyk (host):Right? But what you were saying is that you were trying to be like good in all areas and you're like, that's kind of, you're saying as I get older, people aren't that good, you're saying that they're not like experts in all those areas. Yeah. Like they might excel in certain areas like that and that's more of a realistic perspective.
Jeff Courter:Yeah, and though like our goodness, our righteousness, if we hold that as, like, our badge, that also can be not right. Mhmm. Yeah. To to where, like, you're I just see like, people that are ahead of me that I, like, respect in a lot of my mentors, they kind of wear a badge of gratefulness to God for like all things. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And when the fame, the whatever it is that the glory that comes on man, it seems like they're better, like they reflect that more. And the more mature maybe they get in their faith walk, the more they try to be a reflection of, like deflect that back to God. Yeah. Like, hey, I appreciate that. You know, it was a lot of work, but, you know, and I guess that's what I'm kind of referring to by like, we're not that good that like, God gives us skills and is, he wants us to humbly serve him.
Jeff Courter:And hopefully we do that. But a lot of times, we mess up and the more that we rely on His strength, honestly, the better the outcome.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. But that's counter to like tech culture where you have to have an ambitious, some audacious vision that you're chasing and you have to just power through and figure it out and you gotta have all the answers. Right? Like that's a that's kind of a caricature of what the industry is. So you're that's counter to so you have to put on that facade.
Mike Sudyk (host):You gotta fit you gotta just charge through and arrogantly and hubris, you know, to to to kinda march through. So it's a little it's counter to kinda what you're saying on some level. But you had a you gave a talk probably six months ago, maybe a year ago. And one of your slides is like the holy spirit is the best guide or something. I think I took a picture of it.
Mike Sudyk (host):I think I sent it to you, Ed, or I don't remember, but tell me a little bit about that because that is when you talk about audacious vision or something, you can power through not, you can either pull yourself up by your bootstraps and say, I'm, you know, I'm gonna just power through this on my, like my own strength. Or if you're saying, hey, the Holy Spirit's kind of guiding me and this is where I think is going. Not that, not that your startup is like ordained and, you know.
Jeff Courter:Yeah.
Mike Sudyk (host):But it's like, if if if I'm trusting in the Lord that this is the next step, I trust that He's also gonna give me the strength to, or the knowledge or the advisors or whatever to just keep marching down this path. I'm not doing it out of my own like ambition or pride or something of that nature.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. I like, I look to the story of Joshua and Caleb in instances like this, right? You know, we can take the, like there's giants in the land and everybody's like, I know, let's not go. And they're like, no, there's giants in the land, but God is with us. Like we can do this.
Jeff Courter:And I would imagine they got there, not because they were arrogant, but because they had such God confidence. And they probably listened to the spirit in their own lives. Yeah. And so, I kinda see that as and you look in the Bible in all sorts of places, like, it's people are heard by faith. There's a lot that has to do with faith.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. Right? And it takes somebody to continually encourage and and point back to that and to have high faith to do things that require high, like, high faith. And I think of Daniel and Joshua and Caleb, all these pictures of faith and confidence in God and the Bible despite consequences. And I think it's a picture of these guys had commitments.
Jeff Courter:They had probably times of like true devotion over long periods of time that give them the confidence to to be a leader and say like, we don't know how this is gonna pan out, but like, I'm gonna see what there is that needs to be seen and and in faith move towards that. Yeah. And someone does need to say that, and that does take courage. A lot of times, I had one I was going through something one time, and I asked a pastor at our church, I'm like, can you pray for clarity for me? Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And he was like, how about I pray for courage for you? And I thought about it for a second and I'm like, that's an interesting distinction. Right? Yeah. And what he's trying to say is like, you're not gonna always see.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. But like, trusting in God and like taking the next step is that's why it's called faith. And like, that takes courage. It takes a lot of courage.
Mike Sudyk (host):And Which clarity sometimes is like a Christianese word. I'm not trying to dog you back because I'm I've done the same thing, but it's like clarity is like a, just give me the roadmap, Lord, and I'll handle it. Right? Yeah. Steps like
Jeff Courter:It's like we always wanna see so much and it's I think it's often why God gives us the light at our feet. It's like, no, we kinda just need the light to see the next step. Yeah. Sometimes we'll get a floodlight flash, right? Like we'll get, you know, we'll get a glimpse of, of what it is and we need that.
Jeff Courter:And I think like, you know, in terms of like, that's why, you know, God always gives us the glimpses as he puts eternity in the hearts of men. Right? Because we need that. We need to see, like, have that vision Yeah. Of, of what perfection looks like.
Jeff Courter:But like each day it's hard and you can't lose sight of that, but often you're given like a flashlight at your feet and say, no, trust me in the next one. Trust me in the next one. And,
Mike Sudyk (host):Which you you said, you know, you've found a lot of wisdom in like in with mentors that are kind of like as they get older, they they have a different perspective on things. I was thinking about, you know, in the Bible when they talk about they're often retelling the ways that the Lord's been faithful. Mhmm. You know, that they got, you know, God that brought us out of, you know, Egypt and like sustain us in the wilderness, like, they'll kinda do these monologues where it's like talking about that. Right?
Mike Sudyk (host):In the same way when you're talking to an older, let's say business person that will that is a Christian that would say, yeah, I don't I don't necessarily have it all figured out, but let me just tell you the stories of how the Lord kind of provided in ways that were like way outside of what I would have thought, and what I what my conclusion would have been. You know? So they're talking from a a point of confidence that is not in themselves, which is kind of like as a young person where you seek, you're like, hey, let me go in a in a in a inappropriate way, like in my, like in young years, like you wanna find someone that's like confident, self assured. It's like, yeah, how do I get like that? Which is really confidence in themselves.
Mike Sudyk (host):Like that's all the business gurus of the world. Right? Yeah. To where it's like wise counsel that are biblical counsels, like, I don't really have all the answers, but let me tell you how the Lord's worked and how he's been faithful in ways that I didn't even think about. Right?
Mike Sudyk (host):And it's just interesting because that's that's there's still a confidence factor, but it's not in themselves. It's it's in, you know, just the faith which you're just saying, you know?
Jeff Courter:No. I had fully resonated with that. I don't know. I just always sometimes you look back, you're like, man, I was so dumb back then. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:You know, like but you're always like, I'll think of that of right now ten years from now. Right? Yeah. And, like, that God's always working on our hearts and moving them in line with the spirit. And I think of the word pacing that's been modeled for me, where you have people ahead of you, you have people next to you and you have people behind you in those three positions in your life.
Jeff Courter:And I think both in tech and in my faith, in tech, I had to have like, what is an exit? How do you do it? Like, how do you move a company into sell it? Like, how do you package it up? How do you and so I had to like, literally when we exited, I hired somebody to coach me as I was doing it because like, I don't want to make like things that everybody knows you shouldn't make, but Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And so I hired someone and say like, you need to walk by me and make sure I don't mess this thing up. Yeah. And then in my personal life, I've, I've always had those, which I'm so grateful for. And just like, Hey, what are the next problems I'm probably gonna What are the next landmines I'm probably gonna be stepping in?
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:Like, and I don't Maybe I'll still step in them, but like, maybe they won't like blow off my whole foot. Right. Right. And so I think, you know, thinking through pacing in your life, having someone in front of you, walking alongside of you, but then also like, who needs to be brought on, you know? Like, we've had a successful exit.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. Who can I now like say, Hey, here's, here's some thoughts on this stuff? You know, we've lived it once, you know, I'm not an expert, but here's some thoughts. Yeah. And I think that probably is good in both just the tangible things you'll need for your ventures, and then more in the spiritual realm, more of like a personal mentor.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. Yeah. No, I think that's really wise. I think the pacing, like pacing with like running or something. Yeah.
Mike Sudyk (host):You wanna Yeah. You wanna have someone that's just ahead of you that you're kinda like aspiring to be.
Jeff Courter:Running is not a great analogy for Yeah.
Mike Sudyk (host):You're like, no. I'm not good on the run. That's my wife. She's like, no.
Jeff Courter:Jeff, you tried that like for two months and you stop every time. Like, I know I hate just running. Oh, man. Yeah.
Mike Sudyk (host):It's funny because there's a they get those the 37 signals guys, Jason Fried, you know, and David Hanover Hansen. I don't if you know those guys. But one of the things that Jason Fried had says was like, you should always talk to someone that's like, just done what you did. Like there's all this business advice that's going around by like, that's comparing like, what does Elon Musk do for this or Jeff Bezos or whatever. And it's like, that's not that's totally different world, you know?
Mike Sudyk (host):And so from a faith perspective, I think that's wise too, because they have to have a perspective that's like, they understand and are not too far removed from the right the steps that you're at, you know, which I think is really important.
Jeff Courter:No. I think that's good. And it's kind of the you know, like, everybody wants to get to a position and then kinda be an advisor, but you kinda gotta be careful because there's so many, there's, there's only so many thoughts you can get Yeah. From like, advisors that are way ahead of you. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:I think that's a great point. It's like, no, I kinda need like, here's where I'm at, some real tangible thoughts on this piece.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And bring bringing in, even if they're kind of like spot advisors. Yeah. As opposed to like, I would say, mentors or more long term.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. Yeah. Well, like you were saying, you're saying, Hey, I'm going through this big event, which was a exit. And you're saying, Hey, I'm working with someone that can help me navigate that.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. This his fourth exit. And I'm like, it's like old hat for him. Great.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. Help me avoid the landmines. Yeah,
Jeff Courter:exactly. Avoid the landmines. That's right.
Mike Sudyk (host):Well, it's like you do like pre marriage counseling or something like that. Right? Like in the faith Yeah. Sphere. It's like, okay, here, what what are we doing that we can avoid these like big mistakes, you know.
Mike Sudyk (host):I feel like we should hit on AI. Let's go AI.
Jeff:Let's just dive in.
Mike Sudyk (host):So tell me what you're up to now though. Like, tell me tell me where tell me your journey from post exit to like next venture. What what was the what was the journey there from a faith standpoint? What was the Lord telling you to do?
Jeff Courter:So after I worked after we exited, I stayed on and I worked for two years in the company that acquired us. Actually, I kind of made it, a personal commitment to like give it my best.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah.
Jeff Courter:Right? Not just like, Hey, this is my phase out job. Yeah. So I would say like I substantially like tried to give it my best. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And I did, like I ended up being head over product and tech for the whole parent company. So like, there's a lot of opportunity there. But after that, I spent two years in that role. And then interesting turn of events talk about unknowing the future is like two days after I stopped that role, I was diagnosed with kidney cancer. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And that one knocks you in the face, right? Yeah. Like, I think like as far as I didn't know a medical journey would be ahead of me. I would say very fortunate, you know, when you throw that word around, there's a lot of implications of it. And I think I was spared from a lot of the, you know, the chemo and some of the more intense things.
Jeff Courter:Ended up having a surgery that Lord willing took care of it. But that was six months of like very hard challenging pieces where I would say I was like, you, you exit like, and then I, right? And then I, and then like, I think the Lord was really using that time to make me just, it was a forcing function to say like, Nope, now we're gonna recover. Yeah. And honestly, like I, during that time, I did a lot of thought on what just happened with this company in these last ten years of my life.
Jeff Courter:And it was kind of fast paced and kind of the crown jewel of most entrepreneurs, right? Yeah. And I was, there's a couple moments when I was very broken, like very like, just with the weight of that diagnosis, but also just like rethinking, retooling, seeking the Lord in those times. They were special times, though. I mean, like, you're kinda broken, but, like, a very deep, very, couple instances, especially after my recovery, I remember sitting there, and I was in this basement, or like a bedroom in the basement, because I was had to be, like, still for a long time after, like, you have a surgery like that.
Jeff Courter:I remember it was during COVID. My whole family had COVID, so I'm, like, sitting down there in the basement trying to, like quarantine after this like major, just a super weird whole thing. But then I like started doing some mentoring with some other people, that were coming up in like the startup space and all the stuff I'd learned, I'd kept notes on. And so I ended up compiling that. And then I'm like, man, I could probably write, write some stuff on how to like vet ideas.
Jeff Courter:Cause that's most of what I did previously. And then in the two years that I was in this position after we got sold, was kind of my role. In a product technology role, did a lot of like, Hey, should we do this, that or the other? And so I kind of created this grid framework of how to vet ideas. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And that kind of became the basis, of a book that I wrote during that time. Yeah. So that six months that I'm kind of down and out, I spent that time and said, all right, I'm going put together a book. Not thinking or aspiring to do anything or be an author.
Mike Sudyk (host):It's almost like therapeutic though.
Jeff Courter:It kind of was.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. Through that exercise. Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And honestly, during the exercise, like, I didn't realize how much can come out. Like I learned probably 60% of what I was gonna write while I was in the writing process.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. You're extracting it
Jeff Courter:from Extracting it from experience and all this stuff. And so that was kind of like a cool journey. It's today that's not published yet, but I'm through the second edit with an actual editor. So it's like fun to see that come to fruition. Then, during this time, there was a company that I had invested in and softly advised, I would say.
Jeff Courter:And they came up to a new round of funding where they kind of were at where we were at and they needed someone that had been there before. Yeah. So they approached me to be the CEO of their, company, a smaller company, there's six people, in the forestry software industry. And I just look at my whole experience at HuntWise, I'm like, man, who knows people that are like loggers and truckers that have developed SAS software. And just that whole experience drove me to be like, this is the next spot for me.
Jeff Courter:And it was funny in the grid and what I wrote about that I created five steps of how to think through new ideas. Yeah. And so I'm like, if I wrote about it, gotta try it. Yeah. Like, for me.
Jeff Courter:Right?
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah. Let's put this into action.
Jeff Courter:And so I was, I tried to acquire two businesses prior and they both fell through. So And I ended up like, alright, I'm gonna put 10 things on the board. All the things that I had been doing, a few consulting things, some of these acquisitions that didn't work out. And I'm gonna run it through my grid. And this current place that I'm at, Waldo, it's, it was one of the two things that were all green across the board.
Jeff Courter:That's awesome. One of them was to write the book and the other one was And take this I wasn't trying to like force fit the thing. And so I ended up taking this job and, it's a work in progress and I really do like it though. And I think part of my focus is understanding that like, and I said this on my first day that I was there, I said the process is the product and I did not make that up. I'm borrowing that.
Jeff Courter:I don't even know who said it, but someone besides me said it. And so there's things that I brought or I'm bringing, I think, that were different than if I hadn't been through all this other stuff.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yeah.
Jeff Courter:And it's like, I know that we have to go do big things and the timeline has to be very, fairly fast. But it's not in the wake of people, right? That like people deeply matter. And bringing the faith component into it is like, how you do things matter. It's not, the ultimate goal is not just like another exit, right?
Jeff Courter:And just the renewed framing, I think allows me to be less uptight about all the things that need to happen. And I find myself like praying more, like, God, here's another one. You did it a lot of times before. Here's another one. I don't know what to do.
Jeff Courter:Literally today we're raising another round of funding and I need, like I have to account for a few more, people buying in. I'm like, I don't know where they're going to come from right now. But like instead of losing sleep and all these things that I probably did on round one, I'm like, I'll probably spend more time in the Word and praying about and, and He's faithful to open a door or close doors. I still work hard. Don't get me wrong.
Jeff Courter:Like I like working. I enjoy it.
Mike Sudyk (host):But the angst and the, needing to rely on yourself for a solution, you know, is not there. And back to your identity question,
Jeff Courter:Yeah. Like, if it all falls through, my identity is wrapped up in who God is and, being a son of His, right? Yeah. And so like, just reflecting on that, it just like takes takes the pressure, off of doing so much. So I find like some of my prayers are more intentional and more celebrating God and saying like, here's who you are.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. Instead of just like, here's the 10 things from my business that are going wrong.
Mike Sudyk (host):That I need done.
Jeff Courter:And that I need done.
Jeff:Yeah, yeah. And I
Jeff Courter:just like, you just celebrate and who God is. Yeah. And that's fun. It's a fun and by no means, you know, a stagnant spot where, like, I'm there. I did it.
Jeff Courter:And I just I think about that often. Yeah. And I think gratefulness enters your heart more, and even with, you know, we have four kids, two, four, six, eight right
Mike Sudyk (host):now.
Jeff Courter:Yeah. So it's like, it's a start up at home. Is a start up. Pitching to the choir because I know I know where your family is at too.
Mike Sudyk (host):But but any number of young kids is a start up.
Jeff Courter:I know. Yeah. And so I often think too of, like, just I'm so grateful for this spot we're in. But even if all the things weren't good too, that Yeah. There's a deep deep gratefulness and that that God has been faithful.
Jeff Courter:And I think about that. That's awesome.
Mike Sudyk (host):Yep. Thanks, Jeff, for for sharing your heart and your story and is is greatly encouraging to me. I'm sure it will be for a lot of people, but, you know, that's I think, get into the meat of that and like the lessons you learn, I think is important. You know, it's not about the business strategies, it's not about all that stuff, it's like what, you know, at the end of the day, what where was the alignment with your faith in your journey Mhmm. And how can people be get closer to that.
Mike Sudyk (host):You know, I'm not trying to say you've arrived, but it's it's it's a constant iteration, you know? That's I mean, that's what I found, you know. It's like, sometimes you get closer, sometimes you get further away closer, but you wanna be iterating towards Yep. Alignment with with the Lord.
Jeff Courter:Is that a good way to put Well,
Mike Sudyk (host):thanks, Jack. Yeah. Appreciate it.
Jeff Courter:Thanks for having me. Yeah. Thanks, man. Boom.