Mormon Missions: Startup Accelerators?

http://founderdating.com/the-ultimate-startup-accelerators

by jazzyjazz • 13 years ago

51 32 13 years ago

Meh. My creds: I served a mission and am an active member of the LDS church, so I'm not some bitter exmormon. But the two worlds seem orthogonal to me. There's a very heavy focus on short-term numbers in most LDS mission organizations. If anything, an LDS mission probably prepares you for corporate life or the armed forces better than for a startup. Exception: yes, it does make for fantastic ticket scalpers, as the article relates.

Also, "accelerator?" An accelerator is something that speeds along an already existent entity. A mission might be a good person accelerator, but if you're bringing your company with you on the mission, you're a bad founder and a bad missionary.

I attribute Utah's startup culture to: the presence of BYU, a bunch of church-derived networks (I still talk to mission buddies, and did a startup with one of them), and high pressure on men to be providers.

film42• 13 years ago

Creds: I'm Austen's cofounder/ we met in Ukraine.

This is very true, and I do see a lot of missionaries return and jump into summer sales and do quite well. But there's that side where you just gotta keep going, always that has really proven valuable while working on our startup.

brd529• 13 years ago

Another active Mormon here. My mission was European, like this guys, which meant a lot of doors. I'd say your right - for me, this was a great person accelator, which was the point of his article. Don't think he was implying that he was working on his startup during the mission.

My mission really taught me what hard work was - to devote 100% of your waking hours to further a cause you believed in. It turns out that is what it takes to grow an early startup as well, and my mission prepared me for that.

austenallred• 13 years ago

Creds: Author.

Yeah, I created the title at like midnight last night; obviously it's not meant in the literal sense.

I think you're right; a mission is a good person accelerator, and if that person happens to be a would-be entrepreneur it makes them a better entrepreneur.

There wasn't really much of a focus on short-term numbers in my mission, mostly because when we reported numbers it would usually start "0, 0, 0, 0"

Prophasi• 13 years ago

I can see it. I've never talked to the Mormons (although I see them biking in pairs near my office most days), but I've had a number of pleasantly spirited debates with some Jehovah's Witnesses.

We don't see eye-to-eye on religion, but I admire their persistence and resilience in plugging away in the heat and cold, day after day, dealing with an almost certain high level of rejection and, often, hostility.

In my experience they've always remained respectful and polite, too, far beyond the low threshold most people seem to have. I could see that laying an excellent foundation for entrepreneurial gusto.

VaedaStrike• 13 years ago

Having served as an LDS/Mormon missionary in San Jose, and being presently pursuing a path to eventually take my project into the start-up realm it'd be nice to think that it prepared me, at least in some degree for that.

invalidOrTaken's comments on it preparing for corporate life I think depends on how a person approaches it.

I think the biggest thing, and this can inoculate for both corporate or start-up land, is the potential for acclimation to rejection. Getting over rejection (and staying over it) helps you, I believe, in either start-up or corporate environment.

Whether it prepares one for corporate or start-up, I believe, leans heavily on what one sees as progress.

The realization for me that metrics only matter in the aggregate of everyone together and that one's individual quality of performance on a net whole is what mattered for that individual's personal accomplishment is something that's helped me immensely.

I can knock doors 'till the cows come home but if my hearts not in it the meaningful metrics don't come through, but, on the other hand, if there are good metrics it can be an indicator of the intensity one is applying and, in that way, can help one get an external glimpse of commitment.

phamilton2• 13 years ago

Another Mormon here, served my mission in Sweden. I don't think the personal gains are unique to startups. As an engineer, the biggest personal lessons were about learning to ask the right questions to understand concerns before responding. That process is identical to gathering customer requirements before providing a solution. Additionally, with the leadership structure in place, I had a lot of opportunities to establish a group culture and see the effect it had on motivation and productivity. Both of these have positively contributed to my career, in and out of startups.

gtani• 13 years ago

I was riding in the back of a bus with a few Elders through northern Ecuador years ago and one of them said "Hey, i have something to show you" and pulled out a bunch of pictures of... cheeseburgers and fries from TGI Friday's in Quito, they were "just like you get in Salt Lake!".

This kind of showed the challenges they were having in remote parts of Ecuador, close to the Colombian border. A couple of them didn't speak Spanish very well, but they were coping well, in my estimation. So I see the connection

saosebastiao3• 13 years ago

It certainly sounds like the typical MTC propaghanda..."work hard on your mission and you'll be blessed with financial success and a hot wife".

My own anecdotal evidence is that I have had twice as much financial success, and an even more amazing marriage since I left the church. And some of the more faithful mission companions I've had are still waiting around for their blessings.

There are plenty of person accelerators out there. A mission is a good experience, but nowhere near as important as you think.

Osiris3• 13 years ago

It sounds like you're equating the 'blessings' of mission service to be 'financial success'. It's important to make the distinction between the spiritual and the temporal. The goals of religion, in generally, are spiritual in nature; for example, learning charity, compassion, forgiveness, kindness, and other non-tangible character attributes.

It's possible that in learning these character attributes (such as through protracted service) can lead to the ability to gain temporal rewards, but it's not a given, nor is it the goal.

If you recall, in the New Testament Jesus makes it clear that temporal gain is often a hindrance to improving one's spirituality and character and thus we should be careful to avoid the pitfalls associated with it, such as pride.

Yes, I served a mission, but the 'blessings' I received from the experience are personal and spiritual in nature, and not material or temporal.

saosebastiao3• 13 years ago

That is fine, and what you say is closer to the official theology of the church. But church culture, folklore, and action is entirely different. When a faithful member is wealthy, they are assumed to be faithful, and are more likely to receive callings of progressively higher importance. If you could look at the wealth distribution of General Authorities, you would likely find that it is entirely different from the wealth distribution of the general church, or even that of the active members of the church. This is pretty well known (you probably recognize it yourself), even if there isn't any hard data to prove it...and it ends up being explained as blessings which come from faithfulness, which strengthens the folklore explanation.

thetrumanshow• 13 years ago

I once had a pastor who was a used-car salesman. It seemed like the worst kind of conflict-of-interest.

Young pastors, especially in the independent circuit (ie. not a seminary) are hustlers. They get told "NO!!!" a lot and it makes them very resilient. But, I don't think it necessarily makes them good salesmen which is what you need to be in a startup.

The kind of sales that missionaries (and pastors alike) are suited for is the pushy kind where you force fit your solution on top of any circumstance. The kind of sales a start-up needs to do (IMO) is the kind where you understand the businesses problems and provide a solution that meets the business requirement.

ezl3• 13 years ago

love this.

some of the discussion notes here seem to center on whether the requirements of serving mormon missions is a driver for entrepreneurship, but i think the obvious real story here is that 2 years of truly focused, single minded dedication to a cause is the sort of tenacity that most people in (American) society never really experience.

Tenacity and focus seem to be huge drivers in startup success.

I don't know about "mission == ultimate startup accelerator" but I'd back the claim that it's the sort of mental training ground that I don't think much else in American life stands up against.

ezl3• 13 years ago

I'd also love anything other than anecdotal evidence from Mormons that UT or Mormons produce a disproportionately large number of businesses or entrepreneurs -- I'll happily bet on CA, NY, and FL for state entrepreneurship rates.

saosebastiao3• 13 years ago

And you would win that bet.

http://www.kauffman.org/research-and-policy/kiea-interactive...

Edit: I found it interesting that the state of Utah has one of the worst bankruptcy rates in the nation, while Vermont has one of the lowest...despite being the second highest in entrepreneurship activity, and being the least religious to boot.

sofal• 13 years ago

Missions orient you much more towards multi-level marketing sales, where you're pushing a one-size-fits-all solution onto everyone you meet using any tactic that could possibly work. This is a big part of the reason why MLM companies flourish in Provo. While some of this "tenacity" may work for some types of startups, I rather think that in a startup you'd want to tailor your solution to fit people's problems rather than vice versa.

_greim_• 13 years ago

It saddens me that so much human effort and dedication would be wasted trying to convince more people to become Mormons. I'm glad it at least has a positive outcome of teaching people dedication. I know a few Evangelical missionaries, but it seems like a majority of their efforts are in improving peoples' lives, like building houses, teaching language, etc. I certainly hope Mormon missionaries do the same. Not saying they don't, it just seems like the emphasis is on conversion.

discountgenius• 13 years ago

Mormons believe that the fastest and best improvements to the quality of life of an individual come through conversion to the church. That being said, the LDS church in general does a lot of humanitarian aid and Mormon missionaries in particular spend significant chunks of time engaged in charitable service.

Source: I served a mission in NYC and we spent plenty of time at soup kitchens, food pantries, and just helping out anyone who needed a hand.

Edit: link to humanitarian aid info: http://mormon.org/values/humanitarian-aid

chrischen3• 13 years ago

Mormons believe that the fastest and best improvements to the quality of life of an individual come through conversion to the church.

Why?

jtsnow• 13 years ago

Here are some other tidbits from missionary life that haven't been mentioned:

- Mentorship and training offered by relatively successful individuals.

- Most will have some form of leadership responsibility. Typically can range from overseeing 4 to 30 individuals.

- Complete escape from media: no news, music, TV, etc.

- 2 hours of study daily

- 30 minutes exercise each morning. (Opportunity exists for longer recreation/exercise once per week.)

- Obviously being immersed in a different culture is a unique experience. Missionaries will talk to anyone willing to have a conversation and work with local church members. This leads to experiences one wouldn't have even if one were to move to the same place and get a job.

gadders• 13 years ago

Leaving the religion aside, I think sending any young person from Country A to Country B during their formative years can only be a good thing, I'd have thought.

Osiris3• 13 years ago

I believe that a big problem we have in the U.S. is that, given the size of the country, nearly no Americans, let alone teenagers, have any experience with another culture. In my opinion, this lack of exposure results in prejudice that is prevalent today, especially coming from the 'conservative' ideology.

Compare that to Europe where it's a train ride to another country, language, and culture.

paulhummer• 13 years ago

I served a slightly more than two year mission in the West Indies (I asked for and was given a 6 week "extension"). I am still active, though I often feel like a square peg in a round hole.

A mission is like college. It is what you make of it. For instance, I was a missionary with a mission. I didn't work too much with people that wanted to waste my time. I looked for people that were ready to make life changing decisions right now. I didn't find "knocking doors"/tracting to be very effective, and so while I did do it sporadically, I found other ways to meet people (ways that likely wouldn't work in the US, mind). I never sat still. I was either out meeting people, teaching them, and finding ways to help them or I was studying and thinking about better ways to help them.

I'm not sure that really made me founder material, but I did get the reap a lot of benefits of hard work. This resulted in me working harder to reap more benefits, and became a positive feedback loop for me.

This is what I have found, ten years later: Mormon missionaries are always two by two because they can't be by themselves (with the exception of being in the toilet). They aren't allowed. And you don't get to pick your "companion". You are assigned a companion and an area. Sometimes you get jerks. Sometimes you get people you just don't have anything in common with. And you don't get to put in a transfer request, or go stay at a friend's house to avoid them. You're with them. Period. This taught me to deal with people that are different than me, and not only "get along" with them, but be effective.

ascotan• 13 years ago

I actually had a very different situation. I felt knocking on doors was easy as a missionary and terribly difficult post-mission when I tried doing door-to-door sales later on. In the end it's where you heart is on whether or not you're going to be success at what you're doing.

I did however, think that missionary work gives you a certain level of maturity that most 19-21 year olds lack at that age.

Mormon Missions: Startup Accelerators?

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