What are you called to create?
Most of us assume entrepreneurship begins with a business idea.
I've come to believe it begins much earlier than that. It begins with something in the world that isn't as it should be. It's a need that goes unmet or a possibility others overlook. And then the question: What are you going to do about it?
Before I spent years helping others wrestle with those questions, I had to wrestle with them myself.
In 2013, I walked away from an eight-year banking career where I served on the executive team of a credit union that served churches, ministries, and missionaries in over 100 countries. By most measures, I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I had a stable career, meaningful work, and a clear path forward.
Yet something was stirring beneath the surface. I sensed God inviting me toward a different future. I couldn't have told you where that path would lead, only that I could no longer ignore the call.
So I stepped away from the career I had built and began a journey that would reshape how I understood work, purpose, community, and leadership.
A few months later, I attended a conference in Los Angeles. During one session, pastor Erwin McManus posed a question that has stayed with me ever since:
"What if the Church became the human incubator for creating the world's best future?"
Suddenly, I was face to face with that question, and then another: What are you going to do about it?
This led me and my business partner to open a coworking space in Costa Mesa called FLDWRK, the same space that now houses Hildegard College. For the last 13 years, creators have come to that table with their ideas, their passions, and their purpose. Many of them had practical questions, and deeper ones too. What am I meant to do with my life? What responsibility has been entrusted to me? How do I take this burden I carry and turn it into meaningful work?
Those conversations grew into an incubation program where we helped people identify their core purpose, discern the needs they felt called to address, and build sustainable organizations around work that matters.
Over the years, we've supported founders as they've launched communities, developed platforms, and built successful organizations. Many of those same individuals are now part of the extended Hildegard community, serving on our advisory board, as mentors, guest speakers, and guides for the next generation of creators and entrepreneurs.
But what excites me most isn't their success, it's their continued participation in growing an ecosystem where good ideas stewarded by good people can create good in the world.
When I first met Dr. Matthew Smith and heard his vision for Hildegard College, I knew it was the perfect match: the liberal arts paired with entrepreneurship.
Too often, we separate wisdom from action. We teach people to think, or to build, but rarely both. Hildegard brings those two things together. We call it Wisdom-Based Entrepreneurship. At its best, entrepreneurship is an act of stewardship, of discerning what is worth creating, understanding the needs of the people around you, and taking responsibility for bringing something good into the world.
That vision is what continues to draw me to this work.
And here's my invitation.
I'm not sure how you found your way onto Hildegard's list. Perhaps you've been following Hildegard for a while. Perhaps you're a supporter, mentor, entrepreneur, or leader with wisdom and experience to share. If so, I'd love to talk to you about our growing advisory board. You can email me at jltanner@hildegard.college.
Perhaps you're a student—or the parent of a student—looking for a different kind of college experience, one that combines wisdom, formation, and real world application. We'd love to have that conversation as well. You can fill out more info here.
Or perhaps you're carrying an idea you can't seem to shake. A business. A nonprofit. A creative project. Something that keeps returning because it hasn't yet found its way into the world. If so, we'd love to see you at our Fall Creators Cohorts info session on Jul 31 @ 11:30 AM.
My vision has always been larger than a program, a college, or a single initiative.
We're building an ecosystem where thoughtful people gather around a table.
This table is where wisdom is shared across generations, where ideas are tested, refined, and strengthened in community, and where creators, thinkers, students, mentors, and leaders help one another bring meaningful work into the world.
In other words: We're building a community committed to creating the world's best future.
Will you join us?
Jeff Tanner
Cofounder and Board Chair, Hildegard College