Here are a few businesses I have pursued. Some were failures, but those failures produced experience

Christian or not, it is evident that there is an identity crisis on our hands. Suicide, depression, and mental health have never been higher, and the younger generations seem even more set up for worse problems. Being a Christian, these same problems are plaguing the church and it is super sad to see people losing their identity in Christ.

Genesis 1:27 says "God created human beings in his own image. In the Image of God He created them. Male and Female he created them". We are made in the image of Christ, yet the world has been pulling us away from this identity since day one. Even little things like self-image, insecurities, and low self-confidence are huge issues and result from people trying to find their identity in empty things that the world has to offer. God created us to be confident, fearless people, yet the complete opposite is true so often.

I decided to build an app that gives a daily verse that is centered around biblical identity, and who God says we are. Not only does it give a daily verse, but it also gives it in a way that can be spoken out loud, and then a daily prayer using that verse. To start the day off by speaking the truth over yourself is more powerful than we know. I want to help people unlock the identity that has been locked inside them, and see true freedom come. 

Currently Pre-Revenue: Goal is to add advertising once users hits 1k, as well as a paid premium advertisement free version.

I was a co-founder of Findup, which is an online marketplace where parents can find and signup for kids' activities. Picture door dash or booking.com, but instead of finding food and hotels you can find sports for your kids.

After chatting with my co-founder, we realized that other than Google there wasn't an easy place to go and find activities and sports for kids. Even on Google, finding "6-year-old boys soccer programs in Lubbock TX" brought up very few results. Some of them were outdated, and some that were updated ranked too low to be on the first page. Either way, it became an arduous task to figure out potential programs and then compare them to others. 

We decided to make it easier for parents, so we created an app that lists all of the current, up-to-date activities available in any user's city. (Currently only in Lubbock but expanding soon). We use a combination of AI scraping, as well as manual scraping to find data on these companies. We then build out their profile, fill in their information and make it easy to find whatever sport or activity a parent would be looking for.

Currently Pre Revenue: Profit generation will be through businesses paying to claim profiles, advertising revenue, and a % per registration fee we charge for anyone that registers on the website (currently being worked on). 

Created a clothing line called Dudetree. It operated around influencers promoting products and was based on a sell-out business model. The products were casual, such as hoodies, t-shirts, sweats, hats, and beanies. Learned how to manufacture goods offshore, deal with large delays in receiving goods, communicate with employees of companies that operate on their agenda, interact with large influencers to promote products, set up a domain and website, register a company with the local state and government for tax purposes, use social media to market and reach a target audience, and package and ship products on time.

I started with this idea during the Covid lockdowns and when I returned to College and started doing an internship I began to stop putting effort into Dudetree. It didn't take off like I hoped it would but the skills I learned through the experience have helped me see business from a different perspective.

Biggest Takeaways:

1. Trying to communicate via email with Pakistan clothing manufacturers as a "nobody" who is ordering a small amount of highly customized material is extremely difficult. Quality control is almost impossible, long delays are guaranteed and ultimately there is no way to know if the final products are going to be exactly as requested. 

2. Just because you can land highly followed social media influencers doesn't mean people will see your company as "legit", and gaining large numbers of followers in a short period with a low marketing budget is highly difficult.

3. Content creation is hard when you are running other aspects of the business

4. Storing hoodies takes up too much space in a college bedroom.

5. Seeing orders come in is the most motivating factor in running the business.

Initial Investment: 4k

Return on Investment: 3k

Total Loss: 1k :)