Three men in their late 20s and early 30s announced they had signed up thousands of pastors to their startup, FaithStreet, which matches Christians and churches. An Episcopal priest wearing a white collar suggested ways they could refine their business model. And a young woman said she was frustrated with the designer for her mobile app, which helps people search for relevant Scripture verses.
After an hour, they bowed their heads, and a local church pastor led them in prayer, asking God for "fresh ideas of what you want to see happen with faith and technology."
The scene at the Faith and Tech meetup group is part of a small subculture of the tech world that supports Christian entrepreneurs. In contrast to the hard-partying, get-rich-fast lifestyle portrayed in a new Bravo reality show on Silicon Valley, these entrepreneurs and investors not only pray together, but also give financial support to faith-based startups and discuss how to build religious companies that are both financially successful and socially responsible.
The community includes Faith and Tech's monthly meetings for New York tech entrepreneurs, a Presbyterian church in the city that invests in new companies with Christian founders and a bicoastal accelerator program for Christian startups.
It's not unusual for tech innovators to be religious. The late Apple chief executive Steve Jobs, for example, was reportedly deeply interested in Eastern religions. Yet most techies, if they are spiritual, keep their beliefs to themselves. Entrepreneurs who talk about their faith in business meetings often get blank stares from investors, said Henry Kaestner, co-founder of the Internet phone provider Bandwidth.com.
"Most investors are trained to look for shareholder return and profits," Kaestner said. "When somebody says, 'I'm working for the glory of God,' it can be hard to get funding. Investors don't know what box to check."
So Christian entrepreneurs are finding like-minded investors who want to back startups with religious missions. Silicon Valley business owners have long used their social networks to make connections with investors.
"For Christians, what's the most important social network you have?" said Jan English-Lueck, an anthropology professor at San Jose State University. "It's your church."
In New York City, Redeemer Presbyterian Church has funded 20 startups over the past seven years as part of its annual small business competition. The church sees its investments as an outgrowth of its mission to serve the city, said Calvin Chin, director of entrepreneurship initiatives at Redeemer. To enter the competition, the business founder must be Christian -- a rule meant to ensure that each startup operates in line with church values, Chin said
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