Podcast episode
Episode 351 – The Day I Transferred 51% Ownership to God | Bertie Lourens
Join host Justin Forman as he sits down with Bertie Lourens, founder of a waste management company that has transformed the lives of 2,300 people across South Africa. Bertie shares his extraordinary journey from near bankruptcy to transferring majority ownership of his company to God—not as a symbolic gesture, but as a legally binding decision that fundamentally changed how he runs his business.
EPISODE NOTES
Bertie Lourens did something most entrepreneurs only talk about—he actually made God the legal majority shareholder of his waste management company. Not symbolically. Not philosophically. Legally. Through a non-profit structure, 51% of his shares now belong to an entity representing God’s ownership, complete with accountability structures that could remove Bertie if he walks away from his commitment.
But this radical decision came only after near disaster. Seven years into building a successful business with South Africa’s top retail mentor, Bertie faced a sheriff at his door with orders to shut everything down. In that moment of bankruptcy, he surrendered everything to God—and two miracles followed that gave his business a second lifeline. Shortly after, God asked him to give shares away, leading to the creation of Neko Capital and a journey of discovering what it really means to steward a business “with Him” rather than “for Him.”
Bertie shares vulnerably about the pride that nearly destroyed him, the freedom he found in surrender, and how he’s raising children without entitlement while serving 2,300 staff members across 10 South African cities. This conversation moves the phrase “God owns my business” from bumper sticker theology to boardroom reality.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction: From bumper sticker to reality
01:59 Attending C12 Conference in Texas
03:18 The business model: Turning waste into opportunity
06:33 Beyond the phrase: Making God’s ownership real
07:14 How pride nearly destroyed everything
08:34 The sheriff at the door: Facing bankruptcy
10:14 Two kingdoms: Building his vs. building His
12:02 Meeting Francho and learning about Neko Capital
13:21 What does the Shareholder want? Changing boardroom questions
15:54 The David and Goliath moment of decision
18:00 Accountants, lawyers, and the caution of giving away ownership
19:28 The daily fight: What is important to our King?
21:45 Choosing complexity over comfort
22:28 The four essentials: Obedience in relationship with God
24:42 Spiritual alignment in the boardroom
26:38 Raising kids without entitlement
28:20 Teaching gratitude through your own bankruptcy story
29:56 What stops people from making this jump?
30:45 The comfort of security vs. dependence on God
31:59 Benefits of surrender: Freedom from founder’s burden
34:52 The Elon Musk thought experiment
36:45 Joining the chorus: Stories of radical stewardship
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