— by Adam Metcalf

When I started my company and we raised venture capital, I thought I was the hottest thing living.

Around 0.05% of small businesses raise a VC round. I wouldn’t have said this out loud, but in my heart I believed it was because I was smarter and more capable than others.

In the early days of the business, we were flying. We were growing, hiring, and making a big splash.

I spent less time with my family and more time at the office. Less time playing with my kids and more time paying attention to my device. Less time with God and more time at the gym and at my desk.

It was the Silicon Valley dream and I was one of the few, the proud, the chosen.

Very few people impressed me. Unless you built your own company and sold it for millions, I could have cared less about what you were working on or your advice. 

We were a different breed and you may have gone to the best schools and worked for the best companies, but unless you were an entrepreneur, you were just a small cog in a massive wheel.

Pride is a funny and destructive thing.

But God in His incredible graciousness dashed me hard against the rocks to break this pride into pieces.

The day came when we stopped growing. We made some massive missteps on the product and in our sales model. We went from being one of the most loved companies to one of the most disliked.

I was asked to step down as Head of Product. Many of my dear friends left the company. Others were fired.

The dream was going up in flames. 

Amidst the ashes, God brought me face to face with my own failings, frailty, and foolishness. I was broken and deeply ashamed.

I never prayed for that. I prayed for worldly success. “God, please let the company succeed. Please let our investors get a hundredfold return!” 

Instead, my prayer should have focused on: “God, please help me to be a wise and prudent steward of the time and resources you have given me. May Your will be done. If that is abject failure, please let it be so.”

Even though I never prayed that, God was so good to cause me to fail miserably.

The company brought in new leadership and is actually doing much better today. If it had been left to me, it would already be bankrupt, everyone would have lost their jobs, and all our investors would have lost their money.

This is always an ever-present reality at a startup, but I would have brought about a much more precipitous decline.

I am 37 years old and I have lots of gray hair from this wild journey. God spared me from riches, prestige and all forms of worldly success.

He knew my heart wouldn’t have been able to handle those things. I am so thankful.

All along, the greatest success was staring me right in the face. A relationship with Him, a beautiful wife and three precious children, and the opportunity to share hope in our community. Father, family, flock.

If you find yourself on a similar journey, I hope that God also saves you from worldly success until you have the humility to embrace your role as a steward.

If you know his son Jesus Christ, you already have been richly blessed and successful beyond measure. Nothing you accomplish in this life will move the needle on that.

——

[Special thanks to Razvan Chisu for the cover photo]