April 29, 2025 • 24 mins
Stephen Carter shares how entrepreneurial education is transforming Christian schools by developing critical skills and purpose-driven mindsets in students. What started as a simple coffee cart has grown into a nationwide movement helping students discover their unique calling through entrepreneurial thinking and real-world application.
• Entrepreneurship defined as "taking a risk to create something new for the good of others"
• Most in-demand skills from employers: proactive problem-solving, collaboration, communication
• Parents can foster entrepreneurial mindset by praising effort over talent
• Focus on seeing work as kingdom-building, restoring broken bonds
• Entrepreneurial mindset shifts students from consumption to creation
• Start small with minimum viable products and improve as you go
Learn more at SeedtreeGroup.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Stephanie (00:02):
Hi, this is Stephanie Shafer and you're listening to
the North Star Narrative, apodcast from North Star Academy.
I want to thank you for joiningus.
I hope you're encouraged,challenged and motivated by what
you learned today.
Enjoy the story.
Hey everybody, Welcome to thisweek's episode.
I'm, as always, super excitedbecause God brings incredible
(00:26):
guests our way.
I have a new friend that I metunexpectedly in a remarkable way
, and I've gotten to know himquite well over the past few
weeks, and so I'm really excited.
You get to know him.
Stay tuned, pay attention,because it really is
transformational what God isdoing in and through him.
So I welcome my new friend,Stephen Carter, who is from
(00:50):
Cincinnati Hills ChristianAcademy, where I just got to go
visit, and he also has SeatreeGroup, where he is working to
train leaders to help studentshave a transformational mindset
through entrepreneurship, tohelp students have a
transformational mindset throughentrepreneurship, and so I got
to meet him at Converge 2025,wandered into his session short
(01:15):
session, but extremely powerfuland so I want him to share some
of that richness and goodness.
But we want to hear his storyas well and if you want to,
Stephen, we can talk for amoment.
We can weave in there how Godordained the next part of me
getting to Cincinnati and then alittle bit of our future.
But anyway, I'm so glad thatyou're here.
Stephen (01:33):
Stephen C Reilly.
Stephanie, let's go.
Okay, I am pumped as well.
I will match your enthusiasmstep for step, because this is
the time to have theconversation around how we
engage our students in trulybecoming who God has called them
to be.
So I mean, bring it on, let'sdig in.
Stephanie (01:51):
Yes, let's dig in.
So tell us a little bit aboutyour story.
Where did and when did yourpassions develop so much for
students and entrepreneurshipand just give us a glimpse of
the excitement God has taken youthrough on this journey.
Stephen (02:06):
Absolutely.
I'll dig in with a glimpse,like you said, and I've been in
Christian education since 10thgrade as a student, and
Christian college and thenChristian teaching from a school
perspective, and it was English.
I was in the English departmentbut I was the teacher who was
doing everything.
You know we're coaching debateteam, we're doing cross country,
(02:27):
we're helping with some of theplays and things.
And when I was approached by myhead of school who said, hey,
we're going to get this rollingcart and we're going to put some
coffee on it and we're going tolet students manage the
business and I want you tooversee it, I was predetermined
to already say yes, what couldpossibly go wrong?
(02:48):
It's a little rolling coffeecart.
Listen, that was 12 years ago.
That little rolling cart turnedinto a full-fledged program that
teaches the entrepreneurialmindset from a Christ-centered
perspective to help transformthe lives of students and step
into who they are called tobecome.
And that was not part of theconversation 12 years ago.
(03:10):
12 years ago it was here's acup, here's some coffee and
let's sell it.
But what happened was westumbled into the
entrepreneurial mindset and thenbegan to understand that when
you help students step intogrowth mindset, develop their
grit, redefine failure and trulyseek opportunity.
(03:31):
They get engaged, and it wasthe student engagement that grew
it from that little mobile cartinto a full-fledged coffee bar,
into wood-fired pizza ovenbusiness, smoothie business,
greenhouse business all theseopportunities framed around the
entrepreneurial mindset.
And so the journey has been howdo we grow programs quick enough
(03:52):
to meet the demand of studentswho want to learn this?
Because it's based in skills,durable skills that set them up
for success in every walk oflife.
And I always tell peopleStephanie, kind of to close this
piece of it we are not tryingto just churn out entrepreneurs
Now.
Many of our students becomeentrepreneurs.
(04:13):
What we want to do is helpstudents think like
entrepreneurs, and I will sharethe definition of the word
entrepreneur by Jordan Rainer.
He says entrepreneurs areanyone who takes a risk to
create something new for thegood of others.
(04:33):
That's what we're helping ourstudents step into as we develop
these meaningful programs onschool campuses all around the
nation.
Stephanie (04:42):
Yeah, and being at your school, Cincinnati Hills
Christian Academy, I got to seethis firsthand.
We got to interact and listento and get to know students that
are involved in this programand it's more than a program.
It is a lifestyle, it is a wayof thinking.
It is transforming their mindsand their hearts and giving them
(05:02):
passions and developing theirskills.
And I got to see that all playout from them not scripted
testimonies, like you would askthem questions and they share.
And then the beauty of whatthey're creating through.
It's not just a coffee cartanymore.
You want to share it.
It is elaborate.
Stephen (05:20):
It's elaborate, it's a laboratory, and I'm glad you
brought that up, stephanie.
And real quick, before I tellmore about the laboratory, the
story of how you got there is soimportant because you and I met
at Converge and I said in thatsession I said we have a
sold-out symposium event.
And you came up to me anywayand you said, stephen, I'm
(05:41):
supposed to be at your event.
You had no idea when it was.
You had no idea when it was.
You had no idea like any ofthese pieces I had, three hours
before had been informed by aschool who was also at Converge.
They said, hey, stephen, we'vegot a person who can't come,
just letting you know there's anopen ticket.
I didn't even advertise it, Ijust said we're sold out.
(06:02):
You walked up, you stepped intothat place and you said I'm
coming.
I said, stephanie, it's a weekfrom today in Cincinnati, and
you said I don't care, I'm goingto be there.
And you are.
You came and you brought thatenthusiasm and that excitement
and that vision.
(06:22):
And part of that event wassaying, look, excitement.
And that vision and part ofthat event was saying, look, you
might look at these programsand say, oh, okay, so kids are
running a business.
They're running a coffee bar,they're running these different
businesses.
That's great.
And I tell people, look closer,because when you look closer
you see it's not just a business, it's a laboratory where
(06:43):
they're developing skills inreal time.
And, stephanie, I even say lookcloser than that.
When you look even closer, yousee a microcosm of the kingdom
of God, as students worktogether to collaborate, to
problem solve, to effectivelycommunicate.
They're coming together tobring solutions to problems and
(07:04):
to act out shalom.
I mean I can't get enough of it.
I cannot get enough of it.
Stephanie (07:11):
Yeah, me either had no idea what was in store for me
going to Converge.
I knew it was going to be greatand the atmosphere was electric
at Converge.
Educators are in a new spacethan they have been in the last
couple of years.
They seem invigorated, theywanted to talk to people and
build community.
And so, meeting you, I was justlike it's the next step and
this is God's goodness.
I'm sure you've seen it allthroughout your journey.
(07:32):
As you just take the next step,follow the next thing he asked
you to do.
He intersects your life withpeople that help challenge you
and grow you and take you downthe next path.
And so you were that for me,you were that for NorthStar I'm
super excited about the futureand you were that for all of
these schools.
So talk a little bit about yourbusiness that you formed and
(07:52):
how you're training theseschools.
And yeah, you had 60 educatorspacked in a room for what?
Three days?
And everybody was in awe.
Stephen (08:01):
You know 13 different states and 23 different schools
and really it comes down to thestudent transformation.
So I always tell people we rootthis program in Romans 12 too,
where Paul says do not conformto the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by therenewing of your mind.
(08:24):
That is the key to this programis we're teaching the
entrepreneurial mindset andwe're doing it from a
Christ-centered perspective.
We're doing it in such a waythat you step into what we're
told in 2 Corinthians.
Is that new creation?
Anyone who's in Christ is a newcreation.
Old things are passed away, andso what happens as a result?
(08:44):
If you go back five years,we're building this program in
Cincinnati.
I mean, the thing is poppingoff.
It's going crazy.
We're building a certificatetrack.
We have more businesses than weknow what to do with on this
brick and mortar campus inCincinnati, ohio.
I start fielding emails left andright from Christian schools
around the nation saying hey, weheard about what you're doing.
(09:04):
How do we get started Now?
Listen, stephanie, I've beenteaching the entrepreneurial
mindset for seven years.
At this point it took anembarrassingly long time before
I thought oh, wait, a minute,here's an idea.
I could start a business.
Right, I could beentrepreneurial myself and step
into this space to have themission to help schools launch
(09:29):
programs that engage theirstudents around this
entrepreneurial mindset.
So I started with a pilotprogram three or four schools.
We began testing, trying seeingif this works, seeing if we
could replicate it, and it justworked.
It worked because we haddedicated educators who we
trained, who were bought in, wehad engaging curriculum but,
(09:49):
most importantly, students cameto the space engaged in the
mindset, got excited and thatexcitement became contagious.
You know we talk a lot aboutgrit.
Angela Duckworth tells us thatgrit is really about passion and
perseverance toward long-termgoals.
Well, let me give you along-term goal.
(10:09):
The educational system ingeneral is broken.
We have the greatestopportunity right now to bring
healing, to bring solutions intothat space, and it's through
engaging our students in askills-focused approach, and
real quick.
I'm not arguing that we get ridof content or knowledge.
That is incredibly important,but without the skills, that
(10:33):
content is not actionable.
That's the secret to theentrepreneurship piece.
People with an entrepreneurialmindset are biased for action
and our students want that.
They crave that.
So when they see it, we beginto see flourishing, and that was
a big theme at Converge.
Stephanie is like we wantflourishing schools.
(10:54):
Well, flourishing schoolsrequire flourishing students,
and our students will notflourish in environments where
there's no passion, wherethere's no interest, where
there's no real-worldapplication.
But we can create that throughentrepreneurship.
So four schools became eightschools, became 12 schools and
now I'm working with over 25schools to say let's replicate,
(11:17):
let's build, let's grow.
Now we're training elementaryteachers, we're working with
teachers at all different agelevels to say this is not just a
program, this is a mindset ofhow we can redeem our pedagogy
in schools.
We can focus on progressinstead of perfection.
We can change the way we teach.
So, stephanie, we're justgetting started at this idea of
(11:40):
what truly transformativeeducation looks like from the
lens of entrepreneurship idea ofwhat truly transformative
education looks like from thelens of entrepreneurship.
Stephanie (11:50):
Yeah, and what's really cool is there's so many
educators getting excited andpassionate.
You have to have that first andthat's going to trickle down
into the students.
So it's so, so, so cool.
I want you to also share alittle bit more about the skills
.
So you told us in theconference that you interviewed
businesses and the people whohire and what they want from
students, and they're just notseeing it.
Stephen (12:10):
We're in an amazing day and age and we talk a lot,
people rail a lot about thiscurrent generation.
One of the figures I like tofollow is Mike Rowe from Dirty
Jobs, and he says people alwaystalk about the snowflake
generation, the snowflakes, andhe says, well, we're the clouds
from which the snowflakes fell,let's take some ownership over
(12:32):
this.
And so I set about to say, okay, well, if business owners are
complaining about themillennials, about these younger
generations, they'recomplaining about their work
ethic and all these things.
Why don't I just go talk tobusiness owners and say what do
you want?
What are you looking for?
What is it you seek out whenyou're hiring?
And here's what's fascinatingBusiness owner after business
(12:54):
owner after business owner whenyou're hiring.
And here's what's fascinating,business owner after business
owner after business owner.
What I didn't hear was oh, theyknow the periodic table of
elements.
Or they had a 4.0 GPA, or theyhad this amazing degree.
Nothing against any of thosethings.
It's not what they said.
They said I want them to showup, I want them to do the work.
I want them to look me in theeye and have a conversation with
(13:16):
me.
I want them to lead a team.
What they were listing were theskills.
Now, we used to call these softskills right, you know, back in
the day, oh, the soft skills.
Well, that's changing.
We're now more and more you'regoing to see the phrase durable
skills.
These are the skills that last.
And when you isolate them, likewhen you say, okay, what are
(13:38):
the most important ones, theones that come to the top.
The most in-demand skills areskills like problem solving.
Now we take it one step further.
We say proactive problemsolving.
You know, we're not just goingto solve the problem, we're
going to keep it from being aproblem in the future.
Number two collaboration.
(13:59):
Collaboration.
Schools are so good atcooperation.
This is what my friend JoelHazard from Fellowship Christian
says.
They're so good at cooperation.
We want them to collaborate,which is messy.
It means bringing in what mightbe contradictory visions and
making them work together.
It's synergizing.
It means bringing in what mightbe contradictory visions and
making them work together.
It's synergizing.
It's coming together and out ofthat to create something
(14:22):
together that's beautiful, thatworks, that solves the problem.
Collaboration.
And the third effectivecommunication.
Oh, my goodness.
And we could talk all day.
We won't do it, but we couldtalk all day about our
generations and what cell phoneshave done, what screens have
done to communication.
You just put a group ofstudents together and have them
launch a business.
They're going to learn veryquickly that other people exist
(14:45):
and they have to talk to themand look at them and make eye
contact with them, and these arethe skills that business owners
are looking for.
So whenever I talk to studentsthat business owners are looking
for, so whenever I talk tostudents, I say hey, great news,
great news.
The bar for success is so lowright now.
You just shake someone's hand,you've got a job.
But here's the thing, stephanie, we don't want them to just
(15:08):
stumble over the bar.
We want them to vault over thatbar.
We want them to be so preparedwith these skills that they just
blow it out of the water, takeit to the next level and really
build into that mindset.
Stephanie (15:24):
So, so exciting.
Okay, as I'm sitting herethinking about some of our
listeners, parents.
So there's parents listeningright now.
This is not just for schools.
Parents can benefit from whatyou are sharing because they're
the teachers at home, right?
They're the guiders, thedisciplers.
So, as you've thought throughthis, you're a parent.
(15:44):
What are some things parentscan be doing right now to set
their kids up for success?
Stephen (15:50):
I love this question and it's in many ways, I think
sometimes in education anantagonism develops between
parents and educators andthere's all kinds of things that
can happen or, you know, burrsthat can take place.
In many ways, parents have amassive opportunity here to
leverage this kind of mindset,to even take the relationship
(16:13):
with their kids into new levelsand new opportunities, and so
what I would say is a lot ofwhat we're learning in the
fields of growth, mindset andgrit from people like Carol
Dweck and other researchers is,as parents, we need to work a
little harder to praise effortinstead of talent.
(16:34):
I think that alone is gold,because you know, it's so easy
for us to say oh man, this comesso naturally to you, you're so
naturally good at this, I'm soproud of how well you did on
this.
Let's praise the effort theyput in, because when you praise
effort, like what you praise iswhat you get more of, and effort
(16:55):
trumps talent.
Every time, in every study.
Now you put effort with talentand you're off the charts.
So that's one thing I would sayto parents.
Another and this is just kindof kind of kind of a silly one
but boy, you want to developgrit Every like Disney sports
movie ever made is a story ofgrit and overcoming odds and
(17:15):
having a long-term goal.
I mean things like Cool,runnings and Rudy and all these
great movies For your familymovie night.
Pick some of the stories thatemphasize the values that you
want your students to develop,or even the values that business
owners are asking for.
I want grit.
I want people to show up.
What are you watching?
What are you listening to?
(17:35):
What are you reading with yourkids that emphasize those values
?
There are so many great booksand stories out there.
I'm actually working this is aproject that I haven't finished
yet my team and I are working ona parent guide to the
entrepreneurial mindset andwe're working with a couple
schools who are going to sharethis with their parents to say
you know, we're setting goals inthe classroom.
(17:57):
What if you had a goal as afamily and you tracked it with a
scoreboard and you got excitedwith your kids when you met that
goal?
You're not just achieving agoal, you're teaching them
systems they can take throughthe rest of their life.
So there's opportunities allover the place to engage on the
parental level in this area.
Stephanie (18:19):
That was gold.
Love it.
Anytime I hear Stephen talk,it's gold.
There's so many nuggets, sookay for students that are
listening, kind of gear thistoward them.
So the goal and heartbeat ofall of this is to be good
stewards of God's kingdom, toknow where you fit in, what
God's calling you to.
(18:40):
So all that you're involved inand you're seeing happen.
Why would a student beinterested in this?
Where do they fit in?
Can you just speak to them?
Sure?
Stephen (18:51):
You know, when I see disengagement and disenchantment
, it's often connected to a lackof purpose, a lack of meaning,
a lack of direction.
And it's very much true that ifwe don't know where we're going
, we will certainly not end upwhere we want to be.
When I look at the numbers andthe polls and the surveys, I see
(19:13):
very disappointing statisticsborn out of the fact that many
of our students don't have aplan for their growth.
They don't have a way todevelop healthy habits to get
them to where they want to go,and so they end up seeing life
not as this amazing opportunityfull of joy and meaning and
purpose, but as something to getthrough.
(19:34):
And I would just argue thatthere's a different way of
approaching it.
When we look at theentrepreneurship space, we don't
look at here's a job or here'sa career.
We look at here's a vocationand here's a calling.
It's going to look differentfor everybody and that's why we
say you don't have to become anentrepreneur, but you develop
(19:54):
the mindset of an entrepreneur.
You see what you're doing as apivotal role in building the
kingdom of God here on earth.
Like, look, stephanie.
As believers, we are all calledto be part of this grand
project of restoration.
You know, there are thesebroken bonds between God and
humans, between humans andhumans, between humans and the
(20:16):
world.
We're called to restore thosebonds and when you have a
mindset that has a vision, thathas direction, that has purpose,
you see everything that you do,everything that you touch as
part of this larger story.
That's the beauty of this.
(20:38):
Students will come in andthey'll say I want to be an
entrepreneur because I want tomake a bunch of money.
And I want to be very clearthere's nothing wrong with
making a bunch of money, there'snothing wrong with being driven
to be financially successful.
I want to know why.
I want to know what's thelarger meaning, what's the
larger purpose?
What good can you do out ofthat?
If we're defining entrepreneuras someone who takes a risk,
(20:59):
where are you taking risks inyour life?
Where are you, too, risk averse?
If it's someone who createssomething new, where are you
stepping into creation?
So much of our society isfixated on consumption.
I want students to see creation.
I want them to step not justinto ownership but into
(21:20):
stewardship.
And when we do that boy, ourentire perspective changes and
we see our role as filled withmeaning, filled with purpose and
fueled with direction.
Stephanie (21:34):
So good, yeah, so exciting, and I'm thinking some
people that this is brand new tothis might seem a little
overwhelming because we'regiving you this big picture, but
I promise you there are steps,it can be narrowed down and you
start small.
Stephen (21:52):
You start small.
I mean, Stephanie, that's theentire idea of entrepreneurship
is you start with the minimumpiece, the minimum viable
product.
You get going and then youimprove and you build.
I mean, we started with arolling cart and a coffee pump.
I want to emphasize that right,you don't start with a million
dollar build out of a building.
No, you just start and you doand you improve as you go.
(22:13):
That's the key.
Stephanie (22:14):
And you get the students involved in taking
ownership.
Yes, students doing it, andthat's where the beauty comes
from.
All right, so there's somewebsites everybody can go to
Tell them about Cincinnati HillsSeedtree Group.
Stephen (22:27):
Yes, so read up a little more on the specifics.
At SeedtreeGroupcom that's seed, as in S-E-E-D Seedtreegroupcom
.
That's seed as in S-E-E-Dseedtreegroupcom.
You can reach me directly atsteven at seedtreegroupcom.
That's Steven with a P-H.
You can look at the program atCincinnati Hills Christian
Academy.
It's chca-ohorg.
(22:48):
So learn a little bit more Onthe Seedtree website.
You'll see case studies of someof the schools we're working in
and see how this is working inother places around the nation,
how it's growing in differentpockets and areas, and really
just become part of the movement.
I have a podcast called theEntrepreneurial Mindset for
Transformative Education.
Follow along, get involved inthe conversation, join the
(23:11):
newsletter.
This is a movement aboutchanging education and
transforming lives.
Let's do it.
Stephanie (23:20):
Yes, let's do it.
So everybody check out hiswebsites, listen to the podcast
and stay tuned here.
I have a fill-in.
He will be on again and there'ssome incredible things coming
with moving.
What can we do online?
How do we take this from thebrick and mortar, get really
creative?
And, yeah, I'm excited to seemore of God's goodness each day.
(23:43):
So thank you so much forspending a little bit of time
with us.
It's been a pleasure to haveyou on and, yeah, just super
excited about what's next foryou.
Stephen (23:53):
Thank you, stephanie.
The pleasure is mine.
I appreciate what you're doingand your mission and, yeah,
let's build it, let's go.
Stephanie (24:02):
Thank you so much for listening today.
If you have any questions forour guest or would like
information about NorthStar,please email us.
At podcast at nsaschool, welove having guests on our show
and getting to hear theirstories.
If you have anyone in mind thatyou think would be a great
guest to feature, please emailus and let us know.
And don't forget to subscribeso you don't miss out on
(24:26):
upcoming stories.
Hi, this is Stephanie Shafer and you're listening to
the North Star Narrative, apodcast from North Star Academy.
I want to thank you for joiningus.
I hope you're encouraged,challenged and motivated by what
you learned today.
Enjoy the story.
Hey everybody, Welcome to thisweek's episode.
I'm, as always, super excitedbecause God brings incredible
(00:26):
guests our way.
I have a new friend that I metunexpectedly in a remarkable way
, and I've gotten to know himquite well over the past few
weeks, and so I'm really excited.
You get to know him.
Stay tuned, pay attention,because it really is
transformational what God isdoing in and through him.
So I welcome my new friend,Stephen Carter, who is from
(00:50):
Cincinnati Hills ChristianAcademy, where I just got to go
visit, and he also has SeatreeGroup, where he is working to
train leaders to help studentshave a transformational mindset
through entrepreneurship, tohelp students have a
transformational mindset throughentrepreneurship, and so I got
to meet him at Converge 2025,wandered into his session short
(01:15):
session, but extremely powerfuland so I want him to share some
of that richness and goodness.
But we want to hear his storyas well and if you want to,
Stephen, we can talk for amoment.
We can weave in there how Godordained the next part of me
getting to Cincinnati and then alittle bit of our future.
But anyway, I'm so glad thatyou're here.
Stephen (01:33):
Stephen C Reilly.
Stephanie, let's go.
Okay, I am pumped as well.
I will match your enthusiasmstep for step, because this is
the time to have theconversation around how we
engage our students in trulybecoming who God has called them
to be.
So I mean, bring it on, let'sdig in.
Stephanie (01:51):
Yes, let's dig in.
So tell us a little bit aboutyour story.
Where did and when did yourpassions develop so much for
students and entrepreneurshipand just give us a glimpse of
the excitement God has taken youthrough on this journey.
Stephen (02:06):
Absolutely.
I'll dig in with a glimpse,like you said, and I've been in
Christian education since 10thgrade as a student, and
Christian college and thenChristian teaching from a school
perspective, and it was English.
I was in the English departmentbut I was the teacher who was
doing everything.
You know we're coaching debateteam, we're doing cross country,
(02:27):
we're helping with some of theplays and things.
And when I was approached by myhead of school who said, hey,
we're going to get this rollingcart and we're going to put some
coffee on it and we're going tolet students manage the
business and I want you tooversee it, I was predetermined
to already say yes, what couldpossibly go wrong?
(02:48):
It's a little rolling coffeecart.
Listen, that was 12 years ago.
That little rolling cart turnedinto a full-fledged program that
teaches the entrepreneurialmindset from a Christ-centered
perspective to help transformthe lives of students and step
into who they are called tobecome.
And that was not part of theconversation 12 years ago.
(03:10):
12 years ago it was here's acup, here's some coffee and
let's sell it.
But what happened was westumbled into the
entrepreneurial mindset and thenbegan to understand that when
you help students step intogrowth mindset, develop their
grit, redefine failure and trulyseek opportunity.
(03:31):
They get engaged, and it wasthe student engagement that grew
it from that little mobile cartinto a full-fledged coffee bar,
into wood-fired pizza ovenbusiness, smoothie business,
greenhouse business all theseopportunities framed around the
entrepreneurial mindset.
And so the journey has been howdo we grow programs quick enough
(03:52):
to meet the demand of studentswho want to learn this?
Because it's based in skills,durable skills that set them up
for success in every walk oflife.
And I always tell peopleStephanie, kind of to close this
piece of it we are not tryingto just churn out entrepreneurs
Now.
Many of our students becomeentrepreneurs.
(04:13):
What we want to do is helpstudents think like
entrepreneurs, and I will sharethe definition of the word
entrepreneur by Jordan Rainer.
He says entrepreneurs areanyone who takes a risk to
create something new for thegood of others.
(04:33):
That's what we're helping ourstudents step into as we develop
these meaningful programs onschool campuses all around the
nation.
Stephanie (04:42):
Yeah, and being at your school, Cincinnati Hills
Christian Academy, I got to seethis firsthand.
We got to interact and listento and get to know students that
are involved in this programand it's more than a program.
It is a lifestyle, it is a wayof thinking.
It is transforming their mindsand their hearts and giving them
(05:02):
passions and developing theirskills.
And I got to see that all playout from them not scripted
testimonies, like you would askthem questions and they share.
And then the beauty of whatthey're creating through.
It's not just a coffee cartanymore.
You want to share it.
It is elaborate.
Stephen (05:20):
It's elaborate, it's a laboratory, and I'm glad you
brought that up, stephanie.
And real quick, before I tellmore about the laboratory, the
story of how you got there is soimportant because you and I met
at Converge and I said in thatsession I said we have a
sold-out symposium event.
And you came up to me anywayand you said, stephen, I'm
(05:41):
supposed to be at your event.
You had no idea when it was.
You had no idea when it was.
You had no idea like any ofthese pieces I had, three hours
before had been informed by aschool who was also at Converge.
They said, hey, stephen, we'vegot a person who can't come,
just letting you know there's anopen ticket.
I didn't even advertise it, Ijust said we're sold out.
(06:02):
You walked up, you stepped intothat place and you said I'm
coming.
I said, stephanie, it's a weekfrom today in Cincinnati, and
you said I don't care, I'm goingto be there.
And you are.
You came and you brought thatenthusiasm and that excitement
and that vision.
(06:22):
And part of that event wassaying, look, excitement.
And that vision and part ofthat event was saying, look, you
might look at these programsand say, oh, okay, so kids are
running a business.
They're running a coffee bar,they're running these different
businesses.
That's great.
And I tell people, look closer,because when you look closer
you see it's not just a business, it's a laboratory where
(06:43):
they're developing skills inreal time.
And, stephanie, I even say lookcloser than that.
When you look even closer, yousee a microcosm of the kingdom
of God, as students worktogether to collaborate, to
problem solve, to effectivelycommunicate.
They're coming together tobring solutions to problems and
(07:04):
to act out shalom.
I mean I can't get enough of it.
I cannot get enough of it.
Stephanie (07:11):
Yeah, me either had no idea what was in store for me
going to Converge.
I knew it was going to be greatand the atmosphere was electric
at Converge.
Educators are in a new spacethan they have been in the last
couple of years.
They seem invigorated, theywanted to talk to people and
build community.
And so, meeting you, I was justlike it's the next step and
this is God's goodness.
I'm sure you've seen it allthroughout your journey.
(07:32):
As you just take the next step,follow the next thing he asked
you to do.
He intersects your life withpeople that help challenge you
and grow you and take you downthe next path.
And so you were that for me,you were that for NorthStar I'm
super excited about the futureand you were that for all of
these schools.
So talk a little bit about yourbusiness that you formed and
(07:52):
how you're training theseschools.
And yeah, you had 60 educatorspacked in a room for what?
Three days?
And everybody was in awe.
Stephen (08:01):
You know 13 different states and 23 different schools
and really it comes down to thestudent transformation.
So I always tell people we rootthis program in Romans 12 too,
where Paul says do not conformto the pattern of this world,
but be transformed by therenewing of your mind.
(08:24):
That is the key to this programis we're teaching the
entrepreneurial mindset andwe're doing it from a
Christ-centered perspective.
We're doing it in such a waythat you step into what we're
told in 2 Corinthians.
Is that new creation?
Anyone who's in Christ is a newcreation.
Old things are passed away, andso what happens as a result?
(08:44):
If you go back five years,we're building this program in
Cincinnati.
I mean, the thing is poppingoff.
It's going crazy.
We're building a certificatetrack.
We have more businesses than weknow what to do with on this
brick and mortar campus inCincinnati, ohio.
I start fielding emails left andright from Christian schools
around the nation saying hey, weheard about what you're doing.
(09:04):
How do we get started Now?
Listen, stephanie, I've beenteaching the entrepreneurial
mindset for seven years.
At this point it took anembarrassingly long time before
I thought oh, wait, a minute,here's an idea.
I could start a business.
Right, I could beentrepreneurial myself and step
into this space to have themission to help schools launch
(09:29):
programs that engage theirstudents around this
entrepreneurial mindset.
So I started with a pilotprogram three or four schools.
We began testing, trying seeingif this works, seeing if we
could replicate it, and it justworked.
It worked because we haddedicated educators who we
trained, who were bought in, wehad engaging curriculum but,
(09:49):
most importantly, students cameto the space engaged in the
mindset, got excited and thatexcitement became contagious.
You know we talk a lot aboutgrit.
Angela Duckworth tells us thatgrit is really about passion and
perseverance toward long-termgoals.
Well, let me give you along-term goal.
(10:09):
The educational system ingeneral is broken.
We have the greatestopportunity right now to bring
healing, to bring solutions intothat space, and it's through
engaging our students in askills-focused approach, and
real quick.
I'm not arguing that we get ridof content or knowledge.
That is incredibly important,but without the skills, that
(10:33):
content is not actionable.
That's the secret to theentrepreneurship piece.
People with an entrepreneurialmindset are biased for action
and our students want that.
They crave that.
So when they see it, we beginto see flourishing, and that was
a big theme at Converge.
Stephanie is like we wantflourishing schools.
(10:54):
Well, flourishing schoolsrequire flourishing students,
and our students will notflourish in environments where
there's no passion, wherethere's no interest, where
there's no real-worldapplication.
But we can create that throughentrepreneurship.
So four schools became eightschools, became 12 schools and
now I'm working with over 25schools to say let's replicate,
(11:17):
let's build, let's grow.
Now we're training elementaryteachers, we're working with
teachers at all different agelevels to say this is not just a
program, this is a mindset ofhow we can redeem our pedagogy
in schools.
We can focus on progressinstead of perfection.
We can change the way we teach.
So, stephanie, we're justgetting started at this idea of
(11:40):
what truly transformativeeducation looks like from the
lens of entrepreneurship idea ofwhat truly transformative
education looks like from thelens of entrepreneurship.
Stephanie (11:50):
Yeah, and what's really cool is there's so many
educators getting excited andpassionate.
You have to have that first andthat's going to trickle down
into the students.
So it's so, so, so cool.
I want you to also share alittle bit more about the skills
.
So you told us in theconference that you interviewed
businesses and the people whohire and what they want from
students, and they're just notseeing it.
Stephen (12:10):
We're in an amazing day and age and we talk a lot,
people rail a lot about thiscurrent generation.
One of the figures I like tofollow is Mike Rowe from Dirty
Jobs, and he says people alwaystalk about the snowflake
generation, the snowflakes, andhe says, well, we're the clouds
from which the snowflakes fell,let's take some ownership over
(12:32):
this.
And so I set about to say, okay, well, if business owners are
complaining about themillennials, about these younger
generations, they'recomplaining about their work
ethic and all these things.
Why don't I just go talk tobusiness owners and say what do
you want?
What are you looking for?
What is it you seek out whenyou're hiring?
And here's what's fascinatingBusiness owner after business
(12:54):
owner after business owner whenyou're hiring.
And here's what's fascinating,business owner after business
owner after business owner.
What I didn't hear was oh, theyknow the periodic table of
elements.
Or they had a 4.0 GPA, or theyhad this amazing degree.
Nothing against any of thosethings.
It's not what they said.
They said I want them to showup, I want them to do the work.
I want them to look me in theeye and have a conversation with
(13:16):
me.
I want them to lead a team.
What they were listing were theskills.
Now, we used to call these softskills right, you know, back in
the day, oh, the soft skills.
Well, that's changing.
We're now more and more you'regoing to see the phrase durable
skills.
These are the skills that last.
And when you isolate them, likewhen you say, okay, what are
(13:38):
the most important ones, theones that come to the top.
The most in-demand skills areskills like problem solving.
Now we take it one step further.
We say proactive problemsolving.
You know, we're not just goingto solve the problem, we're
going to keep it from being aproblem in the future.
Number two collaboration.
(13:59):
Collaboration.
Schools are so good atcooperation.
This is what my friend JoelHazard from Fellowship Christian
says.
They're so good at cooperation.
We want them to collaborate,which is messy.
It means bringing in what mightbe contradictory visions and
making them work together.
It's synergizing.
It means bringing in what mightbe contradictory visions and
making them work together.
It's synergizing.
It's coming together and out ofthat to create something
(14:22):
together that's beautiful, thatworks, that solves the problem.
Collaboration.
And the third effectivecommunication.
Oh, my goodness.
And we could talk all day.
We won't do it, but we couldtalk all day about our
generations and what cell phoneshave done, what screens have
done to communication.
You just put a group ofstudents together and have them
launch a business.
They're going to learn veryquickly that other people exist
(14:45):
and they have to talk to themand look at them and make eye
contact with them, and these arethe skills that business owners
are looking for.
So whenever I talk to studentsthat business owners are looking
for, so whenever I talk tostudents, I say hey, great news,
great news.
The bar for success is so lowright now.
You just shake someone's hand,you've got a job.
But here's the thing, stephanie, we don't want them to just
(15:08):
stumble over the bar.
We want them to vault over thatbar.
We want them to be so preparedwith these skills that they just
blow it out of the water, takeit to the next level and really
build into that mindset.
Stephanie (15:24):
So, so exciting.
Okay, as I'm sitting herethinking about some of our
listeners, parents.
So there's parents listeningright now.
This is not just for schools.
Parents can benefit from whatyou are sharing because they're
the teachers at home, right?
They're the guiders, thedisciplers.
So, as you've thought throughthis, you're a parent.
(15:44):
What are some things parentscan be doing right now to set
their kids up for success?
Stephen (15:50):
I love this question and it's in many ways, I think
sometimes in education anantagonism develops between
parents and educators andthere's all kinds of things that
can happen or, you know, burrsthat can take place.
In many ways, parents have amassive opportunity here to
leverage this kind of mindset,to even take the relationship
(16:13):
with their kids into new levelsand new opportunities, and so
what I would say is a lot ofwhat we're learning in the
fields of growth, mindset andgrit from people like Carol
Dweck and other researchers is,as parents, we need to work a
little harder to praise effortinstead of talent.
(16:34):
I think that alone is gold,because you know, it's so easy
for us to say oh man, this comesso naturally to you, you're so
naturally good at this, I'm soproud of how well you did on
this.
Let's praise the effort theyput in, because when you praise
effort, like what you praise iswhat you get more of, and effort
(16:55):
trumps talent.
Every time, in every study.
Now you put effort with talentand you're off the charts.
So that's one thing I would sayto parents.
Another and this is just kindof kind of kind of a silly one
but boy, you want to developgrit Every like Disney sports
movie ever made is a story ofgrit and overcoming odds and
(17:15):
having a long-term goal.
I mean things like Cool,runnings and Rudy and all these
great movies For your familymovie night.
Pick some of the stories thatemphasize the values that you
want your students to develop,or even the values that business
owners are asking for.
I want grit.
I want people to show up.
What are you watching?
What are you listening to?
(17:35):
What are you reading with yourkids that emphasize those values
?
There are so many great booksand stories out there.
I'm actually working this is aproject that I haven't finished
yet my team and I are working ona parent guide to the
entrepreneurial mindset andwe're working with a couple
schools who are going to sharethis with their parents to say
you know, we're setting goals inthe classroom.
(17:57):
What if you had a goal as afamily and you tracked it with a
scoreboard and you got excitedwith your kids when you met that
goal?
You're not just achieving agoal, you're teaching them
systems they can take throughthe rest of their life.
So there's opportunities allover the place to engage on the
parental level in this area.
Stephanie (18:19):
That was gold.
Love it.
Anytime I hear Stephen talk,it's gold.
There's so many nuggets, sookay for students that are
listening, kind of gear thistoward them.
So the goal and heartbeat ofall of this is to be good
stewards of God's kingdom, toknow where you fit in, what
God's calling you to.
(18:40):
So all that you're involved inand you're seeing happen.
Why would a student beinterested in this?
Where do they fit in?
Can you just speak to them?
Sure?
Stephen (18:51):
You know, when I see disengagement and disenchantment
, it's often connected to a lackof purpose, a lack of meaning,
a lack of direction.
And it's very much true that ifwe don't know where we're going
, we will certainly not end upwhere we want to be.
When I look at the numbers andthe polls and the surveys, I see
(19:13):
very disappointing statisticsborn out of the fact that many
of our students don't have aplan for their growth.
They don't have a way todevelop healthy habits to get
them to where they want to go,and so they end up seeing life
not as this amazing opportunityfull of joy and meaning and
purpose, but as something to getthrough.
(19:34):
And I would just argue thatthere's a different way of
approaching it.
When we look at theentrepreneurship space, we don't
look at here's a job or here'sa career.
We look at here's a vocationand here's a calling.
It's going to look differentfor everybody and that's why we
say you don't have to become anentrepreneur, but you develop
(19:54):
the mindset of an entrepreneur.
You see what you're doing as apivotal role in building the
kingdom of God here on earth.
Like, look, stephanie.
As believers, we are all calledto be part of this grand
project of restoration.
You know, there are thesebroken bonds between God and
humans, between humans andhumans, between humans and the
(20:16):
world.
We're called to restore thosebonds and when you have a
mindset that has a vision, thathas direction, that has purpose,
you see everything that you do,everything that you touch as
part of this larger story.
That's the beauty of this.
(20:38):
Students will come in andthey'll say I want to be an
entrepreneur because I want tomake a bunch of money.
And I want to be very clearthere's nothing wrong with
making a bunch of money, there'snothing wrong with being driven
to be financially successful.
I want to know why.
I want to know what's thelarger meaning, what's the
larger purpose?
What good can you do out ofthat?
If we're defining entrepreneuras someone who takes a risk,
(20:59):
where are you taking risks inyour life?
Where are you, too, risk averse?
If it's someone who createssomething new, where are you
stepping into creation?
So much of our society isfixated on consumption.
I want students to see creation.
I want them to step not justinto ownership but into
(21:20):
stewardship.
And when we do that boy, ourentire perspective changes and
we see our role as filled withmeaning, filled with purpose and
fueled with direction.
Stephanie (21:34):
So good, yeah, so exciting, and I'm thinking some
people that this is brand new tothis might seem a little
overwhelming because we'regiving you this big picture, but
I promise you there are steps,it can be narrowed down and you
start small.
Stephen (21:52):
You start small.
I mean, Stephanie, that's theentire idea of entrepreneurship
is you start with the minimumpiece, the minimum viable
product.
You get going and then youimprove and you build.
I mean, we started with arolling cart and a coffee pump.
I want to emphasize that right,you don't start with a million
dollar build out of a building.
No, you just start and you doand you improve as you go.
(22:13):
That's the key.
Stephanie (22:14):
And you get the students involved in taking
ownership.
Yes, students doing it, andthat's where the beauty comes
from.
All right, so there's somewebsites everybody can go to
Tell them about Cincinnati HillsSeedtree Group.
Stephen (22:27):
Yes, so read up a little more on the specifics.
At SeedtreeGroupcom that's seed, as in S-E-E-D Seedtreegroupcom
.
That's seed as in S-E-E-Dseedtreegroupcom.
You can reach me directly atsteven at seedtreegroupcom.
That's Steven with a P-H.
You can look at the program atCincinnati Hills Christian
Academy.
It's chca-ohorg.
(22:48):
So learn a little bit more Onthe Seedtree website.
You'll see case studies of someof the schools we're working in
and see how this is working inother places around the nation,
how it's growing in differentpockets and areas, and really
just become part of the movement.
I have a podcast called theEntrepreneurial Mindset for
Transformative Education.
Follow along, get involved inthe conversation, join the
(23:11):
newsletter.
This is a movement aboutchanging education and
transforming lives.
Let's do it.
Stephanie (23:20):
Yes, let's do it.
So everybody check out hiswebsites, listen to the podcast
and stay tuned here.
I have a fill-in.
He will be on again and there'ssome incredible things coming
with moving.
What can we do online?
How do we take this from thebrick and mortar, get really
creative?
And, yeah, I'm excited to seemore of God's goodness each day.
(23:43):
So thank you so much forspending a little bit of time
with us.
It's been a pleasure to haveyou on and, yeah, just super
excited about what's next foryou.
Stephen (23:53):
Thank you, stephanie.
The pleasure is mine.
I appreciate what you're doingand your mission and, yeah,
let's build it, let's go.
Stephanie (24:02):
Thank you so much for listening today.
If you have any questions forour guest or would like
information about NorthStar,please email us.
At podcast at nsaschool, welove having guests on our show
and getting to hear theirstories.
If you have anyone in mind thatyou think would be a great
guest to feature, please emailus and let us know.
And don't forget to subscribeso you don't miss out on
(24:26):
upcoming stories.
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