Why Love is the Secret of Entrepreneurial Impact

The story of John and Aunt Vera

Consider what makes an entrepreneurial venture successful. Maybe strong leadership, a pioneering vision, and capital come to mind as the key players. 

But there’s often another factor that changes the game for a venture or a founder. Rather, it’s not something – but someone – whose support and accompaniment makes a venture’s or founder’s success possible.  

Recently at the SENT Summit 2023, SENT Ventures founder John Cannon chose to honor his aunt, Vera Gast, as this pivotal player in the founding of SENT. 

After spending 7 years as a Carmelite friar, John discerned out of religious life to follow the Holy Spirit’s call for him to start what would become SENT. Upon leaving the monastery, he had very few resources – with a few hundred dollars, the clothes on his back, and no place to stay. His money would be stolen, he recalled, and without money for food or a place to live, John’s transition to lay life was off to a rough start. 

But Vera showed up for him with kindness and love. 

She welcomed John into her home when he didn’t have anywhere else to go. She fed him, clothed him, and gave him the resources and support he needed. It was from Vera’s own basement that John started and built up SENT. Vera would end up becoming SENT’s first donor, and she continues to support SENT and its mission to this day.

Whether you’re called to Catholic business leadership or not, examples like Vera remind us of what St. Thérèse of Lisieux beautifully wrote:

“I understood that love comprises all vocations – that love is everything, and because it is eternal, embraces all times and places. My vocation is love.” 

Without Vera, her kindness, generosity, and support – John’s dreams for SENT would not have been possible.Vera was given a special award: the Hearth & Home Award and a gardening set to symbolize how her basement was the garden that gave root to SENT and its fruits.

Moreover, all great entrepreneurship starts with addressing needs in our midst, much like Vera did for John – and SENT. Great companies and organizations often don’t start with whiteboarding sessions, but rather by addressing the needs of real people encountered in daily life. In this way, we can all entrepreneurially address great challenges in the world – even if we never start a formal company or organization. 

Thank you, Vera, for setting an example of what it means to support others and to follow God’s call. 

Can you name someone who made a difference in your life or venture by supporting you like Aunt Vera supported John?