My Quest for a Distinctly Christian Venture Paradigm (Nate Fischer - 3/22/24 - NCS New Canaan)

Calling himself a "natural dissident", Nate Fischer vulnerably describes how his life, his business pursuits, and his positive vision for society were shaped by an upbringing in a "conservative Christian hippy family" that emphasized learning and independent thinking, as well as by a childhood enjoyment in taking contrarian positions. Fischer explains how he is pursuing that positive vision through two ventures--a non-profit called American Reformer and a venture fund called New Founding.
Fischer describes how his interest in politics quickly shifted to business when he realized that politics punished contrarianism while business rewarded it. He shares how his approach to venture was shaped by his first business partner's focus on mission and travelling to 65 countries in order to gain a global perspective on patterns of opportunities and challenges.
Fischer talks about the trends that he believes will shape our society, including the declining trust in institutions and the growing importance of governance and technology (such as crypto-currency and artificial intelligence). Noting that digital will continue to grow in importance and local will always matter, Nate describes why he believes there are unique opportunities available to Christians to have an important impact on the shape of society because of our distinctives, including our ability to operate without fear of radical change and our ability to build high-trust communities in a world where trust in many institutions is declining.
Nate explains that "venture" is really about building for the future, and his "Christian Venture Paradigm" is about looking for opportunities where Christians can "double-down" on their distinctives, offering answers that are meaningfully different and attractive. By way of example, he describes some of the investments his venture fund is making, such as a "charter community" in Appalachia and a pro-life health insurance company.
An extended Q&A starts at 36:10.​