Welcome back to the Christianity and Business Podcast, an initiative of the RCW Dumm College of Business at Houston Baptist University. I'm your host, Darren Shear, and this is the show that helps Christian business leaders to integrate biblical values into business. On this episode, we're joined by Gerald Duran. Gerald is the founder of Kana Global, a faith-driven organization focused on equipping the global workforce and small business entrepreneurs into their calling, into their marketplace calling, I should say. He's a husband, father of two sons, a six-time serial entrepreneur, a business turnaround expert, and the author of two books, His Plan, My Plan, Roadmap to Your Purpose, and Ignite Your Success. Prior to founding Kana Global, for three decades, Gerald has been the founder and CEO to multiple ventures in the staffing, tech, higher ed, marketing, and business turnaround sectors. He started the first software coding boot camp in America, launching the Learn to Code movement. Many of us are familiar with. Hundreds of thousands have been trained worldwide. And his entrepreneurial knowledge and expertise has landed his ventures multiple times on the prestigious Inc. 500, Deloitte Technology Fast 50, and Business Journal's Top 25, Corporate 100, and the 40 under 40. Gerald, welcome to the show. Glad to be here, Darren. So I think I know, but uh share with us why did you name your training organization Kana Global?
SPEAKER_03Well, you know, that's an interesting question. When we moved to Los Angeles at one point, everybody came to us and thought uh we we started having all these cannabis entrepreneurs showing up. And they were just, we just got flocked with them. We were like, what in the world is going on? And we says, no, this Cana is the wedding piece story. It's where Jesus performed his first miracle and he turned water into amazing wine. And really that's what I see happening when people get saved and when they find their purpose and when they're doing entrepreneurial things. It's really a miracle.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So how does that play out for what you call marketplace disciples? And and and you might uh give us a definition of what is a marketplace disciple?
SPEAKER_03Well, you know, for me, a a disciple is a disciple, and a disciple's supposed to disciple others, and so I've um, you know, um, um, I think one of the uh challenges and one of the problems that we wanted to go after and provide solutions for is we have a lot of um people across the globe that are believers and they've become Christians, but they've missed the go disciple part. And so uh they're sitting in, it's almost like it's almost like there's an army of believers that are think they're on a cruise ship and they have no idea they're on a a battleship and part of the army of the Lord. So so what we're you know, uh we reach uh a lot of of the unchurch, we reach a lot of people who aren't believers yet, but once they become believers, um, we continue to help them understand God's plan and purpose for their life in the marketplace where they're gonna spend a hundred thousand hours of their lives in jobs. And that's where the disciples spent the majority of their time discipling others. So that's what we're after, and that's what the goal is.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And I love what Cana represents and just that story of Jesus' first recorded miracle, uh, you know, and and the part where he uh says, says to them to fill the pots. Um, and uh, you know, I just think about how we're kind of like, I mean, your job, your your skills, like whatever you bring um to to the marketplace, it's kind of like the pots that Jesus is willing to fill, uh, right?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, you know, I believe it's so easy to reach people in the marketplace, uh, because all you have to do is wait till somebody becomes hungry for something new. Why are they hungry? Because they're in pain. And usually when they're in pain, it's because they have an area of lack in their life: lack of finances, lack of health, health care, lack of relationship, lack of purpose, and a lot of times lack of faith. Those people are so hungry for a solution. And that's what Jesus and the disciples did. They, you know, they gave up trying to convince all the Pharisees, you know, to make the move over. They just went after the hurting. And so what I've learned in the marketplace is um rather than you know, um wait for them to come into our church building, you know, it's time for the church to leave the building. And the church is the body of Christ. And so um we uh, you know, probably 15, 20 years ago when I when God called me to start our first outbound ministry, and it was his plan, my plan, and we went just into we picked a city, South Bend, Indiana, and we just went after it. And what we found out was it was really easy. It wasn't hard because, you know, if you're offering sandwiches and and you go to a community that hasn't had anything to eat in a while, it's not that hard to get them to take your sandwich. And um, so we've continued on with, you know, I would say most of the people that are drawn to Kana Global have found themselves stuck between a life season and usually their peace and prosperity is disrupted, they've become uncomfortable and they're so open to a comforter. And and since regardless if they're Christian or non-Christian, what we find is that the majority believe in the Bible, they just don't read it. And so there's 6,000 plus biblical promises in the Bible. And I in the business world, I find them fascinating. I mean, it's it is, you know, that's what has always kept me glued into the Bible because as an entrepreneur, there's always problems. Yeah. And so I'm always going into the scriptures, going, okay, Lord, what do you have to say about this trial or this bad circumstance that I'm in? And um, and so um, so that's all part of what we do, and and and and we find it remarkably easy, something anybody can do.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Well, as it relates to business and entrepreneurship, what would you say is your favorite of those those uh promises in the Bible?
SPEAKER_03Well, I I think that um, you know, um in my life, you know, when I when I launched my first business when I was when I was uh 23 years old, I launched a a staffing company after um working at a staffing company where I was supposed to make 50 cold calls a day. And I hated making cold calls. And I thought, you know, certainly there's got to be a better way. I don't think any of these people want to get my calls. And so every month I never hit quota. Six months later, they fired me. So then I go start my first company. Guess what? I start a staffing company. So I'm this young, dumb, 23-year-old kid, starts a staffing company with no experience except six months. And for one whole year, I made absolutely no money. So I had to have a job at night. So I go to work all day, try to build this business, and I wasn't making any money for a full year. And at nighttime, I'm driving a uh a big rig truck at nighttime to pay my bills. I was so stressed out, I was so miserable. I was, and I remember going to God, I found a promise in the Bible. I grew up in church, but as soon as I turned like 18, I, you know, I'm like the prodigal son, I ran away from it. But I remember that uh my mom always told me about the scripture that we could have the peace of Jesus. So I went and found that scripture and I remember praying to God, and just you know, imagine how desperate I was. You know, you're an entrepreneur, so I'm sure you've had times when nothing's working. That was a year of this. And I said, God, you know, you make this promise that we could have peace. So what kind of God makes promises and doesn't keep them? I'm asking you for peace. So that was the first promise. I went to see what the scripture said about my problem. I was totally stressed out. There was this promise of peace. And it and in that instance, just a few days later, even though my situation it actually got worse, it didn't get better, but I had this peace and I knew it was something different. Then I found another uh another promise. I found James 1.5, uh, that we could go to God for wisdom. And I found Deuteronomy 8.18 that God gives us the ability to create wealth. And that's you know, when you're an entrepreneur, that's generally what you're trying to do. So I went to God and I says, Listen, you're my father. You've got to know what I'm doing wrong. I am doing, I'm working my rear off, but something's not working. You know exactly what it is. And I can't imagine any father who wouldn't tell his son, and I'm not the one that said, you know, ask and you shall receive. I'm not the one that, you know, I think in Matthew 7, 7 or wherever that is in Matthew, I'm not the one that said that. You said that. So you know what happened, Duran? A couple of weeks later, I started having all these new product, how to productize what we were doing for services that were radically different and disruptive, different than the staffing industry had ever come up with. And I started coming up with all these new marketing ideas of that were um um really um at the time we were using, you know, um it was computers were just coming out, and so it was using like a mail merge with variable data, but nobody was doing that. I mean, you know, um Windows hadn't come out. This is a long time ago. Okay, this is 37 years ago. It took me 30 days to take the new ideas that God had put in my head and implement them. And almost overnight, we started making so much money. And and that over the next five years, I opened up um three more offices. This was in Orange County, California. And what I learned is that God has called me, He's appointed me to do something, to be in business. You know, our work is worship, and especially when we partner with God. A lot of times we've reduced worship to 30 minutes of singing in a church service, but it's so much more than that. And, you know, I like corporate singing as well, but worship is so much more than that. And so since that time, I've learned that whatever situation I'm in as an entrepreneur, as a husband, as a father, as you know, if I look at all the different areas of my life, the word is speaking 24/7. All I have to do. And I and I really call this like my inheritance because it's all part of the benefits package, right? That's what you know. Uh I think uh Psalms or Proverbs says, don't forget the benefits, you know, that come with the blood of Jesus. It's bought and paid for. And for the life of me, I've never understood why more Christians don't take advantage of that. It's like it's like the scriptures are God's covenant will of what he once done, but it's also his written will, like when somebody dies and puts you in the will. You know, if Uncle George died, you would read the will to see what you got. So that's how I that's how I approach. And it's really connecting the dots between business, purpose, success, and faith. I don't understand why we've disconnected those because they weren't disconnected in the Bible days.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. That principle of peace is so critical to um to those of us working in the marketplace, you know, everyone listening and you and me, Jared, we're all we love to look into the the scripture to see what does the Bible say about business and our work in the marketplace. And, you know, one of those areas is is risk management. And I I asked the question of the Lord, you know, what do you say about risk management? And one of the this principle of peace is one that it would it would come into that uh into that discussion in terms of how do we need to approach risk management and the the challenges that we face and and have to prepare for that we're gonna meet in business. And you know, we might immediately go to well, you know, you don't want to um uh build without counting the cost, you know, Jesus talks about that, or you want to diversify, like Solomon talks about. But I mean, one of those, I think in this thinking back to the Sermon on the Mount, you know, if you're afraid, if you're if you're afraid of what are we gonna wear, what are we gonna eat? And Jesus is saying, you know, don't worry about your body, basically, like um, seek the kingdom and all these things will be added to you. And in the natural, it's like that's not a risk management principle, like that doesn't work in actual business, and yet that's that commandment is it's it's not it's a commandment to fear not, right? And and so whether you're I think maybe some people are listening right now, they're they're maybe they've already had to shutter their business or they're on the verge of it. Um, you know, just really why don't you help us uh kind of go deeper into that that concept? And and you also really hit a rock bottom point where you almost took your own life. Can you kind of take us into that?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I mean, you know, when I um started my first business, um, I was in the party scene and I was doing a lot of drugs, and I really hit a low point. It was after I got fired, and um I um I tried to kill myself. And um, you know, as soon as I I tried to uh slip my wrist, and and then that like so uh that sobered me up. The pain sobered me up, and I'm like, oh my gosh, what did I do? And I called nine nine one one, but I ended up in this um in California. If you if you try try to commit suicide, they put you in a mental ward, or at least they did back then, uh, for three days. And um, so that was kind of uh an a shaking in my life that created an awakening in my life. And I, you know, I knew God had a plan and purpose, but it also dawned me that I didn't know what it was. And so that very next day I started the process of planning how I was gonna start a business. Now, you know, keep this in mind. I have no money, I'm homeless because I'm not homeless on the street, homeless. I'm homeless sleeping on friends' couches, homeless. Um, I have nothing. And I got a hold of a book back then. It was called Tough Times Never Last, but Tough People Do. And I read it, and what I got out of it was that the scriptures say anything's possible. So I started the process of understanding what it would look like in a year and then working my way backwards. Um, that was, you know, probably um a really um uh it's a time in my life when um I started rebuilding understanding my true identity identity. But, you know, about 20 years, about seven, I think it was about 17 years ago, uh our family hit a job season. And up until that point, you know, we got used to the idea that as entrepreneurs and probably just as anybody, you're gonna have a lot of adversity in your life. And so, you know, what we learned how to do um early on was to fear not. You know, a lot of people take that as a suggestion. I saw, you know, I think I'm told it's in the Bible over 365 times and never counted all of them, but it's throughout the Bible. And, you know, if he says fear not, then he has to give us the ability to fear not. And and and you know, I won't go into that right now, but we went through this, so we were used to, hey, there's no victory without a battle, and literally everything our hands touched turned to gold. And then we came into this season where um I bought a vocational college that was um in my turnaround practice. We also did, you know, uh, we we bought we bought out companies and I had two businesses that at the time. But what happened in our life is first, um we had we dealt with uh death. My 10-year-old son Alec, um, who had suffered from heart issues his whole life and he had down sin, he had down syndrome, uh, he got sick and nobody could figure out what it was. His heart was fine, and and he had just gone through all the checkups. And one week later, uh my son Alec was dead. Oh, so sorry. So so uh thank you. And so death of a child, you can imagine. Right after that, my wife gets breast cancer. Right after that, my other son, Brandon, uh gets a syndrome that kills a third of the people uh that that get it. Then I ended up in the hospital and I'm diabetic. Um, then this college that I just bought, we lost our student funding because the recession was coming, the banks weren't telling anybody, but they were doing a lot of restructuring. So all of a sudden, I have two campuses loaded full of students, I had an overhead of $600,000 a month and no new fresh money coming in. Um, I had to cover that whole amount every month from our portfolio from our savings. 10 months later, I was out of business. I also had a marketing company. Um, and the guy that I had brought on to run it, I probably uh uh I may have deserved this, I may have not been the nicest guy to be around during that time. But um he took all our customers and he started a new business. And so what happened to us in this season? We lost everything. Um, it started with death, we got into sickness and disease, and we it affected our business. And in about a year, year and a half, something like that time, we lost our home, we lost our cars, we lost everything. We got down to nine dollars. Now, nine dollars is broke, but now you know, and I couldn't understand the season at first, and then you know, thank God for authors. And I know that you know you have a lot of authors, but I still I wanted to find out, Lord, what is going on? Why, why have you allowed? And um, I started reading a bunch of books about desert seasons, and what I come to I came to understand that every significant player in the Bible went through these seasons, and there are places, and and what the Lord put on my heart is I want you to see this as you're getting trained. It's like a Navy SEALs boot camp. It's tough, you're gonna feel like quitting. There's a lot of people that do quit, do quit, but I'll be with you every step of the way. And you're gonna learn things here and you're gonna meet people here. And um, I'm gonna reimagine what your purpose is through this process. And, you know, um at that time, I I mean, I was just glued into the word because once I understood that the desert season is just scenery on the way to your destiny, I understood that, you know, we might have to pitch a tent here a little while for us. It was an apartment, you know. Um, but I'm not gonna build my house here. It put me in touch with a lot of people that were suffering. You know, we've always been a generous family, but I don't know that I developed the empathy for people until, you know, we've always I think sometimes, you know, before that we tend to judge people. Well, they don't handle their finances right. Well, this happened, this happened, but we don't really understand what Satan does to wipe out a lot of people.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And uh that, you know, God God restored us, but that experience reset my passion for who we were out to help. And everything that we've done as a family from that point is uh speaking life into the dry bones of non believers and believers. And um and that came. I don't know how we would have that revelation if it weren't if it weren't for the Bible. I don't know how the first century Christians did it because they didn't have access to the New Testament. I mean, they didn't have written word for 300 years, I believe. So can you imagine us operating? You know, uh they they were a high faith group of people.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. And Paul says, Imitate me as I imitate Christ, you know, they didn't have all of that documented as far as you know what Jesus did. So I mean, and that's that's how it is for those that we work with in the marketplace and that see us in the marketplace. We're the the only Bible they're gonna read. And uh and so you know, when you walk through, I mean, what you've walked through, Gerald, and and people watch you and how you you don't curse God, you know, like Job's wife told him to do, and you and you don't have a get get sour about it. And uh, you know, I'm sure there were really weak, weak moments in the midst of all that where you felt like you weren't your best version of yourself, but but people um I think that's when they really see the the evidence that this this God thing is real in our lives um based on how we walk through these these trials. And I know many of our listeners are going through that right now, you know, maybe not to the extent that you went through, Gerald, but um but uh as we um wrap it up, I want to ask you um what I'm gonna ask you to kind of share a parting piece of advice, but before we before you do that, um how can people get involved with what are you up to right now and how can people get involved?
SPEAKER_03Well, we're we're there's really three things that we're focused on. One is uh collabs, digital courses, on-demand, online courses, where we're helping people develop their purpose. Uh there's, you know, since COVID started, the number of new entrepreneurs has doubled. And so we have programs helping uh people uh start and grow companies um from a biblical perspective. Um, we have a whole series of leadership development uh uh courses that are getting ready to launch. We're doing hybrid gatherings. And if they go to our website, kanoglobal.org, they can kind of see, you know, I think a lot of people across the globe right now see a shaking going on. And they're asking asking God, what in the world is going on? And I believe we're in a third great awakening, and the church, I think too often has gone along to get along. And I think this idea of the Great Commission, our assignment to disciple nations, and I believe the marketplace is the heartbeat of every city and nation. I'll I'll share something, a kind of a final parting thought that changed everything for me. When I was in that desert season, the message God kept putting on my heart was uh, you know, Gerald, everything I'm ever gonna do for for you has already been done. And at first I didn't understood understand what that meant. But what he kept on saying, it's it's all been done through my word. There's 6,000 plus promises in the Bible. I thought of everything. There's nothing that you can experience in life that I don't have a solution for. The blood of Jesus paid for it all. So I would encourage people, whatever it is you're going through, go see what the scriptures say about that. You have to make a choice. Am I gonna have faith in what the scriptures say or am I gonna have faith in what the enemy says? Either way, you're gonna have faith. But fear is always gonna lead to failure, and faith is always gonna lead to biblical success.
SPEAKER_01Yes, that's so good. I mean, if you ask any entrepreneur, what's the biggest problem you're facing right now? You know, they might say, well, funding, or I can't, uh, I can't hire anybody, or the economy, this, that, and the other thing. But God's word says that He has given to us everything we need for life and godliness. And so all the tools have already been made available to us. And yeah, it doesn't always look exactly like what we uh think it ought to look like when we start putting those to use, but but God will uh finish the work that He began in and through us. And um so uh KanaGlobal.org is the is the website where you want people to go. Um what's what's one action you want people to take as a result of what they've heard today, Gerald?
SPEAKER_03Well, one of the things is is if you go to the website and and you sign up, one of the things for for our email, one of the things that we send out, they're called daily inspirations. Um we send them out, um, and they're really geared towards marketplace uh people. They're all over LinkedIn. And I would tell you that um for most of our audience, that is one of the first things that um we were we were literally speaking life into dry bones. And so if you're if you found you're stuck self-stuck between life seasons, let us bless you. Let us let us bless you. The other thing I would tell people is if you're in a tough spot and there's a course that you want to take, but you don't have the money, reach out to us and we'll we'll make it absolutely free. We do that. Um uh I I have I better use caution here because don't you aren't you part of a college campus? We don't want to have 10,000 students coming to us with that offer, but we do it all the time. And you know, um, we're a ministry, and so souls and discipleship are our priorities.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah. Well, thank you for that uh that invitation, everybody. Um, all you students go take advantage of it. Again, kana global.org is the website, c a-n-a. Uh, if you don't know your Bible, uh your Bible geography, knaglobal.org. Um, Gerald, this has been really encouraging. Thank you so much for coming to help us grow today.
SPEAKER_03My honor to be on your on your podcast, Darren. Thank you.
SPEAKER_00We hope you've enjoyed this episode. And if so, we would greatly appreciate it if you would leave us a quick rating and review for the Christianity and business podcast on iTunes. You can get more information about HBU Center for Christianity and Business at Christianityandbusiness.com. Thanks for listening, and remember to keep integrating biblical values into your business.