Risking It: An Intersection of Faith & Work - Paperback

by Alyssa Kolb (Author), Tim Hoerr (Author)

Risk -- to most of us, it's a four letter word. But taking risks is perhaps the most powerful way to grow as a person. This highly personal memoir explores risk, work and faith through engaging storytelling drawing upon a deep well, the author's own 30 years in the business trenches. Reaching back to his roots, the story begins with reflections on growing up the son of a lay minister and working in the family landscaping business -- both of which considerably shaped the author's subsequent life choices, including him become a serial entrepreneur.Through a series of progressively risky moves, the author take the reader on a journey of wrestling with some of life's most profound questions: "How does one discover God's calling and then implement it?""How is faith expressed through taking measured risks?""What happens when we fail?"With self-deprecating humor and unflinching transparency, the author shares over three dozen personal tales that illustrate soul-provoking reflections on overcoming failure, building meaningful personal and professional relationships, passionately pursuing purpose, and aligning one's life story with God's far bigger story.

Author Biography

Tim is the CEO of Serra Ventures, a professional services firm offering assistance with business strategy, capital formation, and organization development. He serves as the Managing Partner of Serra Capital, the division of the company providing funding to seed and emerging stage high tech companies. Tim is also the Managing Member of a Jimmy John's franchise operating in central Texas. A partner and consultant for 15 years with RSM McGladrey, an international accounting and consulting firm (both in Illinois and San Diego), Tim subsequently served as president of SourceGear (a software firm), and then as Co-Founder and CEO of iCyt, a bioscience instrument firm which garnered numerous technology and business awards for their innovations. The company was acquired by Sony Corporation in 2009, the same year Tim won the Entrepreneurial Excellence in Management Award at the Innovation Celebration -- an honor recognizing exceptional entrepreneurial talent bestowed by the University of Illinois. Having previously authored "Thank God It's Monday! A Toolkit for Aligning Your Lifevision and Your Work" (Everywhere Press, 1998), Tim is keenly dedicated to sharing his career-related insights with the goal of encouraging and equipping fellow Christians who are similarly seeking to integrate their faith into their own work life. Over his three decades in the business arena, Tim has actively sought to boldly implement this key principle into every aspect of his business endeavors, and candidly shares his failures as well as his successes with businesspeople and entrepreneurs who are building today's high performance organizations. Alyssa Kolb is the Marketing and Communications Director for Serra Ventures. A graduate from the University of Illinois (undergrad) and the Chicago School of Professional Psychology (masters), she has extensive training and background in the field of Industrial Organizational Psychology, essentially how human factors influence people's behavior and interactions within organizations. Alyssa has performed a variety of functions for Serra Ventures since joining the firm in 2009, working on numerous aspects of client projects as well as overseeing the firm's digital communications, including Serra's workshops and presentations. Additionally, Alyssa has authored numerous white papers addressing topics of entrepreneurship and start-up ventures. She is the oldest of Tim's three daughters (and he could not be more proud!)