In this exciting episode of The Estherpreneur, I sit down with Andrew Crapuchettes, visionary entrepreneur and founder of RedBalloon, America’s leading job board for freedom-loving businesses and motivated job seekers. Since launching in 2021, RedBalloon has grown into a bold answer to the divisive cancel culture invading the workplace, connecting thousands of like-minded businesses with career-driven professionals who value merit, hard work, and freedom.
Andrew shares his remarkable journey—from building a multi-million-dollar tech company to standing firm in his faith when the world said otherwise. We’ll uncover how staying true to your convictions can impact not only your business but your entire life—whether it’s making hard decisions in the boardroom or finding the courage to follow God’s lead in uncertain times. You’ll also hear real-world strategies for integrating God's Word into your business without compromising success.
Curious about how faith, business, and freedom can come together to create lasting success? Don’t miss this thought-provoking conversation on staying true to your principles and thriving in the marketplace.
Tune in now for a glimpse into Andrew’s inspiring story and discover how aligning your business with God’s values can lead to greater purpose and impact.
If you’re a business leader who integrates biblical principles into your work and want to share your journey with a broader audience, we’d love to hear from you! Apply to be a guest on the upcoming season of The Estherpreneur by visiting Estherpreneur.com and let’s showcase how God’s wisdom can shape success in today’s marketplace.
Join me, Edna Harding, on a journey through spiritual growth, personal development, and entrepreneurial insight, where Timeless Wisdom meets Timely Methods in every episode.
Show Transcript
Edna Harding [00:00:03]:
Welcome to Estrepreneur, a podcast for entrepreneurs and leaders doing business and life God's way. Each week, we discuss biblical and practical tips to improve your mind, business, to improve your mind, business, spirit, relationships, and finances. Listen along as I speak with special guests on how to thrive in all aspects of life. Hi, I'm Edna. Like many of you, I wear many hats. I'm a military wife, mother, author, certified John Maxwell business and executive coach, trainer, and founder of Favor and Wealth, who we help the good guys win. So tune in as we bring on the light.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:00:44]:
Well, hello, everyone. Thank you for tuning in for another episode of the Estrepreneur podcast. My name is Edna Harding, and I'm so excited you guys are tuning in today. I have a guest. Yes. It's been a while since I've had a guest on the show, but I guess the holy spirit wanted to interrupt my foe because I believe we're gonna be hearing a timely message, especially with what's going on in the political climate, everything that's going on in our country, especially United States, but also in the rest of the world. So I'm excited to have Andrew. Did I say it right? Okay.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:01:21]:
Nailed it. Yep.
Edna Harding [00:01:23]:
It's French, and I totally probably butchered. But I'm excited to have him today because, at least just from the initial research that I did as far as his story, and from what I heard from Isaac, one of his employees, I am excited to hear from a man of God that stood up for truth and has been a pioneer in, I believe, a new move in the marketplace. And so, let me tell you a little bit about him. I'm not gonna steal his son. I'm gonna let him share his story, but he has run and sold several start ups and grew one into a global tech firm. He has 5 children. Is that correct? And your
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:02:03]:
That is absolutely true.
Edna Harding [00:02:04]:
Children. That in itself, my gosh. You know? But I'm gonna let him share a little bit about the startups he started and the business. He is currently, a visionary of the red balloon and the CEO. So can you go ahead and tell us a little bit about you, your business, and a little bit about your family?
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:02:24]:
Yeah. Absolutely. So I'll I'll do the 30,000 foot flyover on Andrew Krapfshutz. I grew up in San Francisco Bay Area, right in the middle of the, kinda, dotcom era is when I, started working. I actually started working when I was 16, never went to college because I was a computer programmer. And if you're a computer programmer in the Bay Area in the late nineties, you could kind of do whatever you wanted to do and make as much money as you wanted. So I ended up doing that. Learned a ton as a as a as a young man.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:02:53]:
I wasn't an executive at a business, but I was, really learning a lot and got to be close to the executive team of a business that took $32,000,000 of venture capital funding. Mhmm. And then we kinda blew through all that funding, and I, turned 21 on an expense account. I ended up going to Tokyo quite a bit and traveling all over the West Coast and the East Coast
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:03:14]:
for
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:03:14]:
this business before I even turned 21. So the whole experience was amazing because I got to kinda see firsthand what venture capital money does to a business or can do to a business if you're not thinking clearly. So, we ended up going through all that money and then, ran out of money, as it's funny how that works. And so they ended up needing to lay everybody off. And so at the ripe old age of 22, I realized I've been working 80 to a 100 hour weeks living in the Bay Area. I don't really have a life. I don't really have friends, and I need a change of scenery. So I decided I'm gonna move to Idaho.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:03:48]:
I'm going to leave the traffic and the Liberals that are, all over the Bay Area, and there's some wonderful people in the Bay Area. Don't get me wrong. And move to Idaho and kind of see what is, you know, what else is happening in the world. So I did that. I got here to Moscow, Idaho, where I live and found that there weren't a lot of great jobs. And my passion has always been prosperity through hard work. And so if you can provide someone an opportunity to work really hard in a job, then they're going to be able to thrive and, and prosper in their life and in their community. And so that was kind of my passion, like, okay, I need to go start business so that I can actually bless people with jobs.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:04:28]:
In fact, one of the businesses I started, the original business goal was 5050. We wanted 50 people earning $50,000 a year in our town of Moscow, Idaho. Right? And having a goal outside of yourself, you know, I wouldn't recommend this for everybody because you can get to 50 at 50 and go bankrupt. But it is an opportunity to say, look. I I'm starting this business because I wanna bless other people. It's funny how God blesses that when you have an outward approach, when you're saying, I wanna bless others. I don't wanna just bless myself. God built the world in such a way that that blessing comes right back around on your own head.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:05:03]:
And so I have been, just incredibly, lucky and blessed, and God has been, very kind to me. And I've been able to start quite a few businesses up here in hide in Idaho, 3 d printing business, a student information software business, and others, and build them into great businesses and either sold them to the employees or sold them to strategic or venture capital or private equity buyers. Now the good news is when you sell businesses, you get big checks, and it's really fun and all of that. The bad news is when you do that, you also lose control of your business. So one of the businesses that I'd started, I'd built to about a $50,000,000 tech business with offices in, the UK and all over the US. And we were really thriving and growing, but I didn't have much ownership left because I'd sold it a number of times. And when 2020 came around, I feel like the year the world lost their mind. My board did as well, and they decided that I was too conservative and Christian for their liking.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:06:00]:
They thought that was a liability
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:06:01]:
for
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:06:02]:
the business. And so I found myself delightfully unemployed, and I was basically given a choice. They said, if you could dial back the Christianity, if you could just be a CEO, happens to be a Christian on the weekends rather than a Christian CEO, then you're welcome to keep your job. And I'm like, well, it sounds a lot like you want me to deny Christ and deny who I am in Christ.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:06:22]:
Mhmm.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:06:23]:
And so anyway, long story. But, after a big battle, I ended up unemployed in kind of early 2021. And I was gonna use that opportunity to work on. I'm doing a housing development. I have commercial real estate. I'm on the board of many organizations, and I have those 5 kids, which I'll talk about in a second. And so I was doing all these things. I'm like, you know what? I I don't need to jump back into another job because I, you know, sold businesses for upwards of a half a $1,000,000,000.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:06:51]:
And I was given a lot of kind of CEO job offers. I'm like, I don't need to jump back into another job. I'm gonna kinda see how, things play out. But a friend challenged me and said, you know, you were just given a choice between your job and your values, and you and the financial wherewithal that it was an easy choice. Right? Like, oh, okay. No problem. You know, I'll lose this job. It's not gonna kill me.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:07:11]:
But not everybody's in that position. And when you're making that choice for many Americans, you're making a choice between being able to feed your kids and pay your mortgage and keep your house. Right?
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:07:22]:
Mhmm. And
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:07:22]:
so it's a it's a really big decision. It's a hard decision that we hope people make the right decision, but I wonder if there's anything I can do to make it easier for them. And so that's where red balloon came from. So red balloon dot work is America's now leading pro freedom job board. We went from 0 to now over 4,000 businesses and over 2,000,000 job seekers, because people want to be free at work. Right? We don't all have to agree on everything. We don't all need to be lockstep on the way that we see the world, on the way that we read the Bible. But what we do need to do is be able to respect each other's opinions, and we want a workplace that's based on merit, not based on the latest political correctness.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:08:04]:
So that's what we really were striving for early on. One of our biggest issues early on at Red Balloon was the vaccine mandate. We said, look. People are adults. If they would like to get a vaccine, more power to you. But that's probably a conversation you should have with your doctor, not your HR department. Right? And and just saying that in 2021 was extremely controversial. So I ended up being on Fox News all the time and Glenn Beck and all these places because they're like, you're saying this kinda crazy thing.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:08:33]:
I'm like, it's not a crazy thing. It's called freedom. It's called America. Right? And so anyway, so that's how Red Balloon got started. We now, are blessed to work with just incredible organizations. So we help National Religious Broadcasters, NRB with their hiring, Family Radio, Strife Financial, Children's Health Defense, and many, many more. And it's it's really fun to be able to come alongside these organizations that they deeply believe in their mission and their values and what they're trying to accomplish and be able to solve their hiring problem for them, whether that's them posting a job and getting great applicants or whether that's having them have us take over the hiring process, which we've done for hundreds of businesses now where we come alongside. We'll help take over the recruitment process.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:09:21]:
We'll make sure that you get values lined people who are gonna show up, not be whiners, but work really hard
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:09:26]:
Mhmm.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:09:27]:
And be a blessing to your customers and to your business. So there was a long answer to a short question, but that's what it's pouring. I'm sticking with
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:09:34]:
it. No. I mean, oh my gosh. I have, like, so many things going through my head. But I guess, first of all, when you, you know, you chose Idaho, like, what made you pick Idaho? I mean, that's like was it like because for me, for example, when I moved to Houston, I told the holy spirit holy spirit. I opened up the map. I was like, where do you want me to go? I my finger landed on Houston. So There
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:09:57]:
it is.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:09:57]:
I always wanna hear, like, what made you choose Idaho?
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:10:01]:
Yeah. It's funny. I was, we were plugged into a great church down in California, but, I was getting sermon tapes back when sermon tapes were a thing
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:10:11]:
Yeah.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:10:11]:
From a pastor up here in Idaho. Okay. He was and I thought, you know, at at the end of the ripe age of 22, you can move somewhere. And if you don't like it, you can move somewhere else.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:10:21]:
That's true.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:10:22]:
And so I thought, you know, it's a good church up there. And I think people should move for a good church community that they wanna be part of. And let's go give it a shot. And if I don't like it, I'll move somewhere else. And I did like it. I met my wife up here. She's actually from the south, so she's from Texas and Mississippi, and I'm from California. And and and we love Idaho.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:10:42]:
I will tell you about every February when it's still white and gray and cold. We're like, why are why are we here again? But apart from that, we love Idaho. And we live now on 60 acres, 10 minutes from the office. Wow. And and 5 kids, oldest is 20, youngest is 12. We have 3 massive dogs. We drive, you know, ATVs around on our property. So it's it's a good life.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:11:06]:
Oh, that's beautiful. Okay. So you met your wife there. That's great. Business thrived there. So, obviously, the Lord bless you as you, you know, went to the new land. Yeah. So okay.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:11:19]:
So you said 50, 5050, 5450. How long did it take you to reach that goal?
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:11:26]:
Yeah. Yeah. The 50 at 50, basically, yeah. Can we create 50 jobs earning over 50,000 a year knowing that we're gonna create some jobs under 50 and many over 50, But 50 at 50 was our goal. It probably took 4 years, to hit that goal, because, obviously, you gotta grow the business. You gotta have the sustainable revenue. But the thing is we live in a small town here. It's Moscow, Idaho is a college town.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:11:52]:
So you've got University of Idaho here. Washington State University is across the border. And, basically, you were either a professor when I moved up here 25 years ago. You're either a professor or you're work working at Walmart or one of the hospitals.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:12:04]:
There
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:12:05]:
just weren't a lot of, like, jobs outside of those different realms. And I thought, man, and and I'll tell you, this is, very selfishly, I like to eat good food.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:12:15]:
And I
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:12:16]:
know that doesn't sound connected, but wait for it. It is connected.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:12:18]:
No. No.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:12:19]:
Because if people are earning enough, they're gonna have an ex enough excess income to go out and have dinner on occasion, which means, I understand economics well enough to know that if people are going out to dinner enough, there will be more restaurants with better food. And lo and behold, Moscow has awesome restaurants with great food. So it worked out. That really was the whole driver behind. No. It wasn't. But, but yeah. No.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:12:41]:
I love to eat, and so I thought that was a good way to drive it.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:12:44]:
Oh, man. Okay. Well, I mean, I just, you know, just I mean, starting at a early age, in your early twenties, seeing all the successes, how did you and I I feel like I'm this is such an important question because I think a lot of people, especially you've experienced a lot of successes early on. How did you not be prideful of that? Like, how you know, pride is such a and I I wanna address this because I work with so many different successful, a lot of success. And then some a lot of times when they hit that type of peak successes right away, like, the question I have is, how do you, you know, have that balance between, yes, God equipped me, ensues this versus pride. Like, can you talk because our audience is, have people who are kinda baby Christians, and you have those Christians been Christians for a long time. And I've noticed that some of the challenges that they deal with on a regular basis based on the conversations out in the field is fear and pride. And so I feel like this kinda ties well.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:13:49]:
Like, how did you stop yourself from being prideful, you know, especially seeing all those successes? Does that make sense?
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:13:56]:
Absolutely makes sense. And it is a a daily struggle. There's a Puritan that talks about, you know, you wake up and and and daily, you know, crawl over your sins and and and seek God's grace. And, and so I guess there's a couple of things. Yes. God gave me a ton of success early on as a as a as a young man. I married really well. I'm going to brag on my
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:14:21]:
heart. He
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:14:22]:
is an incredible my best friend, my best helper, my best counselor. We talk about business all the time. And I will tell you that she has been such an incredible blessing on the pride front because, she has always been quick to remind me, this is God that is doing this, that's writing this story. It's not you. And as soon as you start, thinking that it is you, that's when, God's gonna change the story. You know? And, and that's not you know? And and, actually, it's funny because connected to all that, and while I wasn't as as young a man, I was in my early forties at this point. When I got fired from my business, that was really a wake up call for me because I realized I had my I built my identity around my career. I was a CEO of the largest business in town.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:15:12]:
I had plenty of money in the bank. I earned more money every year than I could than I wanted to spend. Right. And so, like, I was in a spot where and I was honestly good at my job. And so I really could do the job in 30 to 35 hours a week. And I was well respected in the community. The mayor would, you know, reach out and wanted to grab me for lunch. And and and that can go to your head really quickly.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:15:38]:
And when I lost that job, I realized my identity was tied up in that career. My identity was tied up in how people saw me, and my identity needs to be tied up in Christ and my and my standing with Christ. And, I am a sinner in need of grace. And if I lose that, then I'm gonna lose, really what's the most important thing. And so, I will say that while fighting with pride over the years has been, as a challenge for any Christian whether you're successful or not because you can be Right. Proud wherever you are. Right? Sin sin's gonna follow you everywhere. But I would say that losing my job and kind of being kicked out of what, I realized I was identifying myself as, was a huge blessing and a hard blessing.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:16:21]:
Right?
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:16:22]:
And I
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:16:22]:
would say, some of the best blessings are hard providences where God says, okay. We're gonna we're gonna change your setting. We're gonna change, your position. The point is not making money. The point is not being respected. The point is to, be living your life for Christ. And so, that that that was that that was definitely a moment for me. It was like, okay, Lord.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:16:45]:
This is your story, and I need to step back and let you let you run the show.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:16:49]:
Oh, wow. Telling you. And that's not easy for No. Successful people. I have to say, like, it's not easy. It's I believe it's harder to humble yourself, especially when you when you're in that type of, you know, success level. Now you talked about the Lord, in your early 2 like, when did you come to know Jesus? Like, was it earlier in your teenage years? Like, were you already a strong believer when you're early twenties when you were starting or in your late twenties when you were starting seeing the successes?
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:17:26]:
Yeah. Great question. I grew up in a Christian household. My mom and dad, very faithful Christian. My grandparents were faithful Christians. And so it was just the air that I was breathing. Right. We're reading our Bible.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:17:38]:
We were struggling. We were working with this. But I do remember a moment when I was 16 years old, and, you know, dealing with the common temptations of a 16 year old. And I went to my mom and I remember this conversation very distinctly. I said, Mom, I want to be wise. How do I do that? And she said, well, dummy, read your Bible. Read your Bible every day. Read it through over and over and over again.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:18:02]:
This is the word of God. This is what he has given to us to learn wisdom. And so I will say one of the most grounding things for me is, you know, I'm now 47 years old. Since I've been 16, I have read the Bible at least once a year for that entire time period. And when you do that, that is it's going to get into your thinking. It's going to get into it's going to deal with sin in your life. It's funny how when you start really reading your Bible, studying your Bible, applying, seeking to apply it, that a lot of the things that you thought were so important aren't that important anymore. And so I guess that was kind of a turning point for me.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:18:43]:
So I didn't have a big conversion experience, but I do remember that conversation very, like, read your Bible every year, and by the grace of God, I have, and that really is very grounding. And I would encourage every Christian, like, this is the word of God. He has given this to us, Even Deuteronomy and, you know, all the all the books that maybe you struggle with a little bit. Like, God gave them to us for a reason, and we need to know it. We need to study it. We need to read it. And when you do, it's gonna make it so much more clear what you should be doing in every other aspect of your life. So, I will say that has been a, kind of a an important moment in my life in my Christian walk.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:19:18]:
Can you give, like, a practical example of when you were dealing with a situation, maybe in business and how you read something. I just like to make it plain for people who who don't have a type of relationship. Can you give a can you give an example?
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:19:34]:
Yeah. Absolutely. When I was running a business at one point, and we're young and we're new, and someone was coming to me about someone else. And they're like, you know, I'm concerned this person's not getting it, and I'm trying to grapple with this. And I remember reading Proverbs that night, and it was just saying, you know, talking about gossip and talking about tasty moral soul that goes down, but is bitterness in your belly. And I'm like, you know what? I don't want gossip at any of my businesses, because it is a way to destroy relationships. And, and the Bible says do not do it no matter whether I understand why or not. Bible says not to do it.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:20:11]:
Okay. We need to stop that. So I started the next day just saying, look, we we're gonna have a no gossip policy in any business that I'm involved in. And what that looks like is if you have a problem with someone, you go and talk to that person. You don't talk to anybody else about it. You talk to that person about it. And that was a really hard transition for everyone because you're used to like, it's easy to be, like, you know, so and so over there. They're really, you know, driving me nuts or like, that's an easy conversation to have.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:20:40]:
Everybody enjoys that conversation. But my policy was if you hear that, and I had people come to my office say, you know, so and so is really not is really struggling. Oh, that's interesting. Hold on one second. And I'd go grab that person. And I'm
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:20:52]:
like, why
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:20:52]:
don't the 3 of us have this conversation right now, right out in the open? And I will tell you, it was very awkward. Like, everyone's like, are we really doing this right now? Like, yes, we're absolutely doing this right now. But I'm like, if I if I if the Bible says that gossip is bad, fantastic. I'm going to deal with it all the way down.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:21:10]:
Love that.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:21:10]:
And I'll tell you, it it took months for people to kind of, like, know he really means it, and that's what we're doing. But we had a no politics in the office. People would grapple with problems. If you had a problem with someone, you go talk to them. And often, there's another side of the story that you haven't thought of before. Right? And so, that creates such a joyful work environment when you can actually deal with someone. And you don't have to be watching your back all the time because you know no one's talking behind my back right now because this company does not allow that. Well, that increases productivity.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:21:42]:
That increases
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:21:43]:
Yeah.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:21:44]:
Innovation. You can say something and know that it's not gonna have some political blowback for you. And I didn't realize all the ramifications. I just read, well, Proverbs says not to gossip, and so no gossip in my office. And then, like, the business the real world business benefits, success, ramifications that are incredible. So, anyway, there's one example of, like No. If you follow the bible, it will have a huge, positive impact on your business.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:22:11]:
Okay. So tell tell me. Okay. Because there's a lot of, let's say, what I call it, secret Christians. You know, like, basically, Christians who love the Lord, but they're afraid to implement, standards, biblical standards in their business. How what I guess, what we did you always because you've read the bible and all this, did you've always, from the get go when you started your businesses, incorporate like, were you very, vocal about the standards that as talk to us about that. And and what gave you that boldness to do that, especially in a time where, you know, anyone can pull your license or, you know
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:22:55]:
Yeah. Right.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:22:56]:
Shut you down. Does that make sense? Yeah.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:22:58]:
Absolutely. No. It's, and the thing is it is terrifying. And the nice part is I have this last name of crap you shut. So I've been called horrible things my whole life, and so it didn't bother me. What are you gonna call me? Like, you can't get any worse. Yeah. And so, you know, it's nice that, you know, God gave me that and it produces a boldness.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:23:16]:
But, you know, I've always tried to be applied biblical principles even though, you know, did I do a great job at it? No. Most of the time I didn't do a good job. And I caught myself gossiping about someone. I'm like, no. This like, I I have to apply these standards to myself. I can't have different standards for myself and everybody else in my business. But I've always been striving to be a biblical CEO in the way that I run my business. And as I've grown businesses, I've actually found that's a massive protection.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:23:46]:
So here, unfortunately, is a is a terrible stat. 75% of businesses in America have had a labor based lawsuit in the last 5 years. So over the last 5 years, 75% of the millions and millions of businesses in America had some sort of labor based lawsuit. And often you end up just settling with the person because it's not worth the time, effort, and legal fees necessary to try and win that lawsuit. Right? So you have these labor based lawsuits out there. They're really tearing these businesses apart. And so, you know, as, someone who tried to be distinctly Christian the way I ran my business, I'm like, man, this is coming for me. It seems like a matter of time.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:24:25]:
But I actually talked to my good Christian lawyer friend, and he's like, the fact that you have always been bold and you have always been brave is actually a massive legal protection for your business. Because if you talk about, like, we had these three principles, everything we do at our business, and this is true of Red Balloon today, and we talk about this all the time. We're gonna bless the customer first. We want customers to be better off whether they buy anything from us or not. So bless the customer, then bless the employees. We want every employee to be a better person because they work here because most people are not going to work here for the rest of their life, and I want them to be a person who is gonna be a blessing to their next employer, when they decide that it's time to move on. And then we wanna bless the shareholders. And the reason shareholders are on there is because we understand authority.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:25:10]:
We're under the authority of Christ. We're under authority in you know, under God. And so we need to not be afraid of an authority structure, and our shareholders need to be blessed, but they need to be blessed in the right order. We think customers are first, then employees, then shareholders. And so if you, kind of focus on those three blessings in that order, and you're very vocal about that, Well, then if someone comes to you and says, you know, I I'd like to, you know, bring a lawsuit because you're a conservative Christian or you prayed at the company meeting or you prayed at the Christmas dinner. I'd be like, I think that we have been very open about this the entire time, and you took the job knowing exactly who we were. Right? And so we had 2 people in my 15 years running that business, who tried to bring some sort of lawsuit. And it was a nonstarter for both of them because we had done the work of being bold ahead of time.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:26:03]:
It was on our website.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:26:05]:
Oh.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:26:05]:
Every time I did an interview, I said, hey. It's not a weird thing. It's not a prerequisite for employment, but I am a conservative Christian, and I'm gonna run the business like that. And if that you have a problem with that, you just need to know now. And if we're not a good fit, we're not a good fit. And I only have one person in 15 years when I said that, when I was bold and I just, you know, unapologetic about who I was, who said, you know, I'm not comfortable with that. I'm like, that's no problem. But you should know now.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:26:30]:
And she's like, you know, I just don't think this is the right fit for me. No lawsuit, no angst. But I probably just saved myself and that person a lot of heartache from being in a business that just wasn't a good fit. So I guess that's that's my encouragement to employers. I I've learned along the way. I've been grappling with this along the way, but just start by being bold and distinctly, you know, and live your values out loud. And when you do that, you're gonna be legally protected, and you're gonna have way more fun.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:26:59]:
So good. So good. Okay. So okay. So, obviously, you know, you probably hear this question all the time. Like, what is your why? Why do you do what you do? And yeah. Why do you do and do it? I have another question after that, but go ahead.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:27:17]:
Okay. Alright. Yeah. And and it's a great question because, you know, you read, signing Simon Sinek's, you know, start with why, and any good business should have a reason. And if your why is just, I wanna make as much money as possible, that's boring. And it's fine, but you're probably gonna just do okay in business, and then you'll die. Who cares? Sorry. That's cynical.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:27:34]:
But, my why, I think Christian should have the best why, when they start a business, when they think about starting a business and think about it this way. We are, we are little creatures who are trying to follow the great creator. Even as kindergartners, you have crayons and piece of paper. You start drawing things. You want to create things all the time. All of us do. And sometimes that gets knocked out of us through, you know, school or life or whatever. But we always wanted to create things.
Andrew Crapuchettes [00:28:02]:
You think about whether it's woodworking or drawing or art, we are people who want to create. That's because we serve the creator God of the universe. And so as a business owner, I am creating something from scratch. You know, 3 years ago, red balloon didn't even exist and nobody knew it was the thing. And now I have helped 1,000, tens of thousands of people find jobs where they can live their values out loud, bless their families. I've had I've had many people write me and say, I just wanted you to know you saved my marriage, because I was stuck in, I'll just say call it a woke job where they were pushing a leftist worldview down the throat of all their employees. And when you swim in those waters for 8 to
