In class we discussed companies that are “redemptive”. This means that they help create value and impact through innovation. One of these companies is OCEAN. They are a business accelerator the helps other entrepreneurs be successful entrepreneurs. This helps them and also gives them the foundation to learn about redemptive entrepreneurship and more. They were Established as a 501c3 or nonprofit in 2014, OCEAN opened its high-tech accelerator in 2015. The launch attracted national media attention given it was one of the earliest Global Accelerator Network (GAN) recognized programs that integrated faith into the content. Articles appeared in USA Today and in Bloomberg Business Week the following year. The publicity attracted founders seeking OCEAN’s unique combination of spiritual and commercial training. Applications more than doubled the subsequent year and dramatically diversified with 33% coming from outside the US, and 40% from states beyond Ohio.

OCEAN evolved from a singular high-tech focus to also include main street entrepreneurs in 2017. SWe launched Genesis: Small Business Training and also assumed ownership of the Unpolished Faith & Entrepreneurship Conference (Now called OCEAN Conference). OCEAN Conference attracts close to 1,000 leaders from across the country for a two-day focus on the intersection of faith + entrepreneurship. The Genesis content was designed to meet the needs of local start-ups. The program is designed for groups of 10 to 15, runs for 4 hours once a week for 8 weeks. We follow that with 6 months of group based mentoring.

OCEAN launched the Church Economic Accelerator (CEA) in January, 2020. This is a partnership program with Mark DeYmaz, co-founder of the Global Mosaix Movement, and author of “The Coming Revolution in Church Economics”. The CEA program addresses a looming reality that in order for churches to not only survive but thrive in the future, leaders must learn to leverage assets, bless the community, empower entrepreneurs, and create multiple streams of income to effectively fund mission.