Who Knows... But?

I have always had an attraction for the bible verse in Esther in which Mordecai comments to Queen Esther that "perhaps you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this." It is probably my favorite verse of scripture. Mordecai is reminding Hadasah (her original name) that she can't sit back on her silk cushions in the royal bedroom and watch her people taken down by evil men when with a wink, a nod, and a little bit of well placed perfume she could save her people.

I love the women of the Bible, but I love Esther most of all.

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I am in one of my regular situations in which I need a significant infusion of cash and I need it now. Despite the fact that I didn't go to bed last night until 12:30, I've been awake since 6:00 trying to figure out how I am going to put tires on my car, pay for my insurance, and pay my taxes, rent, and debts while having basically no income and few prospects.

I spent a good long time composing a confessional letter in my head and thinking about the ways that people think of me as having everything I need (or at least much of what I need) while the fact of the matter is I am nearly homeless and despreately broke. Then it occurred to me that the very things I was trying to write about are the things that I am certainly not the only one facing. It's the story of thousands of people in New Orleans; it's the truth of life for people in Oakland, and Managua, and Baghdad, and London, and Ladakh.

How many people would create a business – an interesting, engaging, productive and profitable business – if they only had the sense that they could? How many people with the resources – emotional, informational, financial – would help such people if they only knew that the person needed help and that they could trust (more or less) that their money would come back to them; that what they could sacrifice to provide would come back to them safely? It struck me that the biggest reason most people hold back what little they have is that deep reason most of us do almost everything (from hurting our loved ones, to dropping bombs on strangers); we are deeply, desperately, permanently afraid.

It seems to me that many people would help out the small entrepeneur with an investment or a loan if they weren't afraid that they would lose their money. The very same people are perfectly willing to hand over their entire liife savings to crooks and charlatans and to cross their fingers and hope that "the market" will treat them well. I know many of those people personally (though I have never been one myself) and most of those I know have lost large sums in the downturns of recent years, yet they still trust the market more than they trust their friends. Their perspective, it seems to me, is one that is goverened by fear.

If you could reduce the fear and maximize the opportunity, there are millions of people – rich and poor alike – who would jump on the bandwagon and seek to partner with people who could be helped into a self-sufficent world of business opportunity. People who would find a product, a service, or a dream and bring it to fruition.

So… with that thought, and the image of Esther in my head, I came up with an idea; an idea for a business coalition, conceived out of my own personal need, but with the world's need in mind. Mercury Ventures Partnership – MVP.

In my mind, it's everything I have come to know as an adult. It is my belief in entrepeneurism (it's why I stayed up last night and watched Richard Branson talk to David Letterman), my belief in social action, social achievement, and social advancement. It is my belief in small business and entrepeneurial socialism. It's George Washington, and Adam Smith, and Che Guevara.

I think that if I paid attention, stuck to the through line, made connections with people I am already doing business with (and have done business with in the past) I could make this thing work. It could work for me, for New Orleans, and for the world.

It's a big idea… a BIG idea… and it's the kind of idea that BIG thinkers like to give attention to. Micro-loans, small investment, and achievement assistance for people who really want to make use of the opportunity to build a business.

Why the hell not?

How about you join me?

Leave a comment... or drop me an email at thom@mercreate.com