Ep. 88 Faith and Entrepreneurship: Jay Johnson’s Journey to Impact
1/20/26
Jay Johnson's faith guided his remarkable journey from college admissions consulting to educational technology innovation in his business. Hosts Kimberly Daniel and Stephen Lewis of the DO GOOD X podcast revisit this inspiring conversation about scaling a business with intention and divine direction. Jay, founder of College Prep U and Prep Intel, shares how church community support sparked his entrepreneurial path and how taking risks in business led to exponential entrepreneurial growth—expanding from 37 to 2,500 students in one year. His story demonstrates that purpose-driven business success requires both faith and strategic action, offering valuable insights for founders navigating their intentional business-building journeys.
In This Episode
- 00:00 The importance of intentional business building and slowing down to reflect on purpose-driven business goals for 2026
- 04:00 Jay shares how support from his church community launched his college admissions consulting journey
- 05:03 The solar eclipse moment: taking risks in business to start College Prep U independently through faith-driven decision making
- 07:28 Scaling a business from 37 to 2,500 students through strategic partnership development and business collaboration
- 12:05 Jay discusses the challenge of being ok with being uncomfortable
- 13:26 Launch of Prep Intel: transitioning to educational technology using machine learning applications while making resources free for student success
Key Takeaways
💎 Strategic partnerships can transform your business overnight—Jay's willingness to collaborate with a competitor led to a contract serving over 2,000 students, proving that abundance mentality and business collaboration can create more opportunities than competition.
💎 Divine timing and spiritual discernment matter in entrepreneurial growth—from the solar eclipse metaphor to the Watch Hour prophecy, Jay's story shows how paying attention to spiritual guidance informs critical business pivots and taking risks in business.
💎 Building sustainable educational technology requires separating yourself from day-to-day operations—recognizing that College Prep U would close if something happened to him, Jay created Prep Intel to ensure student success continued beyond his personal involvement.
About The Hosts
Kimberly R. Daniel
Kimberly R. Daniel catalyzes entrepreneurs and organizations to do good. She is co-founder and project director of DO GOOD X, a community that provides programs and support for faith-driven social entrepreneurs whose businesses focus on positive Change.
Kimberly also helps purpose-driven organizations clarify and design compelling brand and communication strategies. With over 15 years of experience developing and leading communications efforts, it is her commitment to produce effective processes and create authentic, “sticky” brands that are community-centered.
In addition, Kimberly has nearly 10 years of experience as a certified life coach and has facilitated workshops, spoken to communities, and written about innovation and entrepreneurship centered on social impact. She is co-author of A Way Out of No Way: An Approach to Christian Innovation (2021).
In any aspect of her work, she is deeply passionate about purpose, meaning, and the common good.
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Stephen Lewis
Stephen Lewis is the president of the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) and creator and co-founder of DO GOOD X, a start-up accelerator for diverse Christian social entrepreneurs. He is an organizational change strategist and a leadership development specialist, focused on inspiring the next generation of faith-inspired leaders and entrepreneurs to live and work on purpose. Stephen is the co-author of Another Way: Living and Leading Change on Purpose (2020) and A Way Out of No Way: Approach to Christian Innovation (2021).
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