Pinnacle Forum Partner, Jonathan Cottrell (https://jonathancottrell.com) was fascinated by entrepreneurship as a child long before he knew the word or could spell it. By eleven, he was running neighborhood businesses after reading a book of business ideas for kids. Born and raised in Phoenix, he came to a personal relationship with Jesus at the age of five, influenced by seeing his parents live out their faith daily.
After graduating from college, Jonathan went to work for the digital marketing agency, iCrossing, where he managed multi-million dollar Partnerships with Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, serving as the agency’s youngest Director at the time.
Jonathan left iCrossing, in 2007 and co-founded his first startup, blippr, and led its successful private sale in 2009. During this time he also worked at GoDaddy, where he became the youngest of his peers to serve as a VP-level General Manager.
Since leaving GoDaddy in 2010, Jonathan has played a part in helping start multiple businesses. His unique perspective and experiences enable him contribute to the local business scene in interesting ways such as launching Phoenix Startup Week (https://phoenix.startupweek.co), a free, five-day celebration of community that builds momentum and opportunity around entrepreneurship.
No Separation
Jonathan’s startups also include a local church, which he and his wife Nicole began in their home in early 2011. He describes this as “Organic church, where Christ is the head and every member is a functioning part of a healthy family.”
This diversity underscores an important distinctive: Whether in professional or personal settings, there’s no separation for Jonathan. His circumference is expansive but his center is singular. “Jesus is everything,” he tells people, “There’s nothing simple about Jesus, but it is simple. It’s all about him.”
This Christ-centeredness is what attracted Jonathan to Pinnacle Forum. He felt an immediate affinity with its mission and members. So much so that he now serves on the Arizona board. “I’m all about relationships,” Jonathan says, “especially those that are centered on Christ. I appreciate being with business peers who have a heart for the city of Phoenix and the kingdom of God.”
For those who are “too busy” for something like a Forum group, Jonathan points out that, “Everyone has time; it’s just a matter of where you choose to invest it. I choose to invest it in relationships with like-hearted people, not just like-minded people, who put Christ first and do so in the marketplace.”
Jonathan sees business as a venue in which to love radically and employ his gifting as shepherd and starter to build vibrant relationships. This includes marriages. Jonathan serves as Entrepreneur in Residence for Love & Startups (https://www.loveandstartups.com), a ministry helping to strengthen marriages between entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs. “We help you rediscover (or discover for the first time) just how amazing your marriage can be. We do this through providing both entrepreneurs and those married to entrepreneurs with care, content, and connection.
On his website, Jonathan unabashedly quotes the Apostle Paul, “To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach … the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18). “I’m on a lifelong pursuit to uncover the unsearchable riches discovered in Christ and Christ alone,” he says, “ and I’m doing whatever I can to get others to join me on this quest.”
