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Breaking Out with<br />
Andy Garrett ‘09: Q&A<br />
BY SARAH ESLICK ROBINSON ‘09<br />
How did Breakout get started?<br />
We started Breakout with the realization that real-life<br />
interactions still carry a tremendous amount of value. It’s a<br />
counter-cultural way of thinking but we really dug into the<br />
creation story and tried to identify what we (people) are<br />
created for. We quickly realized that we were created to be in<br />
community, so we’re constantly looking for ways to create that<br />
and Breakout just so happened to fit the mold.<br />
How many locations are there now?<br />
Did you ever expect it to be so successful?<br />
There are 43 total locations. Successful? I guess that’s a relative<br />
term. Honestly, we are still super hungry to keep learning and<br />
growing. We’re having a ton of fun with it.<br />
What led you to this industry?<br />
Our mission statement is to “Create space for people to<br />
experience relational depth and communal wealth.” We’re<br />
really passionate about having deeper connections and hosting<br />
communities of people who see the value in that. Breakout<br />
aligned so we said ‘yes’.<br />
Do you believe God has changed you throughout this process?<br />
How so?<br />
Yes, there have been a ton of ways but I think the biggest one has<br />
been learning to trust [the Lord]. There are so many variables<br />
that go into running a business, and at times it gets stressful. It’s<br />
been amazingly freeing when those times creep up, to simply be<br />
able to say “I trust you” and to not feel like the success/failure of<br />
Breakout is on our backs. We want a lot more of that :).<br />
It’s such a blessing to be able to find something you’re<br />
passionate about and make a career out of it. What wisdom<br />
would you want to pass on to someone struggling with their<br />
purpose as far as their career is concerned?<br />
For me the fear of failing didn’t add up to the fear of asking ‘what<br />
if’ at the end of my life. I am so much more interested in getting<br />
a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ than never knowing. If you’re passionate about<br />
something, go get your answer.<br />
Do you have any advice for aspiring Entrepreneurs?<br />
Run into your fears, I guarantee that at the worst, you’ll learn<br />
something.<br />
I’m sure it was a leap of faith to jump into a brand new<br />
industry. What role did your faith play in all of this?<br />
Yeah, you never know what’s going to happen. I can honestly<br />
say there have been plenty of days where all we could do was<br />
invite the Lord to lead and work alongside us. I don’t know how<br />
people run businesses without a community of people pushing<br />
them towards the Lord.<br />
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