From the Projects to Purpose
A Journey of Faith, Fire, & Fatherhood
Welcome to BreakthruPreneurs
I'm Lorenzo Zesati. I know what it's like to feel isolated, overwhelmed, and torn between providing for your family and being present for them. My story isn't about having it all figured out. It's about what happens when a broken man meets a faithful God.
The Inheritance I Refused to Pass On
My "normal" wasn't normal.
I grew up knowing that the sound of glass shattering against a wall was just another Thursday night. I learned to read the weight of my father's footsteps coming up the stairs or yelling as he entered the back door. Heavy meant run. Heavier meant hide. This was my childhood, and for years, I thought every kid lived this way. I pray to God those nights the "Undo Prayer", asking God to undo whatever damage my dad is about to do to me.
My father was a man haunted by his own demons. He grew up without a father from age seven, and his own brother constantly beat him. He carried that violence like a family heirloom, polished and perfected, ready to pass down to the next generation. And he did. From Thursday through Saturday, and sometimes on Sundays, he would beat me, convinced he was making me a "better man."
But here's what my father didn't know:
I was watching. I was learning. Not how to be like him, but how to be everything he wasn't. I stopped the chain. The abuse, alcoholism, and emotional abandonment... it all ends with me. I am physically and emotionally present for my children in ways my father never was for me. This is my first victory, and it cost me years of pain, arguing with my wife, therapy, group consultation, many church visits, tears, and truthful conversations with God to achieve it.
I made my biggest breakthrough came on August 202, when a group of four men from Sun Valley Communicty Church (Gilbert) continued on and started a men's Bible study group called the "Legacy Men" group. In this group, we meant and continue to meet every Saturday morning at 7am and by far has been the best group to tackle down the history layers of pain I have experienced. This group of men became my accountability partners/brothers, and we continue to group to become like Jesus. After three years of going strong with the Legacy Men's group, I decided it was time to launch a similar group for Businessmen only, and this is how BreakthruPreneurs came about.
Growing Up in the Los Angeles Projects
We lived in the Williams Means Housing Projects of Los Angeles, a concrete maze where gang colors were more important than report cards, and they taught survival skills before multiplication tables. My father would spend most of his money on liquor, drowning whatever pain he carried in bottles that never seemed to empty. There was never money for toys, never money for the things other kids had. But there was always money for his next drink.
I remember the sharp smell of alcohol on his breath, mixing with the metallic scent of fear that rose in my throat every time he came home. I remember how my mouth would go dry, how I'd check my body for escape routes, how I'd stand there, stock-still, praying to a God I barely knew to please, please make him pass out before he got to me.
But God was teaching me something in those dark moments, though I wouldn't understand it for years. He was showing me I could survive anything. That I was stronger than my circumstances. That my father's fists could bruise my skin but never break my spirit.
The Junkyard: My Real Engineering School
Since my dad would never buy us toys, I learned to create my world from the debris of others. The local junkyard became my sanctuary, my laboratory, and my first business school. While other kids were playing with store-bought action figures, I was engineering, inventing, and problem-solving.
On weekends, when the junkyard was closed, my friends and I would haul home treasures: bike parts, mechanical pieces, anything we could transform. With no Google, no YouTube tutorials, no instruction manuals, and certainly no guidance from my father, I figured it out. Trial and error became my teacher. Failure became my friend.
I built my very first bike in that junkyard, a Frankenstein creation with a girl's frame and boy's accessories. I didn't know the difference. I didn't care. I had wheels, and I had freedom.
It was in that junkyard that I engineered my very own baseball hitting apparatus, a contraption born from necessity and imagination. Baseball wasn't just a game to me; it was an escape, a discipline, a way to channel the rage that threatened to consume me.
The junkyard taught me I could be more than a survivor. I could be a creator. My father, in his neglect, accidentally gave me the greatest gift: the ability to make something from nothing.
The Day I Had to Defend Myself
There's a story you need to hear; one I've carried like a stone in my pocket for decades. I was fourteen years old, still a boy but forced to become a man in a single, violent moment.
My father came to me again, but this time was different. This time, I would not take it. This time, I fought back. I can still see the knife, the way the light caught its blade. I can still feel the adrenaline flooding my system, the primal choice between flight and fight. I fought. I had to.
When it was over, when my father lay on the ground and I stood over him, something shifted in our household. The beatings stopped. But something in me had shifted too. I had proven I could defend myself, but I had also crossed a line that no fourteen-year-old should ever have to cross.
Mr. Nieto, the Man Who Changed Everything
Downey Park was my sanctuary, my refuge, my training ground for life. And Mr. Richard Nieto was the director who saw something in me I couldn't see in myself.
When I approached Mr. Nieto, I was desperate. I wanted to play baseball and basketball, the two sports that made me feel alive, that gave me purpose beyond just surviving the projects. But I couldn't pay the registration fees, afford the uniforms or equipment. I expected him to say no. Everyone else in my life said no. Why would he be different?
But Mr. Nieto looked at me, really looked at me, and saw something I didn't see in myself. He saw my passion, hunger, and potential.
Out of his own pocket, Mr. Nieto agreed to cover everything: registration fees, uniform, equipment, everything I needed to play. He didn't ask for repayment. He simply believed that a kid who wanted to play that badly deserved the opportunity to play.
There was one condition, since I was too young to work officially at the park, he asked me to help keep the park clean and maintain it as much as I could. That was it. Keep the park clean. Show up. Take care of this place that's taking care of you. Without Downey Park, without Mr. Nieto, without those sports, I honestly don't know where I'd be. Prison, probably. Or dead. Those were the most common outcomes for kids from my neighborhood who didn't find something positive to pour themselves into.
Meeting Jesus at 17
At seventeen years old, I walked into Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and heard John F. MacArthur Jr. teach the Bible in a way that pierced through every defense I'd built.
For the first time, I understood God wasn't just a distant deity to pray to when I was scared. He was a Father who loved me, who had plans for me, who could take the wreckage of my childhood and build something beautiful.
That moment transformed my trajectory. The anger I carried transformed into purpose, and the survival skills I'd developed in the projects became the foundation for entrepreneurship. The discipline from sports became the work ethic that would build businesses.
I didn't escape the projects through superior intelligence or exceptional talent. God protected me. I didn't survive my father's abuse through toughness alone. God preserved me. I didn't build successful businesses through business acumen alone. God provided clients, opportunities, and wisdom.
Michelle: The Woman Who Taught Me to Love
In 1999, I met Michelle. It was love at first sight over a cold chicken burrito at work. We married in 2000, and we also got baptized together.
Here's the truth I need you to understand: I didn't know how to love. Growing up in my household, I learned survival, not affection. I learned to guard myself, not to open my heart. I learned to expect violence, not tenderness.
Michelle taught me how to love. Patiently. Persistently. She never gave up on me, even when I was emotionally unavailable, even when I didn't know how to express what I was feeling, even when my walls seemed insurmountable.
Together, we're raising three individually amazing, creative, entrepreneurial children. And every day, I get to be the father I never had.
Breaking the Generational Norm
My father modeled abuse, alcoholism, emotional absence, and what I call the three C's: complaining, criticizing, and condemning.
I've intentionally broken every single one of these norms:
• Being physically and emotionally present for my children
• Serving my wife sacrificially, not demanding to be served
• Operating with integrity in all my business dealings
• Building businesses that support families rather than destroy it
• Mentoring my son Jacoby in business (my father never mentored me)
• Modeling Christ-centered masculinity instead of toxic masculinity
Breaking these norms wasn't easy. It cost years of intentional work, therapy, and surrender to God. But it's central to my identity and mission. The cycle stops with me.
WHY BP EXISTS
The Burden That Became My Calling
BreakthruPreneurs was born from both pain and purpose. Over the years, I've witnessed too much brokenness in the lives of my clients, friends, family, and community. I've seen good men, faithful husbands, loving fathers, successful business leaders, fall victim to:
• Spiritual emptiness from neglecting God as their center
• Premature death from neglected health
• Broken marriages from overwork and absent presence
• Distant parenting from prioritizing business over family
• Financial instability from poor planning and stress
These aren't just statistics. These are lives, families, and legacies lost to a world out of alignment with God's design. That burden became my calling.
The Hidden Crisis of MCBC
Most Married Christian Businessmen with Children are a lonely, struggling group that no one talks about.
Here's what I've seen:
They go to church just to "check the box." Many attend on Sunday but don't have a solid relationship with God as their center of influence. Over years of neglecting God, they try to run their personal and professional lives on their own, and they're failing.
They feel alone. MCBC create jobs, lift people from poverty, and help redeem a broken world. But they don't know where to turn or who to talk to about what they're really going through. Without support, they falter when they need God as their CEO the most. I experienced this loneliness myself when I first started. It's isolating and stressful.
Their marriages are suffering. I've witnessed many divorces, including several of my good business friends, happen because men are working too much, too late, and living unhealthy lifestyles. They're losing their wives while chasing success.
They're absent from their children's lives. I've seen too many MCBC parents not involved in their kids' lives. Putting clients first before their kids. Providing financially but missing everything that matters. Children need present fathers, not just providers.
"If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together." MCBC are trying to walk alone, and they're not making it far.
What We're Building: A Different Brotherhood
I launched BreakthruPreneurs because I believe men are called by God to be servant-leaders in their homes, businesses, personal and professional inner circles, churches, and communities. Married Christian Businessmen with Children are not meant to walk alone.
God designed us to live in a biblical community.
• To sharpen one another (Proverbs 27:17)
• To carry each other's burdens (Galatians 6:2)
• To bear fruit, rooted in Him (John 15:5)
God did not create us for burnout. He created us for fruitfulness.
"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." (Matthew 6:33)
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Our Statement of Faith is rooted in historic Christian orthodoxy and aligns closely with the theological foundation of Sun Valley Community Church in Gilbert, Arizona, and with Lorenzo's first teaching from John MacArthur at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA.
The Prayer I Pray For You
God, I pray for every man reading this. I pray You would:
Protect them like You protected me from bullets and critical decisions
Provide for them like You provided through scholarships and opportunities I never earned
Transform them like You transformed me from an abuser's son into a loving father
Guide them as You guided me through every major decision
Use them like You are using me to impact others and expand Your Kingdom
Show them that their story matters, their struggle has purpose, their pain can become power, and their mess can become their message.
Give them courage to be loud about their faith. To build businesses that honor You, to stay faithful in their marriages, to be present for their children, and to mentor others who need what they've learned.
In Jesus' name, Amen.
The Invitation
If you've read this far, and if my story has resonated with something in you. You might see yourself in my journey. Maybe you're standing where I stood. Maybe you're building what I'm building. Here's what I want you to know:⃝
Your past does not define you.
Your circumstances do not limit you.
Your failures do not disqualify you.
God can use you.
God specializes in taking broken things and making them beautiful. He takes:
Junkyard scraps and builds masterpieces.
Abuse victims and makes them cycle-breakers.
Poverty-stricken kids and turns them into entrepreneurs.
Men who don't know how to love & teaches them through patient wives.
That's what He did for me. That's what He'll do for you. But you have to step out in faith. You have to swing for the fences despite your fear.
"Join a Brotherhood That Gets It" - "Connect With Men Like You"
"Take the First Step" - "Begin Breaking the Cycle"
Join a brotherhood that doesn’t just talk about faith but lives it boldly through accountability, service, and purpose. Whether you're looking for a deeper connection, biblical business wisdom, or a lifestyle that glorifies God across your family, health, and calling, you're in the right place.
Option 1: Book a Discovery Call
Book a 20-30 minute conversation to see if BreakthruPreneurs is right for you. No pressure, no pitch. Just two men talking about what matters. Click on one of the appointment slots on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
Option 2: Fill in the "Intake" form
Please fill out the intake form below, and someone from our leadership team will get back to you promptly.
Option 3: Text, Call, or Email us
Just text, call, or email us at 602.456.7632
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and
all these things will be given to you as well.” – Matthew 6:33
Our Journey Started with a Question
In January 2025, I sat at a two-story Starbucks in Gilbert, AZ, with a handful of men who shared the same struggle:
How do we build thriving businesses without sacrificing our families, our health, or our faith?
That first meeting wasn't polished. We didn't have fancy slides or a perfect framework. What we had was honesty, transparency, a TV & laptop full of ideas, and a burning conviction that there had to be a better way for Married Christian Businessmen with Children to do life and business together. We called ourselves BreakthruPreneurs, and we did not know what God was about to do.
Jan 2025
The Early Months: Building and Refining
Those first few months were a season of rapid learning and refinement. We started with Nine Pillars (too many) and refined them down to Five (just right).
We experimented with meeting formats until we found a rhythm that worked. We introduced Hot Seats, Wins or Learns, and guest speakers. We secured a consistent Wed meeting location that became our weekly gathering place.
By March 2025, we celebrated our first milestone:
10 committed members who showed up every week, vulnerable and committed, sharpening each other in business and faith. We were building something real. But something was still missing.
May 2025
The Turning Point: May 2025
In May 2025, God brought me to a crossroads. I looked at everything we had built, all the systems, frameworks, and meeting structures, and I realized we had drifted.
We were talking about God, but He wasn't truly at the center.
Pillar 1 (Rooted: God, Health, I-Family) was supposed to be our foundation. But somewhere along the way, the business conversations had overshadowed the faith conversations. We were becoming just another mastermind with a Christian label, not a God-centered brotherhood.
So I stopped. Restructured. Realigned. Rewrote everything.
Every piece of content, every meeting agenda, every membership benefit, I rebuilt it all with God at the center, not as an add-on, but as the foundation from which everything else flows.
That decision cost us momentum. Some thought I was overcomplicating things. But I knew that if BreakthruPreneurs was going to be different, if it was going to actually transform men's lives, it had to be built on the Rock, not on business strategy alone.
Jun to Dec 2025
Season of Preparation
What followed was six months of intentional preparation. While others might have seen it as slowing down, I saw it as building the right foundation.
I committed to reading my Bible daily, deepening my understanding of Scripture so I could lead from overflow, not emptiness.
I met with church leaders who helped me refine the theological foundation.
I sat with experienced group leaders who trained me in shepherding men well.
I took a five-week theology course at Sun Valley Community Church to ensure our content was biblically sound.
The team rewrote every document. We tested every framework against Scripture.
They evaluated every meeting element through the lens of: Does this point men toward Jesus, or just toward success? The answer had to be Jesus. Every time.
Where We Are Now
Today, BreakthruPreneurs stands on a foundation that won't shift with trends or market pressures. We have:
A clear vision: God first. Always.
A proven framework: The 5 Pillars, refined through months of testing & application
A committed core: Men who show up every week, ready to be sharpened
A consistent rhythm: Weekly meetings that balance accountability, teaching, & brotherhood
A formed leadership team: Men called to serve alongside me
A membership process that ensures every man who joins shares our values and commitment
Where We're Going
Our vision is clear: 50 committed members in Gilbert, Arizona. 50 men transformed by the Five Pillars, strengthened in their marriages, present with their children, thriving in their businesses, and deeply rooted in their faith.
After establishing Gilbert, we will replicate the model to neighboring Arizona cities and then expand further. But we're not chasing scale. We're chasing depth. We would rather transform 50 men's lives genuinely than have 500 who attend casually.
This is Kingdom work that takes time, intentionality, & faithfulness to the process.
Join Us in Writing the Next Chapter
The story of BP is still being written. We're a work in progress, just like every man who joins us. We grow, struggle, and celebrate wins together.
We carry each other's burdens. We sharpen each other. We point each other back to Jesus when we drift. If you're a Married Christian Businessman with Children who's tired of walking alone, who's ready to put God first in every area of life, who wants to build a business that supports your family instead of stealing from it... you might be exactly who we've been praying for.
Fill Out our Discovery Call Intake Form
Please click on the button below to fill out the intake form below, and someone from our team will get back to you promptly.
Or simply call us at 602.456.7632 or email us at [email protected]
Building thriving businesses without sacrificing your faith, health, or family. "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." — Matthew 6:33
© Copyright 2026. BreakthruPreneurs. BreakthruPreneurs. Gilbert, Arizona. God first. Always. All rights reserved.