Jeff Ferrell and Benn Manning lost $110,000 worth of taco mac and cheese in a single manufacturing mishap.
For these two founders of the frozen meal company Counter, this was just one of the many trials they’ve faced. But as keynote speakers of the 2026 SMB ETA Conference hosted by the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology at the BYU Marriott School of Business, Ferrell and Manning shared that relying on God throughout their journey helps them grow both personally and professionally.
The idea for Counter was sparked when Ferrell and his wife were looking to adjust their diets. Trying to cook every day with three young kids was difficult, he says, so he began looking for alternative options. “I realized frozen foods are the most economical way to get ready-to-eat food into a consumer’s hands,” Ferrell says. “But when I was looking at what was coming in for the frozen food suppliers, there were a lot of old TV dinners—not very healthy stuff.”
So, Ferrell made a slide deck with a pitch to make healthier options for frozen meals and sent it to Manning, a fellow businessman he’d met through working at Walmart’s corporate office.
Manning’s response was direct: “Jeff, you need to quit your job and start this thing.”
And that’s what happened, they said. After saving up enough money, Ferrell joined Manning full-time at Counter. “We risked it all,” Manning says, “with just enough to keep the lights on, our family happy, and kids in sports.”
As their business grew, Ferrell and Manning say they began to see miracles in their professional lives. One day, they unexpectedly received a phone call from Lidl, an east coast retailer. The buyer had tried Counter products and wanted to fast-track the meals to the Lidl store over the next couple of weeks.
“The more frequently miracles like this happened, I began to write them down,” Ferrell reflects. “The more I’ve done that, the more frequently I’ve seen miracles and realized that Heavenly Father is absolutely interested in what we are doing.”
But divine guidance doesn’t always lead toward an easy path, Manning emphasizes. When their product was struggling to pass through customs, Manning fasted three times, hoping their products could get to the retailers on time. But as the deadline approached, no progress was made. “I was crying when I had the thought, ‘Maybe I’m fasting for the wrong reason,’” he shares. “‘Maybe it’s not about getting the product across the border.’”
Another thought came to his mind as he prayed: “What am I supposed to learn from this experience?” With this new perspective, Manning fasted again. “I got really personal revelation that has been an influential insight for my own internal growth ever since,” he shares. “There’s no way I would have learned the lesson on my own.”
Ferrell also shares valuable lessons he learned as he went through six months of chemotherapy to fight Hodgkin lymphoma during a crucial time for their company. “I grew closer to my Savior than I ever had in my life because He was the only one who knew what I was going through medically, professionally, and the stress of being an entrepreneur,” Ferrell says.
As the keynote came to a close, Manning emphasized the importance of small spiritual habits. “As I’ve been consistent with personal prayer and reading the Book of Mormon, stress is much more manageable, I wake up more optimistic, I'm much more patient with my kids, and I don’t wake up running scared anymore.”