2024 Difference Maker: Difference Maker: How Ed Crowley turned a love for innovation into a life of entrepreneurial success

(Photo by Aaron Eisenhauer)

Ed Crowley grew up on his family’s farm just south of Springfield, Missouri, but after he graduated from high school, he told his dad he was off to see the world.

“I'm blowing this popsicle stand,” Crowley told his dad. “I told him, ‘I'm not gonna live in a small town again! I'm never gonna milk cows again! I'm gonna go see the world and make a lot of money and that's going to be my life.’”

Crowley traveled the world and earned a good living, but ultimately, he ended up working on a farm and living in a small town again.

Crowley and his wife, Terri, own Mesta Meadows farm and The Mason Jar Store in Glen Allen, Missouri. They raise sheep, goats, cattle, pigs and poultry, and boast they are one of the few sheep dairy farms in Missouri.

After graduating from the University of Missouri with a degree in economics with an emphasis on computer science, Crowley went to work for companies like Lexmark and Texas Instruments. However, Crowley has never been one to sit still for very long.

“I’ve had the pleasure to work in over 50 countries, including over 45 trips to Japan alone,” Crowley said. “This exposure to many different cultures, nationalities and faiths has given me an appreciation for the value of diversity, intelligent discourse with all viewpoints, and also an appreciation for the unique attributes of our country.”

Crowley said he has an entrepreneurial spirit and loves to create new businesses.

“What really gets me up and gets me excited in the morning is building new things,” Crowley said. “I love taking an idea from a concept and turning it into a successful thriving business. I’m just wired that way.

Crowley’s first entrepreneurial startup was in college where he and his classmates noticed there weren’t many places where students could purchase small refrigerators for their dorm rooms.

“We acquired a company that sold the fridges and became our own supplier,” Crowley said.

Over the years Crowley has built 12 startup companies focusing on applied technology that helps companies grow their business and navigate rapidly changing complex markets because of newly adopted technology.

“I've been lucky,” Crowley said. “Some of the startups I've been involved with have been successful, but I've also had businesses fail so I've been on both sides of that spectrum; kind of a classic serial entrepreneur.”

Along the way, Crowley picked up an MBA and a PhD to start a second career in education. He’s been an adjunct professor at multiple universities for the past 17 years and is now at Southeast Missouri State University helping to pass on some real-world experience and depth to the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“One of the biggest things that I want to make sure students learn is to have the mindset of being willing to take calculated risks,” Crowley said. “There's always the chance of failure, but don’t let that keep you from trying.”

Crowley said he’s also happy to be moving into social entrepreneurship activities like helping start the Mayfield Entrepreneurial Center [MEC] located in the Bollinger County Library. The MEC acts as an incubator and accelerator space for entrepreneurs and start-up businesses that fulfill a need for creating a business-friendly training and mentoring center.

“That just gets me really excited,” Crowley said. “Helping other entrepreneurs get started and doing something that's going to help the region as a whole.”

Crowley gives the same advice to his students that he’s followed his whole life – “Take risks, apply yourself, and pursue your passion.”

From family farm to international business to family farm again, it’s an approach to life that has made a difference not just for Crowley.