“I have to admit, it felt awesome investing in chickens.”

Sometimes when words come out of your mouth, you can’t believe you just spoke them. But, helping Victoria buy chickens for her micro poultry business in Kenya wouldn’t have been possible without a string of events that lead back to a single conversation that has changed the lives of millions.

In 2004, Jessica was a staff member at a local university, and Matt was a computer programmer. Both had visions of becoming entrepreneurs. But, they didn’t just want the money—they wanted a business that would make a real difference.

One night, Jessica attended a lecture given by Dr. Mohammed Yunus, founder of the now famous Grameen Bank, an institution in India that provides small loans to poor people without collateral.  “A lightening bolt went off in my head and heart,” said Jessica. “Dr. Yunus talked about people in poverty with such respect and dignity. I wanted to do something similar.”

Jessica went home to Matt and they talked, and they talked some more. After about a year’s-worth of conversations, an idea evolved to become ‘the world’s first website with the mission to alleviate poverty by connecting people through lending.’

Ideologically the premise was solid. Imagine connecting a nurse in Kansas City with a beekeeper in Ghana, a teacher in Raleigh with a spinach farmer in Cambodia, or the Executive Vice President of the O.C. Tanner Institute (David Sturt) with a poultry farmer in Kenya (Victoria). With a small loan of just $25, which, in time, gets paid back, Kiva was opening the door for entrepreneurs all over the globe.

Victoria, a poultry farmer in Kenya, started her business with a microloan from KIVA.org

Before Kiva became the entity that would change micro-lending, something had to be done that Jessica and Matt needed to do—something that most people find discomforting, and even nerve-racking. They needed to talk to people they didn’t know, people way outside the safety of their inner circle of friends, and they needed to talk openly about the business model issues central to their new venture.

Jessica went to East Africa to interview rural entrepreneurs on behalf of a local nonprofit organization. Matt soon joined her. They assumed they would find all the answers they needed to make Kiva successful. And, after about 150 conversations, they were excited. The entrepreneurs they conversed with were thrilled about having a lending source to build their businesses. But, why wouldn’t they be: it’d be like asking a first-grade class if they’d be interested in jumping on a trampoline.

Here comes the rub.

An astute friend of Matt’s pointed out, “You can’t just loan money over the Internet.” He was right. Matt realized someone in a government somewhere would take notice and take regulatory action. In the U.S. that would be the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In a bold move, Matt picked up the phone and called the SEC. Think about that, who cold-calls the SEC? But, what did he have to lose?

Within five minutes of calling, Matt was talking to an experienced agent. After a series of conversations, the agent helped Matt and Jessica make a crucial decision: There would be no interest charged as part of the lending; no interest returned to the lenders. Without interest, the SEC was unlikely to consider the loans as regulated securities.

“Right away, he identified with the social mission and was incredibly helpful,” Matt said of his conversation with the SEC agent. And, with that critical conversation with a total stranger, Kiva.org was born.

At the writing of this post, Kiva and its 1,180,795 lenders have loaned almost $569,192,025 million to over 1,323,182 entrepreneurs in over 75 countries. Reaching outside their inner circle worked for Matt, Jessica, David, Victoria, and more than a million other entrepreneurs (plus a few chickens). But, can it work for you? The research says yes.

A study conducted by Forbes Insights and the O.C. Tanner Institute which culled through 10,000 cases of award-winning work, along with 1,013 surveys of managers and employees, and 200 personal interviews, found that reaching outside their inner circle is a common activity of people who innovate and create new value.