Impact Entrepreneurship
Paul Graham sparked a furious debate over the last few days about inequality with his blog post, Economic Inequality. He points out that the focus of the dialog should shift from inequality to combating poverty and providing more economic opportunity. The power of entrepreneurship, mixed with technological disruption, is creating an “acceleration of productivity” that is leading to rapid, massive wealth creation. Paul’s essay argues that we should celebrate this, not seek to suppress it, and instead focus on inequality and social mobility.
I like that Graham is sparking dialog on this important topic. He puts himself “out there”, even if it means being exposed to some withering critiques.
His essay caused me to step back and reflect on the fact that I am seeing more entrepreneurs inspired to harness the power of some of the forces he describes – entrepreneurship, technology, innovation and shockingly fast productivity – to make a positive societal impact. I would like to see this trend continue. I’d like to see more Impact Entrepreneurs (a concept I first saw coined in an article in Wired Magazine by Adam Levene) not just wealth-creating entrepreneurs. Impact entrepreneurs are inspired to direct their entrepreneurial energy and skill to make a difference, help a group in society, right a wrong or turn around an injustice. Not just build the next Candy Crush Saga.
Don’t get me wrong – I love wealth-focused entrepreneurs, too. As a venture capitalist, investing in and supporting entrepreneurs focused on turning Flybridge’s seed and Series A investments into something very valuable is my day job. But if we want to unleash the full power of entrepreneurship and technological innovation to better society, more entrepreneurs need to direct their energy to truly making an impact. This effort can take a few forms. Some examples and trends are:
