Startups are not all about the money – StartupSmart

In today’s material focused world, I’ve lost count of the number of startup articles that are about money.

 

Everything is about the funds they’ve put in the bank and how their business model is going to help them make big valuations.

 

Oh, and as soon as you’ve completed your multibillion-dollar listing, you can start to make the real money.

 

I often wonder, when we think of the great inventions throughout the years, penicillin, the electric light bulb, sliced bread, we don’t automatically think – wow, they must have made a killing on their IPO. We think: the world is better off because of this invention.

 

When we come to looking at startup heroes, we’re doing it wrong if we’re evaluating them based on their billion dollar valuations.

 

One thing I’ve learned living all across Australia and up and down the California coast is that most people growing up don’t dream of having millions of dollars – they dream of doing something good, of changing the world to be a better place. Now, thanks to technology, we have the ability to reach more people faster and make more change happen.

 

I’ve been privileged to experience this, seeing some great ideas at the Australian Youth Forum and at the School for Social Entrepreneurs.

 

At Hello Sunday Morning we started out with a neat little idea – encourage people to give up drinking for a few months. But thanks to technology we were able to turn this into a social movement, and make a real positive difference for public health and people’s lives.

 

The not-for-profit sector needs the help of young entrepreneurs, to dream big ideas that help people, and not for profit’s sake.

 

That’s why I’m excited to be speaking to a crop of potential future startup leaders at the Macleay Entrepreneurship Forum on Wednesday, July 9 alongside some of Australia’s best young tech founders.

 

I’ll not just talk to them about the challenges of managing a non-profit startup, I’ll be asking them to think about how their ideas can help the world – not about how the world can help them.

 

Jamie Moore is the co-founder of Hello Sunday Morning.