Business

Making the World Suck Less

Lesson time 07:07 min

Alexis teaches how to use the internet for more than personal gain: Beyond business, it can be leveraged for philanthropy, campaigning, and activism. You don't need to ask permission to make the world a better place.

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Topics include: Start Up Your Non-Profit • Case Study: Profits and Doing Good

Alexis Ohanian

Teaches Building Your Startup

Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian teaches you how to turn an idea into a startup. Get the advice he’s shared through his VC fund, Seven Seven Six.

Preview

[MUSIC PLAYING] - It is definitely possible to build a wildly successful business that is aligned with making the world suck less. And we're seeing more and more industries now-- climate in particular is one that continues to be a place where I'm looking to make big investments where I know I'm not only going to generate great returns for my investors but also help unfuck our planet, as my buddy Chris Sacca describes it. And we're seeing more and more opportunities now, in part because the technology has arrived but also because of the impending doom that has motivated so many of our best and brightest to say, look, this is a problem I need to spend the rest of my life trying to solve, and that's an exciting thing. More and more founders are looking not just at the ultimate business outcome of the companies they're starting but also the societal outcome. And I actually think this is, in a way, generational. We have, for the first time ever, a generation, Gen Z, that has grown up on the connected web. They've grown up in the shadows of the platforms that my generation created. They've seen the good, and they've seen the bad, and they have a fundamentally different outlook. You shouldn't have to compromise your values in order to be successful. And actually understanding your values as early as possible isn't just good for future cofounder issues. It's also good because it aligns your company early on. It makes that recruiting process I talked about earlier even more effective because the people who are thinking about joining and certainly the ones who do join are now not just subscribing to the job. They're also subscribing to the values and the mission of what an organization is doing. And I know it's so easy to roll your eyes at this because I would have when I was, like, 21 starting out as a CEO, but it matters. It really does and now more than ever because all of the leverage has gone to talent. Individuals have all of the power when they come to the negotiation table when deciding whether to take one job or another. And so understanding your values, understanding your why as an organization, and having a North Star which is as bright as we will help unfuck the planet is a really great reason to get someone to come and work and give some of their best years to helping support this mission and this cause. So many of the best practices for entrepreneurship when it comes to startups and for-profit companies are also applicable more than ever to nonprofits, and we're seeing this. We're seeing more and more of a startup or entrepreneurial mindset being applied to some of the best nonprofits that are getting formed in the last decade. So one of the things we're doing with Seven Seven Six is actually applying our model for investing in startups toward investing in nonprofits. The same attributes we look for in a great founder of a for-profit startup are the same attributes that we look for in a great nonprof...

About the Instructor

In 2005, UVA undergrad Alexis Ohanian envisioned a place online where users connect over subcultures—enter Reddit. That was only the start: From growing billion-dollar companies to championing female founders, Ohanian shaped culture. Now he wants to lead tomorrow’s innovators. Learn how to turn an idea into a startup with advice Alexis has shared with other entrepreneurs through his VC fund, Seven Seven Six.

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Alexis Ohanian

Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian teaches you how to turn an idea into a startup. Get the advice he’s shared through his VC fund, Seven Seven Six.

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