1
... all users are humans not numbers, and as such are always to be treated with dignity, empathy, and respect. All data and research are a means to understand how to best serve their general needs, not to manipulate them into vanity metrics.
2
... digital products should be purposeful and meaningful. Too many startups have moved fast and broken things, it's time to be measured and renew things.
3
... in the power of play as a means to explore and innovate because everyone is creative, it's just a matter of thinking in a designed way.
4
... investors and founders want to integrate their beliefs and values into where they spend their time, money, and vocations.
5
... the core of every great company and every great product is empathy.
6
... Impact companies can scale while remaining committed to their missions and values.
7
... Impact startups must approach development with just as much intellectual and operational rigor as any other company seeking to scale.
8
... Impact startups need and deserve elite talent in design, development, product, digital media, growth marketing, and executive leadership.
9
... measuring and reporting Impact metrics is essential but not sufficient for long term success.
10
... genius is evenly distributed but opportunity is not.
11
... invested capital must produce a risk-adjusted rate of return and equally that shareholders are but one of many stakeholders in a business.
12
... there are scalable business models to address societal challenges such as climate change, food deserts, lack of economic mobility, traditionally under-resourced communities, under-represented founders, income inequality, unequal access to healthcare, inadequate supply of affordable housing, and many others.
13
... that being too precious or institutional or conservative can hamper creativity.
We are...
… the ones making up new games instead of waiting for an invitation to play
… the ones that jump off the swings imagining we can fly
... the ones who pick a flower instead of squashing a bug
... the ones who don’t just think outside the box, but turn it into a spaceship
... the ones sitting at the front of the class
... the ones who break curfew to gaze at the stars
… the ones who believe that every. pixel. matters.
… the ones who care about stories and heroes and journeys and truth
… the loners and nerds, the awkward and quiet, the daydreamers and doodlers, the last picked and first out, the lifelong friends and steadfast defenders
... the polymaths; musicians, athletes, writers, knitters, actors, artists, founders, and investors
... the adults who let their inner child show
