Holden: I think your response to John basically expresses the sentiment I had in mind. On that story, it seems like it might be nearly as good to provide a small amount of early funding + a commi...
https://blog.givewell.org/2015/05/14/funder-initiated-startups/#comment-927447
Thanks for the comments, all! John: Palantir and SolarCity are good examples of "funder-initiated startups" that might be analogous to the nonprofits I've listed. There are proba...
https://blog.givewell.org/2015/05/14/funder-initiated-startups/#comment-927337
One possible reason there do not seem to be as many private-sector examples of funder-initiated startups is that companies find it more convenient to start new lines of business within an existin...
https://blog.givewell.org/2015/05/14/funder-initiated-startups/#comment-927322
FYI, looks like the Ed Scott bullet should be a quote (from the CGD Reflections post). Great post -- this is something I've seen and wondered about but hadn't seen articulated.
https://blog.givewell.org/2015/05/14/funder-initiated-startups/#comment-927320
I'm surprised that you're surprised, Holden. Philanthropies constitute a business sector that can concentrate on finding problems that a) need attention, and b) can be impacted by investments of ...
https://blog.givewell.org/2015/05/14/funder-initiated-startups/#comment-927310
It seems that a philanthropist plays the role of both investor and paying customer. I think the issue is not so much that there are few investors in philanthropy, but that there are few customers...
https://blog.givewell.org/2015/05/14/funder-initiated-startups/#comment-927304
(I realize Y Combinator is already funding nonprofits, but they are doing the same thing everyone else in the nonprofit world is doing and funding nonprofits that already have a proven model. I t...
https://blog.givewell.org/2015/05/14/funder-initiated-startups/#comment-927303
Rich people frequently start nonprofits. But they frequently start companies too (serial entrepreneurs are a thing). It could be that in some cases rich people will start companies without being ...
https://blog.givewell.org/2015/05/14/funder-initiated-startups/#comment-927302