Doing Good: Enlightened Entrepreneur

      "That’s what Tiggers do best…"
                           — Tigger

Joe Born had a great follow-up email to the Venture Philanthropy post. He wrote:

"…what if we were sold/brought on new managment sometime down the road.  What would my life be like if I was full time on a non-for-profit?  Am I better off staying an entrepreneur and funding someone else’s project?"

VC’s often ask themselves the same question about entrepreneurship. Does it make sense to jump over to the light side and start up a business given all that we have seen and experienced? The answer depends upon the person and their DNA. Some VC’s make a great transition over. Andrew Anker jumped over to join the Six Apart team as have other VC’s over the years.

One of my favorite authors is Joseph Campbell who produced, with Bill Moyers, the Power of Myth series. He was one of the leading worldwide experts on "myths" and how they functioned to instruct and guide society and its people. He often used the phrase "follow your Bliss". By this, he meant to find that thing or things that give you purpose and energy when you get up in the morning. If making a difference in the lives of others gives you energy, find out in what role you are best employed. It could be as evangelist (if you are a good writer or speaker), or fundraising (if you are good at networking) or lobbying/policy (if you are strategically oriented and good at the political game) or operations in the field (if you are good managing people and getting things done). There are a lot of places for people with passion to play a role. Personally, I think it is more of an economic question than anything else. Do you want to forgo the potential economics of a successful company or the salary of being a CEO? Do you want to spend your time in the field with Chinese orphanages or in a tech start-up creating the next Google? Also, how well do you deal with the politics and cultural norms of the non-profit world? How well do you handle slow moving social systems?

I have spent a considerable amount of time in the inner city of Chicago. When my mother passed away over 10 years ago, I took several months off from work to walk around the inner city and think through how we wanted to direct our small, newly formed family foundation. (BTW, I can’t stress enough how important and rewarding it is to spend significant time in the field where services are delivered for your cause of choice. Too few people just write checks.) I concluded that my motor spins too quickly and I grow too impatient over impasses to work effectively in the field. I do not handle non-profit or neighborhood politics as well as others. However, I am a good evangelist and a good networker. I can provide support for the causes I believe in and help those who do work at the field level best. Everyone needs to self-assess. All of this obviously applies to entrepreneurial roles for everyone as well…

Figure out what your type of work your Tigger does best and follow your "bliss".