Chapter 1 — The Problem (old draft)

In their small but mighty corner of the greater tech sector, tech nonprofits prove that when ethically applied, tech can be our most powerful impact asset. If we can continue to apply the best tech to our biggest social problems, we will achieve unprecedented positive impact. Be warned: social entrepreneurship isn’t for the faint of heart. But with relentless dedication to your mission, paired with heeding the advice in the chapters to come, your journey is bound to be a rewarding one.

It starts with a big idea. You’ve identified a social problem you can’t help but try to fix, and you think you just might have a world-changing solution. You probably arrived at this moment because you experienced the problem personally, or have been close enough to the issue to deeply understand it.

But the idea is the easy part.

To make sure it’s sound, you must push yourself (hard) to question the why. When it comes to social entrepreneurship, the actual product and business model won’t matter unless the why is crystal clear.

• What problem are you trying to solve?
• What impact will your solution have?

• Is there a clear way to measure that impact?

• Why are you the right person to solve this problem?

• What are your internal motivations?

Clarity on these questions will make it easier to figure out everything that comes later, and is absolutely critical to attracting talent, funding, and resources.
The thing about tech nonprofits is that they’re really hard. You take everything that’s tough about launching a tech startup and merge it with everything that’s hard about running a nonprofit. Yep, it’s that hard. But stick with us here.

Questions to Ask Yourself First

1. What problem are you trying to solve?
2. What impact will your solution have?
3. Is there a clear way to measure that impact?
4. Why are you the right person to solve this problem?
5. What are your internal motivations?

Clarity on these questions will make it easier to figure out everything that comes later, and is absolutely critical to attracting talent, funding, and resources.

The thing about tech nonprofits is that they’re really hard. You take everything that’s tough about launching a tech startup and merge it with everything that’s hard about running a nonprofit. Yep, it’s that hard. But stick with us here.