Exactly. People will work harder to do something that improves the world as well as making money. If we were just trying to make money, we probably wouldn't have started YC, for example. We hope to make money, but that alone wouldn't have provided sufficient activation energy.
What does the author consider Thomas Edison's work? Did Edison innovate early for the sole purpose of making money? I think rather he did because of passion, interest and possibly the thought of changing the world. Obviously he succeeded in the above and in turn created industries that fed and feeds millions of people each year.
I can't imagine starting up a business where I had no passion and interest in doing, rather only for the money. Ummm i had that type of situation before and it was called a job!
Nothing wrong with being a successful entrepreneur AND having passion.
But the point of the article is that founders of boo.com, webvan.com, kosmo.com etc. and all the other stupid 90's dotcom ideas all failed as entrepreneurs because their business sucked ... not because they lacked passion.
Passion + stupid business = passionately stupid business ailure.
I'm not sure about that. Changing the world is actually very low on my priority list and I'd say most of the other founders I know think likewise.
It's not that I wouldn't love to change the world - I just don't find that a realistic goal to set. My immediate goal is much lower and more egoistic: I need to create something that rakes in enough money to sustain itself and cover my basic living expenses.
Only then will I have the time and mental freedom to pursue one of my world-changing ideas.
The problem with the world-changing ideas is that most of them are so inherently binary. Who can really afford to dedicate themselves at least 6-12 months to an all-or-nothing experiment?
For me the most important attribute of a business model is not the revolution-potential but rather the scalability. I'm going for things that have a chance to pay my bills even when they're only a small success. Call me a coward but I need a leg to stand on before I'll dare to reach for the stars, so to say...
