SeattleAltruist

Here is a very practical, well-reviewed book for founders to get their first sale and then keep going:

https://www.amazon.com/STARTUP-SALES-FIELD-NOTES-Methodology...

@kristjankaim is correct - this sure isn't Nabokov. Example: "Immortality of Dostoevsky’s art is unquestionable; his art will likely continue to live on."

Wait... which is it?

Didn't read. Reading white text on black background is like staring into an oncoming car's high beams. Good grief this is bad formatting and people keep doing it.

Post makes errors around what nonprofits are and can do. (IANAL, but I do set up and run nonprofits for a living.)

Error 1: "In the US, non-profits are heavily regulated in their operations..."

Correction: There are no more or less regulations than other sectors, but there is almost ZERO enforcement, so if anything, the nonprofit sector is more accurately described as very lightly regulated.

Error 2: ", and exempt from income tax."

Correction: Nonprofits are NOT exempt from income tax on revenue from earned activity that is not mission related, known as Unrelated Business Income.

Error 3: "Across the many different structures, though, non-profits have one thing in common: They don't have owners."

Correction: Oversimplification - nonprofits are run and functionally owned by a board of directors, people who hire and fire the CEO, decide how revenue is allocated, and approve any merger or dissolution. Nonprofits can also own for-profit subsidiaries (see OpenAI) so there are a lot of gray areas here.

In sum, nonprofit status is far more complex that OP thinks and there are a ton of opportunities for skulduggery - just because Ghost is a nonprofit does NOT mean it is free of conflicts or other bad things than companies do.

If Ghost really wants to demonstrate its transparency, it should publish its tax returns (IRS form 990) and also an itemized P&L -- then they can stake a claim to being holier than the typical business.

People often think that "non-profit" means that the company can't make a profit. It actually means that the company doesn't have any owners who can personally take the profits. Any revenue earned can only be reinvested.

spot on. furthermore, weak analysis.

best article on the subject is prolly https://hbr.org/2018/04/your-strategic-plans-probably-arent-...

That's helpful. On first look through the website, I found no mention of the tragic human and environmental cost.

Glad to see many comments recognize what a bad thing this is. The photographer is sadly insouciant of how many poor people it kills and the terrible ecosystem damage it creates. Read more about it at https://shipbreakingplatform.org/

TL/DR: Don't try to go big, even if you believe in your idea, because its hard. Instead, cough up $375 for templated business platitudes and chat rooms with randos.

TL/DR: Don't bother trying to go big, even if you believe in your idea, because difficulty. Instead, pay me $375 for performatted business platitudes and chat with a bunch of randos.

Wow - two of the links along the bottom of the Twitter/X home page are broken: the "About" and "Directory" links. Ironic, pathetic or both?

Pretty wild how sloppy

There's a great program for currently and recently released incarcerated: https://www.prisonscholars.org/what-we-do/our-work-impact/

The author has an excellent program model for a nonprofit that could provide low-cost debt-collection resolution services to the vulnerable populations impacted by the industry's perverse incentives. That would be cool.

Comments like this display the critical discernment of a rabid MAGA supporter... blanket accusations that everyone within a traditional industry is evil? Were you traumatized as a child?

For everyone calling publishing a "racket": I'm about to publish a textbook for grad students in the social sciences with a major publisher. It will teach them the business side of social impact: planning, raising money, running a board, etc. It is all very badly needed, and I've spent 20 years of extreme hard work learning the details and another 5 years writing... this one book. My publisher, a top academic house, is giving me extensive editorial and layout help at no charge to me. We are going to charge $50, which even if I sell thousands of copies, will be pennies on the hour for everyone.... This is a rip-off?

Had a similar experience with an ethics-free host. Support was execrable. So canceled my account and use VRBO or hotels.

Don't understand how AirScrewYouAndB is still in business.

Sad that the goal here seem to be wealth and "ladies." How empty. What makes life meaningful and beautiful is often random and chaotic but ultimately stems from helping others. Don't skip Lao-Tzu et al.

Yes. Moderation in all things.

Kudos! May I suggest ikiagi, the overlap between what you are good at (vocation), what you love (passion), what makes adequate money (profession), and what the world needs (mission). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ikigai. The Japanese call it "the reason for getting out of bed in the morning." Best of luck with your continued search for balance in life.

Brilliant article, thank you. This should be a classic. Ranks up there with wisdom such as 'don't spend your youth pursuing wealth and wealth pursuing youth.' PS one of the best ways to develop a healthy relationship to money that I've found is to absorb Buddhist teachings on how to avoid the suffering caused by grasping after things. Fixes most all forms of money-inspired unhappiness.

Homelessness expert here. This data set is garbage. HUD data only includes those in the federally mandated HMIS (Homeless Information Management System). This data excludes 1) people who don't access services; 2) people who access services from private, non-federally funded programs (like faith-based groups); and 3) typically undercounts those with SUD, mental-health issues, and especially people of color.

A recent BGC study estimates that, in Seattle, for example, HMIS data doesn't include up to 40% of people in encampments.

Garbage In -> Garbage Out. Pretty sweet effort, though. Wish the feds were smart like this.