I'm currently working on growing a bootstrapped tech startup in western Europe. My co-founder and myself agreed early on that despite being a for-profit on paper, we'd try to do as much "good" as we could in the process and in the event that we'd be successful and that the company would generate a large income for itself, we wanted to reinvest as much of that money as possible in other projects with an ever-increasing emphasis on ethics and positive social or environmental impact. Maybe we'd even use that money to eventually start a non-profit.
I am now second guessing this approach as a whole.
Going into this (ad)venture, my plan was to "learn to do something well first and then put it to good use". But now that I'm trying to "put it to good use" I realize there are two possible paths in front of me : A) Generating an income through our dysfunctional system in order to buy my the freedom and start my own ethical projects or B) Finding an existing non-profit that needs me and give it my all
I've read articles about this, but people always seem to forget some important factors.
Someone mentioned how stupid it would be for a lawyer who makes $1000/h to start spending time picking up trash on a beach. But what if he's paid by a huge corporation that is contributing to dumping trash in the oceans? Or what if he becomes depressed and a worse lawyer because he can't put as much passion into a job that keeps him disconnected from the results he hopes for?
In my case: what guarantee can I possibly have that the way I re-inject my income (assuming I'm not corrupted in the process) will outweigh the damage I'm causing by servicing my clients (such as banks, where a lot of the evil potentially lies)?
At which point do I just throw it all away and start surrounding myself with other ethically minded people instead of insensitive and corrupt ones? Feedback from people with similar experiences appreciated.
I have since discovered that many charities and aid organisations actually make very little difference to those that they claim to be helping. The leaders in these organisations often publicly project an ethical image of themselves, but are secretly using the organisation for their private profit. Many ethically minded people are actually vain and power hungry. Success fuels hubris.
You don't mention how much income you need for your chosen lifestyle. In my experience, our needs often limit the available options.