Hot topics

social

Comment

How To Found, Grow, and Sell A Social Good Startup (TCTV)

Josh Constine

View Staff Page

Josh Constine is a technology journalist who specializes in deep analysis of social products. He is currently a writer for TechCrunch. Previously, Constine was the Lead Writer of Inside Facebook, where he covered Facebook product changes, privacy, the Ads API, Page management, ecommerce, virtual currency, and music technology. Prior to writing for Inside Facebook, Constine graduated from Stanford University... → Learn More

Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
Comments

Most entrepreneurs found companies to solve a problem. Adam Archer founded GamesThatGive to save the world. During a backpacking trip across the world he was inspired with the idea for the company. He then left Apple in 2008 to work on a farm before founding GamesThatGive, which builds social games where users earn money for charity by playing thanks to sponsorships from major brands. It raised a little over $1 million dollars before selling to Facebook Page management platform Vitrue earlier this year.

Watch as we talk to Archer about the challenges and advantages of starting a social good company, and how one can make a difference in the world and still turn a profit.

Here’s Archer’s top 8 tips for entrepreneurs. Some are common sense or often cited, but it’s always good to remind yourself:

  • Be passionate. If you’re not jumping out of bed in the morning to work on your idea, find a different idea.
  • Find co-founders that you respect, and that share your passion. The idea is going to change, the marketing is going to change, the technology is going to change. What’s not going to change is your respect for each other and your common goal.
  • Have a supportive significant other. If your significant other is as passionate and supportive of your idea as you are, this will help you keep your head on straight during all the ups and downs. (Adam says the support of his wife Lillian was invaluable)
  • Love your advisors and investors. Recruit a handful that you trust, have a great network, and that you enjoy spending time with. Make sure they enjoy spending time with you too!
  • Find a great lawyer. During your most stressful moments, closing deals, closing funding rounds, getting acquired, you’ll be working very closely with your lawyer.
  • Hire a terrific designer. There’s no substitute for a beautiful presence.
  • Network aggressively with other entrepreneurs. It’s amazing the nuggets of info you’ll get from some other entrepreneur late one night.
  • Collect data constantly. Measure, measure, measure. Once the data looks good to you, create beautiful presentations that your clients, employees, board and potential acquirers will love.

Crunchbase

Company: GamesThatGive
Website: gamesthatgive.net
Launch Date: 2008

GamesThatGive was founded in 2008 by Adam Archer and Kris Goss, great friends and self admitted geeks. GamesThatGive was built around the belief that great companies, and their customers, want to make a difference. Even beyond that, they want to help others make a difference.

→ Learn more
Company: Vitrue
Website: vitrue.com
Launch Date: May 1, 2006
Funding: $33M

Vitrue offers the industry’s most scalable and secure cloud-based social marketing solution, enabling brands to harness the full marketing potential of social on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and emerging platforms. The award-winning Vitrue SRM platform collectively manages more than one billion social relationships in over 100 countries across more than 4,500 social accounts for its clients. For more information, visit http://www.vitrue.com.

→ Learn more
Tags: