Ask HN: Ideas for Tech Nonprofit
I’m seriously committed and seed-funded. Still very open to any ideas. Thank you.
I suggest testing very carefully the idea that a non-profit is the best way to work on whatever idea or problem you're interested in. For-profits only have to get a successful two-way relationship between the customer and supplier and then when demand goes up, funding goes up. Non-profits have to get a successful three-way relationship between the beneficiary, the supplier, and the funder. Demand going up often doesn't mean funding goes up. There are problems that can best be tackled by non-profits but often a for-profit will have a simpler business model and better chance of financial sustainability.
There are also plenty of ways to configure a for-profit with some of the qualities of a non-profit, including employee ownership like the co-operative movement, donating a proportion of ownership/profits, having an explicit social purpose like the Body Shop or Patagonia.