Ask HN: Which tech companies are full of do-gooders? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Which tech companies are full of do-gooders?

12 pointsmikemajzoub14 comments

Hi HN -

I’ll be graduating in May with a Masters in CS, and I’ve been working to compile a list of potential employers to engage with. My goal is to use my tech chops and my workaholism to help people - either locally or globally. However, at present, my list is embarrassingly small:

Watsi, KhanAcademy, Mozilla… I need your help!

Google search is failing me: the word “benefits” returns company perks and benefits, “change the world,” “helping people,” and many other similar phrases have been overused by nearly every PR department in the world (especially in tech). Maybe I should try Bing…

So, who’s out there that’s impressed you with their impact and dedication? Big or small, it doesn’t matter. I’d really appreciate your help on this! :)

Thanks, and happy Saturday, Mike

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To aide your Google search: look for corporations that have elected the "B Corp" designation. Here's a good list of them: http://bestfortheworld.bcorporation.net/

More info about B corps: https://www.bcorporation.net/what-are-b-corps

wow - I had no idea something like this existed. (Nice design, too!) I think you just solved my problem :). Thanks.

We are building humanity's public library; access to information for those who cannot access the Internet. http://Outernet.is

We aren't hiring until early next year, but feel free to drop a line if it's intriguing.

wow - looks like a cool (big) idea. I've signed up for updates! Thanks.

If you're interested in working in beautiful Cebu, Philippines, to build products that improve the lives of the poor worldwide, check out www.engageSPARK.com . :) We've got a talented international team and are looking for more passionate people who want to leverage their tech skills to do good. We're a not-for-profit business/startup building a challenging distributed platform that will enable NGOs and governments to improve the lives of millions of people in poverty around the world. We just finished a financial education program for a large international NGO using voice calls & sms soap operas with quizzes (to reinforce and test comprehension) for 25,000 people affected by a natural disaster. And Cebu is a great place to live!

Thank you so much. I just read through your website and it looks like a really meaningful project.

I've bookmarked the engageSPARK page and will definitely be reaching out to your team in a few months.

I never would have heard of you if it were not for Hacker News. Thank goodness for the internet. :)

You're welcome! We hope to hear from you. :) And good luck with your search.

From my experience interning at their San Francisco office, Mozilla has an ridiculously high concentration of nice, humble, yet world class people who want to change the world.

That's what I've heard! I'll definitely be reaching out to them. :) Are there any others you've heard of that you'd recommend I explore?

I have heard some great things about Amicus: http://amicushq.com/

Thanks jkaykin! Hadn't yet heard of this team! I'll add them to my list. :)

What's your Masters focus?

generalist. Did a mobile dev internship for 6 months before starting the program, and here I'm studying databases, AI, UI, and distributed systems. The stack/frameworks of the company doesn't concern me much - I can inhale OReilly books on the weekends. The mission matters though!

Education, community organizing/activism, human rights are all areas I've worked in before, and seeing tech's potential in these areas is why I started coding... so I really care about the big picture of what I'll be pouring all of my energy into next year.

Any companies (even if they're small) you can suggest I add to my list?

Shoot me an email. Our startup is helping the medical education field with our first product, and down the road would like to apply the tech to public schools as well.

taylor /at/ residency-scheduling.org

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