Entrepreneurs: More than Money
by Miki Saxon
Wanting to make a difference has been one of the top three reasons for people of all ages and backgrounds to join or leave companies for decades and it’s only increasing with today’s attitudes.
Many of today’s most desirable new grads are applying to Venture for America, a nonprofit organization that selects fellows to work in cities, like Detroit, that aren’t the usual magnets for top, young college grads from the most elite universities.
They are turning down six-figure salaries with prestigious firms for the chance to have real impact.
This is the same reason that most people join startups—small team means a bigger impact by each person.
Outsiders and the media most often focus on startups as a path to riches, but that’s not what’s uppermost in the minds of most candidates.
While many crave work on the bleeding edge, whether of technology, medicine, business process innovation or something else, 99.9% are there to have an impact and make a difference.
Even if the effort doesn’t succeed, they want to look back at that time with satisfaction and know that their own actions helped get it as far as it went.
Efforts like Venture for America and the opportunities they create are the best chance to change the course of potential failures that permeates our country.
We need many more of them.
Image credit: Venture for America
May 19th, 2016 at 2:54 am
[…] Candidates, too, have changed. Where they once joined the startup scene to be on the bleeding edge of technology and what it can do, they now join for the perks, networking opportunities, and potential of getting rich, rather than making a difference. […]