A collaborative repository of ideas and inspirations for funding an “ethics first” tech company
Welcome!
Thank you for visiting the Funding “don’t be evil” tech project repository. Whether you were intrigued by the title or are already deep into the topic of ethical tech, this document (the README file) will give you some information about the project. Jump straight to one of the sections below, or just scroll down to find out more.
#The big problem
Women who drink margarita and like to walk their dogs, married, over 40” equals the sound of money. The public park of expression from the 90ties has turned into a mall where our data is the foundation of most revenue models. And although there are many ways we might harness our data to our favour, it is not us who controls it and decides what's relevant to us. The decisions are based on the major incentive of any commercial entity: making money. There is very little wiggle space for an “ethics first“ approach unless it is by design. The now traditional model of funding tech startups - the VC funding - leads to to pressure on exponential growth which often results in deprioritizing ethical considerations.
#What contributes to the problem
*Although there are already alternative models out there that foster funding and business models beyond VC, they don’t seem to get a lot of backing or promotion among startup founders and in the industry.
*There is little coordination for communities around concrete ideas than would span between platform cooperativism to new, inspirational ideas like exit tax.
*The general attitude that we can’t or that it is very difficult to change the status quo is prevailing in the industry and among concerned users and activists.
#How will this project help the situation?
Together with an international community of tech entrepreneurs, activists and researchers I want to build a repository of inspirational ideas and best practices for alternative funding for tech so that (future) founders are structurally incentivized to develop ethical products.
The repository will:
*Improve visibility of alternative funding and business models for founders and researchers by gathering best practices that can be replicated when creating a company
*Allow anyone to add ideas and examples so the database can grow
*Provide a space for exchange and networking for people interested in the topics: both practitioners and researchers
My name is Kasia and I’ve been an open web activist and professional for the last 7 years. Currently I work at Mozilla on the Internet Health Report. My work and growing frustration with how our data is (mis)used led me to thinking about the core of the problem: the way the online economy is structured around incentives for maximizing profit and what it would take to change it without falling into the trap if naivete and reliance on good intentions.
You! I would love this to be an open, collaborative project at every stage; when building it, when getting feedback and finally once it is online and ready for contributions on the ideas level.
I would like to incorporate different perspectives both on the process and content, enable networking among people who care for the cause and create a resource that is co-owned and genuinely useful and inspirational.
If you have expertise in website design, wordpress development and last but not least, research around alternative and traditional funding models for tech or just ideas on how to make things better, I want to hear from you! Also, if you are a startup founder or an industry veteran, I hope for your feedback whether this is useful at all and how to shape the website so it meets your needs.
If you think you can help in any of the areas listed above or in any of the many areas that I haven't yet thought of then please check out the contributors' guidelines (coming soon!) and the roadmap roadmap.
Please note that it's very important that we maintain a positive and supportive environment for everyone who wants to participate. When you join us we ask that you follow our code of conduct in all interactions both on and offline.
If you think you can help in any of the areas listed above or in any of the many areas that I haven't yet thought of then please check out the contributors' guidelines (coming soon!) and the roadmap roadmap.
If you want to report a problem or suggest an enhancement I'd love for you to open an issue at this github repository or contact me by email (kasia AT mozillafoundation DOT org) or on twitter.