• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

Non-profit founder critics

Published: Wednesday, 17 April 2013

Why are people so critical when young people start non-profits?

Time and time again, I hear people say, "there are enough non-profits out there.  Young people should just join what's already out there.  I don't think starting another non-profit is the best use of resources.  I mean, I started my own, but…"

Starting a non-profit is hard.  It takes time, money and resources.  Starting a company is hard.  It takes time, money and resources.

When someone is thinking of starting a company, such as a new mobile app, no one ever says, "you should just join X mobile app company, you'll be able to make more of an impact that way".  Because it's not true.  So why do we say that to would-be non-profit founders?

There are many innovative, sustainably non-profit business models now that do good, while doing well.

Why can't we just accept that like in the capital marketplace, the best non-profits will survive, and the others won't.

The non-profit founders, the founders, the crazy ones - these are the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world - but they need all the help they can get getting there.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Plates

    "If you have too much on your plate, get a bigger plate." I first heard this when I was doing a leadership course in London in 2009.  Everyone in the...

  • Be a fool

    When you learn something for the first time, everything is new to you. So you explore, you try different things, you fall down, you fail, you fail, and...

  • Doing things with integrity

    When you do something, do it whole and completely so that it's done to the best of your ability, then ship.  Your attention to detail shows that you...

  • KOOKIE, Fantastic Failures, Young Heroes, Entrepreneurs and Total Girl

    I featured in some magazine articles, books and on the tv recently. Here are some of them! This was KOOKIE magazine, where I was interviewed by...

  • Australian of the Year Awards 60th anniversary

    My last, large, in-person networking event I went to in Australia since before the pandemic was the 60th anniversary celebrations for the Australian of the...

  • The Project Woman to Watch

    The Project called me a “Woman to Watch” and shot this short video.  It contains footage of a child going to school remotely using Teleport,...

  • 2Mar Robotics Blog

    Hello! It's been ages since I blogged here. More recently, I've been blogging at the 2Mar Robotics Blog.

  • EmTech Singapore

    Spoke at MIT's conference in Singapore, EmTech.  Other speakers in my session spoke about autonomous robotic cargo ships, advances in drones and...

  • Jevaroo’s neck

    Jevaroo’s neck is my favorite part of the robot. Jevaroo’s neck has a movement range of 25cm, allowing Jevaroo to reach for objects up to 170cm high...

  • Woman in STEM

    For National Science Week, I spoke at the Super STEM Careers event about my career in STEM.

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top