Edward Glaser's editorial in the NY TImes (Can Businesses Do Well and Do Good?) was certainly timely in light of our Series B funding announcement this morning. While Glaser agrees with Milton Friedman's assertion that "traditional corporations have one overriding moral obligation — to fulfill their fiduciary duties and maximize shareholder wealth", he also holds out some hope that innovation in organizational models can in fact lead to broader social impact.
Innovation and social impact are precisely what we are after at SocialVibe. Through the innovation in our technology and business model we hope to provide brands and our network partners a unique and valuable means to engage with people. And for our members we hope to provide them the means to create benefit, for themselves and the causes they support, through the content they create and the relationships they manage.
Our story is really just starting to be told. Yes, we have helped brands like Kraft, Coca Cola and Sprint to reach and build a base of fans. And yes, we have contributed over $200,000 to meaningful charities, all the result of our member's influence online. Yet, we imagine a world where SocialVibe is at the nexus of a movement where brands, people and networks are working together for a complementary set of benefits that create meaningful social change. Is our mission aspirational and hopeful? Absolutely. Yet, with investment from JAFCO Ventures and Redpoint, we operate with Friedman in our mind. Perhaps, we are the type of organization that Edward Glaser imagines, one that can do well and do good.
(Picture below of our Product and Technology team showing some SocialVibe spirit)
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