Better the World -- Strategy at the Core

One week ago, after a year of frenetic work, in an environment not particularly conducive to new ventures, a start-up called BettertheWorld.com "flipped the switch" and launched their web 2.0 company. Their dream: raise millions of dollars for charities. They will do it with a solid strategy at the core and intelligence at the edges.
Three MBA graduates from the Richard Ivey School of Business, who dreamed of making a difference in the world, quit their jobs to be the change they wanted to see. Their core strategy is to bring together people who care about a cause (Environment, Health, Humanity), like minded companies and charities.

Their business model is simple but inspired. People who care (let's call them "users") sign up at www.bettertheworld.com, choose a charity to support and then download a "sidebar." The sidebar sits unobtrusively to the side of a user's browser. Companies who want to communicate the good that they do send their messages and ads to BettertheWorld who directs them to users' side bars.Here's the great part. 90% of the advertising revenue goes to the user's charity! In other words, users can drive money to their charity at no cost to themselves. Just by surfing the web people who care can direct money to their charity. Charities then use the money for what they do best -- they make the world a better place.

So that's the strategy at the core. What about the intelligence at the edges?

Users will come up with more ideas, for more ways that charities can make a difference, than charities themselves can conjure up in countless committee meetings. Charities who are on-the-ground delivering value will recognize more of what needs to be done and can develop even more programs to generate support for those new initiatives. Companies who want to do the right thing can, not only support charities' efforts directly, but can do so by serving their ads and telling their stories through BettertheWorld. Companies will be motivated to think of even more ways they can help. Users will be able to generate even more money for charities at zero cost to themselves and still be engaged with the good work of the charities through their charity's page at BettertheWorld.com. Charities will link up with a whole new generation of donors.

BettertheWorld is building a platform on which new innovations will grow to do ever more to make the world a better place.

I think this is a game changer in the charity fund raising space. BettertheWorld has a solid strategy at the core and has made space for -- indeed relies upon -- intelligence at the edges.

(Personal disclaimer: I invested in bettertheworld and I'm on their advisory board).