Janie Goldstein argues that startups should have a social mission from the start. However, before she created The Upside Foundation, entrepreneurs didn’t have a model or platform to work from.
“We know they (entrepreneurs) have no time, and they should be very focused on building a company and getting a product out. We know they have no cash. So that’s why this platform was created,” said Goldstein. “People talk about ‘what’s the problem, what’s the solution?’ They know they want to be philanthropic, but they don’t have the means or platform to do it.”
Goldstein is the executive director and founder of The Upside Foundation of Canada, a new philanthropic venture that helps startups to commit options, which are then given back to Canadian charities upon the company’s exit. Goldstein obtained a degree from Montreal’s McGill University in Electrical Engineering, followed by an MBA from Harvard University. Her marketing and technical career started at Bell-Northern Research (later Nortel) and took her into consulting, where she stayed for over a decade.
In this week’s #StartupPodcast, Rivers Corbett and Goldstein delve deep into social entrepreneurship in Canada while using Janie’s insight to understand why startups should start with a plan to give back.
The Startup Canada Podcast Show is a production of Startup Canada, a grassroots, entrepreneur-led movement to bring together, celebrate, and give a voice to Canada’s entrepreneurship community. On the podcast, award-winning entrepreneur host Rivers Corbett speaks with the movers and shakers of Canada’s entrepreneurship community to give a glimpse into the future of business, and share insights on everything from social innovation to the future of work, investing, and why we need to think bigger to take our businesses global. Join Rivers Corbett for new episodes every Tuesday airing at 10 AM ET for lessons, trends, and opportunities in entrepreneurship from Vancouver to Fredericton; and Israel to Peru.
You can find every episode of The Startup Canada Podcast Show at www.startupcan.ca/podcasts/.