The agenda for most ambitious startups is to “change the world”, which usually means creating products or services that will improve people’s lives and make them happier.

Capitalism never sounded so altruistic.

In reality, the impact of true change is never simple. It is a complex butterfly effect.

  • The automobile helped us reach our destinations faster, but now road injury is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.1

  • On one hand, social media has fostered greater communication and awareness between peoples, and democratized the dissemination of news and information. On the other hand, it has enabled (and continues to enable) systemic, anonymous, and unregulated bullying and harrassment.2

  • Smartphones have brought humanity’s collective knowledge to our literal fingertips, but we are quickly becoming addicted to our devices, and conditioning ourselves to expect instant gratification. 3

If you really want to change the world, keep in mind that you will not only change it in ways you intend, but in ways you won’t intend. Some of those ways you may not even like.

So ask yourself why you want to change the world, and be careful what you wish for.

  1. World Health Organization ↩

  2. “The Unsafety Net: How Social Media Turned Against Women”, Catherine Buni and Soraya Chemaly, The Atlantic ↩

  3. “Instant Gratification”, Paul Roberts, The American Scholar ↩