[eli_gottlieb]

If you're in it to be rich, then you're in it for the wrong reasons.

Bullshit! Altruism doesn't involve calculating how much equity to give employees while unsteadily watching your potential valuation numbers.

If you're in it create an amazing product and be impactful on a stranger's life, then you're in it for the right reasons.

That's called open-source, and you don't charge for it.

[niels_olson]

Actually, I think a lot of folks find that to have an impact, you often have to charge for it. Somebody's gotta keep the lights on, and there's a weird tic of human psychology where people associate cost with value. Many an entrepreneur has discovered you can't give it way, yet the more you charge, the more people buy.

[amorphid]

In 2009 I ran out of cash after what I'd describe as a stab at changing the world using a naive & altruistic approach. Now I make money, which is way better :)

[eli_gottlieb]

I'm not saying you can't do well by doing good. I'm just saying that people need to admit they are in business to succeed in business rather than for an altruistic cause. There's a whole sector of benefit-corps, cooperatives, and chartered social enterprises for altruistic causes.

[tensor]

If you are doing well by exploiting people, you shouldn't expect any sort of respect. There are all sorts of charlatans who sell awful damaging products who do well financially. Some more obvious examples are gambling and fake medical products like those holographic armbands or homeopathy.

If your end goal is to make money for yourself at all costs, don't expect any sort of respect or good people to work with.