Doing Well, Doing Social Good

I remember a career conversation during my sophomore year of high school like it was yesterday. My buddy Elber and I were making the case for why we would go on to pursue careers that would make us six figures. We would say: “I’m going to have no problem waking at 6am if I know I’m getting paid six figures.” We spoke with so much certainty. We couldn’t seem to understand why our friend, Priscila, was so driven to pursue a career in the social sector.

Years later, I’ve come to learn that Elber and I were dead wrong in thinking it was a black and white choice. We played right into the hands of the common belief that you either choose a career that pays well or a career that makes a difference in the world. Fortunately, I’ve come to learn that you can do both. Do well, and do good. The conditions of today’s world offer us the opportunity to make a more than modest living, doing social good. And Karim Abouelnaga is proof. Karim is the Founder & CEO of Practice Makes Perfect (PMP), a Benefit Corporation that provides low-income K-12 public schools with high-quality academic programming. Some of Karim’s accolades include making Forbes 30 under 30 and being selected as a TED Fellow. I’ll walk you through Karim’s journey to show you what’s possible in a modern career.

Who is Karim Abouelnaga?

Karim’s seven minute TED Talk, A summer school kids actually want to attend, has over 1.2M views. His conviction is contagious. It’s a talk that lit a fire in me to level the educational playing field. Karim recalls his childhood attending NYC public schools, his journey to Cornell and the founding of PMP. PMP built its success making a positive dent on the achievement gap by supporting public schools in implementing high-quality academic summer programs. The achievement gap is the disparity in educational attainment between rich students and poor students or students of color and white students. Over the last decade, PMP has served over 20,000 students, trained over 750 aspiring teachers and created over 1,000 seasonal jobs. Throughout that journey, PMP itself has grown and evolved.

From Nonprofit to For-profit

Karim’s decision to convert PMP from a Nonprofit to a For-Profit organization is an example of a company adapting to a new way of doing business. In this Entrepreneur article, Karim explains what drove his decision. When an organization chooses to tackle a social problem like the achievement gap, the default legal structure considered is a Nonprofit. Soon after Karim’s initial success operating as a Nonprofit, Karim began feeling confined. He aspired to grow at a faster rate and to compete against For-profit companies, but was limited by his board and Nonprofit tools. After sizing the market potential and reflecting on his aspirations, he decided to make the switch. His decision paid off - in his debut book, Breaking Through: From Rough to Ready, Karim references PMP’s growth to a “multi-million dollar education company.” In the Entrepreneur article above, Karim writes: “the future of business is becoming more blurred where for-profit companies must also address social problems to continue.” Which takes us to our next point, why now is the perfect time to build a career committed to social good.

The back cover of Karim’s debut book. Take a look at that second paragraph. Very well put by Francisco, if you ask me… :) On a serious note, I was honored to write this review. I think I nailed what Karim is up to. Succeeding in business and creating lasting social change is available to us all.

“Society is ripe for positive disruption.”

So what is this “ripe” Karim is referring to in this quote? Societal values have changed. This means, how consumers choose to spend their money is changing. And in turn, what companies prioritize and offer consumers is changing. Fjord Trends 2020, a report by Fjord, a Design & Innovation Consultancy, highlights this in their number one trend: “many faces of growth.” The trend argues that political instability, concerns about our climate emergency and finite natural resources are some of the drivers behind our shift in values. Software companies have made making money look easy. Growing the bottom line at any cost use to be acceptable. That’s no longer the case. 

You might recall a conversation with someone wealthy, who shared a sentiment that you reach a point where more money doesn’t do much more for the soul. I get the sense that the world as a whole, is starting to feel that. The Fjord Trends 2020 shares multiple examples of companies and institutions who have made public commitments to shift their priorities, placing purpose alongside profit. Right now is the perfect time to build a career or a business grounded in doing social good. 

I’ll close this section by sharing a personal example of values influencing purchasing behavior. I've made a focused effort to support businesses owned by people of color. During the Black Lives Matter movement that has heightened. I previously wore this lens of support when deciding where to dine or buy coffee. Now, I've seen this lens make its way to my professional needs. Recently, while searching for professional coaches and experts, I found myself hesitant to proceed if they were not Latino/a or black. This is a first. This was never a major consideration in this professional aspect of my life. As they say in economics: one person's spending is another person's income. This now rings vividly in my mind as I decide who to buy from. I doubt I’m the only person thinking this. Collective consciousness is shifting, creating business opportunities never before seen.

Hustle Hard

In this Forbes day-in-the-life of Karim video, we see the relentlessness required to build a career grounded in social good. He starts his days at 4:30am, and hustles hard until 10:00pm. Similarly, I’m up at 5am to work on my education business before hopping online for my corporate job. This offers me a healthy income, while still making progress in building an education business committed to social change. This is not an ideal long-term set-up, but it’s what’s required in the short-term. 

Building a career grounded in doing social good isn’t easy, but Karim proves we now live in a world where it’s possible. If we can make a great living, making a difference, what’s holding us back? I’m reminded of a quote by the boxing legend and activist, Muhammad Ali: “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” Pick a social challenge and let’s get to work. Rent is due.

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