Tech Tomorrow · 2026-06-09 · 22 min
In a tech industry driven by profit, can companies really prioritise social impact over shareholder value? In this episode of Tech Tomorrow , David Elliman sits down with serial social entrepreneur and author Jim Fruchterman to explore what ‘ tech for good ’ really means, and whether it can truly exist within traditional, venture-backed business models. Drawing on his experience building an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) startup, Jim explains how a venture capital board shut down a reading machine for blind users after deciding the market was too small. That experience eventually led him to launch a nonprofit focused on accessible technology, demonstrating that mission-driven organisations can still operate within Silicon Valley systems while benefiting underserved communities. The conversation also examines how investor incentives can unintentionally steer companies towards harmful outcomes, even when the people inside them have good intentions. Jim highlights alternative models, including B Corps, Pledge 1%, and treating social impact as a core business metric rather than a marketing add-on, as ways to help counteract this.
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