A rare interview in BusinessWeek on the Omidyar Network and their unique philanthropic model:
..."I don't see why we ought to make an artificial distinction that says for-profit is all about making money and only nonprofit is about helping people," says Omidyar in an interview in the library of the network's offices, which sit amid the thrift shops and antique stores in blue-collar Redwood City, Calif.
What influenced Omidyar most in this decision was the inspiration he took from watching eBay users learn to trust 125 million total strangers. Disabled people on public assistance turned into self-supporting entrepreneurs; Guatemalan villagers started selling their handwoven wares to people on Park Avenue. Says Omidyar: "You have to ask yourself, is it really true that business can only be about making money? And is it really true that if you want good things to happen in a community it has to be through a nonprofit?"...
Before a bunch of entrepreneurs who only produce borderline social goods flood them with business plans, a modest warning. They are not giving anything away. The level of due diligence they applied to an investment in Socialtext was on par with a later stage venture investment. Part of what works with their model is applying private equity discipline to drive effectiveness.
