Venture Meets Mission: Aligning People, Purpose, and Profit to Innovate and Transform Society is a non-fiction book by Arun Gupta, Gerard George, and Thomas J. Fewer. It was published January 9, 2024 with Stanford University Press. The book proposes a new framework for addressing global challenges like climate, cyber, and health, by aligning the innovative power of entrepreneurship with the scale and reach of government.[1]
The book argues that the world is facing a series of unprecedented political, environmental, and technological shifts, demanding solutions beyond the scope of traditional free market or state-controlled innovation. The authors advocate for mission-driven entrepreneurship where ventures pursue both financial success and positive public impact. In this model, the government, academic institutions, capital investors, and industry partners play a key roles in creating a ‘venture meets mission ecosystem'. Together, the authors argue that what is needed to join people, purpose, and profit together for true impact at scale.[2][3]
Contents
editVenture Meets Mission develops concepts through in-depth interviews and deep-dives with key government, industry, and academic leaders.[1] Interviewees associated with the U.S. government include Nate Fick, U.S. Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy at Department of State; Ann Dunwoody, Four-star General of the U.S. Army (Ret.); Dan Tangherlini, Governor of the United States Postal Service; HR McMaster, U.S. Army General (Ret.); Leslie C. Smith, Former Inspector General of the U.S. Army; and Michael Morrell, Former Acting Director of the CIA. Interviewees from industry include Thomas Kalil, Chief Innovation Officer at Schmidt Futures; Chris Darby, Former CEO of In-Q-Tel; Jason Matheny, CEO of RAND Corporation; Rahul Singhvi, Co-Founder and CEO of Resilience; Sree Ramaswamy, Senior policy advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce; and Toni Townes-Whitley, CEO of SAIC. Interviewees from academia include Amy Zegart, Morris Arnold and Nona Jean Cox Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution; and Francis Fukuyama, Olivier Nomellini Senior Fellow at Stanford University's Freeman Spogli Institute. The authors also present case studies of several organizations, including 1901 Group, Rebellion Defense, In-Q-Tel, Resilience, World Central Kitchen, and EVERFI.
Reception
editThe book debuted as the 11th top-selling book on USA TODAY's Best-selling Booklist[4] and number 11 on Publishers Weekly Hardcover Nonfiction Bestseller Booklist.[5] The book was reviewed in Investor's Business Daily,[6] Stanford Social Innovation Review,[7] Big Think,[8] and Federal News Network's Federal Drive with Tom Temin.[9]
Midwest Book Review commented that Venture Meets Mission is "a welcome and timely addition to personal, professional, community, corporate, and college/university library Contemporary Business Development & Entrepreneurship collections."[10] IEDP called the book "essentially optimistic" about the role of government and the future of democracy.[11] Library Journal suggested that the book "espouses a libertarian view" of the role of business and innovation in society.[12]
According to an interview with author Thomas Fewer, Venture Meets Mission laid the foundation for NobleReach Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that aims to mobilize and coordinate the United States' tech and talent pipelines.[13] Both Gupta and Fewer helped to found the foundation, with Gupta as CEO and Fewer as Vice President.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b Gupta, Arun; George, Gerard; Fewer, Thomas J. (2024). Venture Meets Mission: Aligning People, Purpose, and Profit to Innovate and Transform Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-1-5036-3628-6.
- ^ "From a venture capitalist, a volume on how government can use innovation out there in the economy". Federal News Network. 2023-09-15. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ "Venture Meets Mission - The Book". www.venturemeetsmission.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ "Best-selling Booklist". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ "Publishers Weekly Bestseller Lists". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ Daily, Investor's Business (2023-09-22). "Reach Goals By Pushing Through Fear". Investor's Business Daily. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
{{cite web}}:|first=has generic name (help) - ^ "A World of Purpose (SSIR)". ssir.org. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ "How "intersectional leadership skills" harness trust as the currency of collaboration". Big Think. 2024-01-10. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ "From a venture capitalist, a volume on how government can use innovation out there in the economy". federalnewsnetwork.com. 2023-09-15. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ "MBR: Library Bookwatch, January 2024". www.midwestbookreview.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
- ^ "https://www.iedp.com/articles/gov-t-mission-meets-business-venture/". www.iedp.com. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ others, Gupta, Arun &. "Venture Meets Mission: Aligning People, Purpose, and Profit to Innovate and Transform Society". Library Journal. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "Q&A: Tom Fewer, Vice President, Talent Programs and Partnerships at NobleReach Foundation". NobleReach Foundation. 18 September 2023. Retrieved 2023-12-29.
- ^ "Team & Board". NobleReach Foundation. Retrieved 2023-12-29.