"As for the ones that have gotten to that sort of scale, it is open for debate whether they've changed the world at all, and, if they have, whether they've done

"As for the ones that have gotten to that sort of scale, it is open for debate whether they've changed the world at all, and, if they have, whether they've done so in a way that is meaningful or has improved the circumstances of mankind." This sums up my problem with the whole 'change the world with your startup' philosophy. What does 'change the world' even mean? It is a fluffy, nebulous term - the startup thinker's equivalent of 'increasing synergy by leveraging strategic partnerships'. If you like that flavour of Kool Aid, great, drink up! Github has changed the world by making it easier to find and share interesting code. Balsamiq has changed the world by making it easier to create mockups. I want to change the world by making it easier to run your own game server [0]. None of these things will go down in history as revolutionary, life-changing ideas at a global scale. But they can improve the lives of a subset of humanity, while letting their owners solve interesting problems and (hopefully) earn a living at the same time. That, to me, is a good enough reason to do a startup. 0 - shameless plug: http://www.cloudfrag.com http://www.cloudfrag.com