Thanks to a tip from Gaby, I had the good fortune to go to a talk by Jessica Jackley, cofounder of Kiva.org.  The talk was at the Marshall School of Business, so it focused on Jessica and Matt’s experience starting Kiva, the motivation, it’s humble beginnings, and the always-fun story of growth.  The story is fascinating and inspiring, and it helps that Jessica is engaging by being totally herself on stage.  Like so:

Not too long ago I realized that the one thing that keeps me from working on problems I truly care about is fear of lack.  That’s it.  I am scared that if I steer my career towards building a social venture or a nonprofit, then I will be forever broke.  Well, not long before learning that, I learned another key lesson.  Fear is never a reason NOT to do something (except maybe jumping off bridges).

So I am currently searching for social venture opportunities in the Los Angeles area.  I’m completely and utterly new to this field, so I don’t yet have much to go on.  I envision working with a for-profit startup, who’s mission is to solve a social problem.  Any ideas? Here are a few things I’ve found so far.