Goimagine claims to be the world’s first marketplace donating 100% of Profits made to charity after all expenses to costs for technology, salaried employees, marketing, reserve capital, and other business expenses are paid.
Years before COVID-19, Jon Lincoln decided he wanted to provide more social good than investor profits, and now that many families in the US are dealing with the negative implications of the Coronavirus the profits will be able to help those most affected through money raised from items sold on the platform.
“For a long time I’ve wanted to start a business that focused more on providing social good than investor profits. Like most people I’ve been frustrated watching corporate greed run rampant in the world and have had the urge to create something that does things differently.
I originally thought of this concept in 2017, but it wasn’t until November 2019 at an event in San Francisco that I decided to make it a reality. I was invited to an extravagant dinner with fairly wealthy people looking to earn my business. They were trying to impress me, but it had the opposite affect. The dinner was a 14 course meal that was $600 a person. Each dish was paired with a different expensive glass of wine that the waiter presented to me like it was the holy grail. Meanwhile, outside the restaurant were homeless people literally begging for food in the street. Eating such a lavish meal while people were hungry outside made me sick to my stomach.”
Currently, the focus is on charities helping children who are homeless or hungry with their pioneer charity being Horizons for Homeless Children.
I really like the idea of a marketplace focused purely on helping those in need during COVID-19 especially when I see many people working hard to create products to support healthcare services and those in need. I do wonder though if a seller will be able to see exactly where and how their profits are used and if not will they be happy to go on trust alone. They talk about ‘corporations raking in massive profits from the hard work of independent and small businesses.’ but those massive corporations are keeping many sellers off the street, especially in the move to digital. will it be sustainable for small businesses who are also trying to make a living to spend ample time creating products for a marketplace with no profit retained and how will material costs be accounted for. I do believe though that now is a better time than any for a marketplace like this to open, so long as it can be found by those who can dedicate their time and money to helping those in need.
