Start-up Society: Innovating for A Better Shared Future

There is a growing sense of alienation among Americans, who are increasingly reluctant to view their fellow citizens as partners in building a better society. Recent surveys paint a worrying picture: only 30% of Americans would be willing to help someone in need if they hold different views (Edelman 2023), and many see members of other political parties as dishonest and immoral (Pew Research 2022). Such attitudes reflect a broader disillusionment with American institutions, namely the market and the state – the places in our society where we go to compete with one another for wealth and power. Over the past several decades we’ve entrusted these institutions with the responsibility of forging a fair and just society, leaving individuals and groups to pursue their own interests. When this becomes the formula for building a society, what is supposed to bind people together?

The answer: not much.

With each generation disparities grow, isolation and loneliness spread, and the same institutions that we once relied on to support us, lose our faith. That’s why half of Americans believe that the “systems” are failing them (Edelman 2019), that the majority do not trust large corporations and governments to do the right thing (Morning Consult), and that over 60% of of people feel like they cannot trust one another (More in Common). When all we know how to do is compete, our collective lives become impoverished.

Fortunately, many citizens from across the political spectrum, and especially young people, are eager to change the way we live as a society. However, there are little opportunities for young people to learn the language or habits of cooperation needed to start. Schools, summer programs and even sports leagues, which should be places where young people learn to work together side-by-side, have become breeding grounds for more competition. If we want to live together, we must create new spaces that allow us to experience what it’s like to work on something that goes beyond any one persons own interest, Some recent scholarship has proposed alternative models of governance and business that can revitalize these kinds of spaces by prioritizing human values and collective wellbeing (see Beth Novak’s “On How to Solve Public Problems” and Mariana Mazzucato’s “Mission Economy”). While these shifts are certainly welcomed and necessary, solely relying on these institutions which inherently deal with competitive goods is insufficient for building a healthy collective society.

Start-up Society is a challenge-based after-school learning program for high school students that aims to transform the competitive mindset that has been ingrained in us through years of market and state participation into a culture of cooperation, using the start-up as a metaphor. Participants will be encouraged to act like founders of a start-up, but instead of creating a profit-driven business, they will help create a community.

Start-ups excel in storytelling to market products and build brands. In the first stage, we will learn how to tell compelling stories to create stronger and healthier collective identities.

Start-ups also excel in organizing small groups to ideate and provide creative solutions in local markets. Therefore, in the second stage we will learn how to solve problems in our communities by collaborating with those around us.

Start-ups are also skilled in writing business contracts and forging agreements based on trust, respect, and honesty. We will learn in the third stage how to build pacts of loyalty using these same principles.

Lastly, start-ups excel in collaboration across industries and utilizing the strengths of different stakeholders to build a successful business. We will learn in the final stage how to leverage our unique strengths to build a shared communal project, realizing that the most powerful way to bring people together is to build something together.

This program is primarily focused on understanding what brings different kinds of people together, and naturally aims to involve as many diverse individuals and groups in St. Louis as possible, a city infamous for its divisive culture and politics. Currently, many civic organizations in the city focus on questions such as what is government, how is power distributed, what are my rights and how do I advocate for them, etc. While these are important questions, they tend to concern our lives as they relate to the state rather than civil society. As a result, there are plenty of learning programs that emphasize our role as competitors and individuals, but there is a lack of programs that emphasize our role as fellow citizens and neighbors. This program is trying to fill that gap by asking a different set of questions: what is society, why should I care about the stranger, and what binds people together? Our goal is to provide an opportunity for individuals from all backgrounds to work together on a shared task that impacts us all. By doing so, we hope to provide young people the tools and mindsets needed to help bring a divided and segregated city closer together. 

I grew up in St. Louis and have actively participated in multiple communities throughout my life. As the child of Jewish parents, I naturally found myself connecting with the Jewish community. I learned, celebrated traditions, and formed close relationships with my peers. During my teenage years, I expanded my horizons and became involved in the hip-hop community. In doing so, I took on an active role in organizing events, including a collaboration with Washington University that successfully brought together two distinct cultures. In college, I continued to engage with my Jewish identity by co-leading a Jewish student union at a Jesuit university. And after graduating, I pursued a career in education and taught in a variety of environments, including middle schools serving children from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Though I now reside in Philadelphia, my connection to St. Louis is deep, and I remain involved in the communities that have helped shape who I am today.

Through these experiences, I have developed a love for the city and the communities there, and a intimate understanding of the needs and challenges faced by people in both lower socio-economic communities and those living in affluent areas. I have witnessed firsthand how a lack of resources can limit opportunities for some, while those with plenty of resources can feel disconnected and unfulfilled. This knowledge has informed my approach to designing a solution that can bring together diverse groups from all backgrounds in a shared task, and I am committed to working side-by-side with those who I serve.

Last summer, I had the opportunity to facilitate a program at the City University of New York that enabled students to create prototypes of solutions to communal problems. Building on the success of this program, I expanded it to a private school in Philadelphia but unfortunately, it did not yield the desired outcome. However, I am determined to revamp the program and begin facilitating it again. You can access the updated curriculum through the link below.

https://www.notion.so/start-up...

1. First, I'm having some difficulty finding organizations and schools to partner with. It's been a challenge to identify groups/schools that are willing and able to commit the necessary time and resources to collaborate with me. I hope that Solve can help me overcome this barrier by helping to connect with potential partners who are passionate about education and social change, and who have experience working with youth in our target communities. Additionally, I hope that Solve can provide me with guidance and support on how to approach potential partners, and how to build and maintain successful partnerships over time.

2. Second, I would really appreciate help developing and designing materials for the curriculum. While I have a strong vision for what I want the curriculum to achieve, I have limited resources and expertise when it comes to designing and producing high-quality educational materials. I believe that Solve can help  by providing access to a network of experts in curriculum development, instructional design, and multimedia production. I hope to collaborate with these experts to create engaging and effective learning resources that will resonate with our target audience

3. Thirdly, although I possess a solid grasp of the learning objectives for this project, I would appreciate assistance with the development of the curriculum. Specifically, I need help breaking down these broad learning goals into specific activities and lessons that are both engaging and meaningful for young learners. Although I have a strong foundation, the curriculum is composed of numerous moving parts that require collaboration to refine. This includes determining the most effective teaching strategies and methods to utilize, identifying the most suitable approach for structuring questions and projects, and grappling with the larger societal issues that the curriculum presents. Solve can provide support in mapping out the sequence of learning experiences and assist me in generating innovative ideas for engaging young learners.

Our modern society today is built around a single narrative, where the individual is the hero and their own self-interest is the driving force behind their actions. The main obstacle is either too much or too little government, depending on your political stance. Even most civic programs are built around this story, focusing on social injustices and power dynamics between different groups. While this story is important and necessary for building relationships with strangers while exchanging goods, wealth and power, it cannot be the only one we tell, as it makes it nearly impossible to build meaningful relationships and achieve unity on an level. 

This program is unique because it offers a new narrative that complements the existing one, rather than replacing it. In this new narrative, the main character is the collective "we," motivated by something greater than self-interest. This character is committed to supporting others, regardless of the outcome, saying "I am with you no matter what." The program teaches this story by giving students the opportunity to become the new "founders" of their society, giving them an active role in starting a service project that address a real need in their community. By doing so, participants are reminded that giving is often more empowering than receiving, that participation is more liberating than waiting, and that being needed is a higher calling than satisfying one's own needs. By embracing this new narrative, we can build a fairer, more equal society where its members feel bond to one another and responsible for each other's well being.