"It's cool when geeks develop for geeks but it's even cooler if geeks develop for humans in need.” – how pattern recognition can be used in better ways than for missiles and why tech geeks have lots of fun working for social change.

James R. Fruchterman, President & CEO, Benetech, Palo Alto, California, USA

When you think of computer geeks and Silicon Valley comes to your mind, you are quite close. The good thing is that as a computer and technology fan you can still choose what you use your skills for. For example you can help solve some serious human problems, like Jim Fruchterman. This is even becoming a trend!
Jim did not use his rare, leading-edge pattern recognition skills to produce the next generation of missile targeting systems for NASA, like most of his colleagues, but he decided to develop a sophisticated reading machine for the blind. At that point it was about professional challenge and a personal idea. The company based on the machines turned out to be successful and, combined with other professional assignments, financially allowed Jim to try more ideas. Jim explains one of them: “Martus, a software we developed, captures stories of people in countries where they tend to be harmed or disappear. These stories get encrypted, emailed and stored on a server outside of the country. We also created a “who did what to whom” database that makes finding justice much easier.”
More and more geeks like Jim himself want to join the projects supported by Benetech, a socially oriented tech company that he founded to launch more technology projects that have a positive impact and that would not be financed by classical VC’s expecting huge markets and high returns. Jim doesn’t get his satisfaction from making millions of dollars but from helping millions of people. And the great thing is that he still does what he loves – technology.

Enjoy Jim’s selected thoughts and statements from our discussion in the following lines. You may be able to read more about his geeky work in our book “MyImpact”.

James Fruchterman’s selected quotations:
"We used to work a lot with optical pattern recognition. I thought we could use this technology to read books to blind people. Not that I knew any of them; it was just the one idea that I had in college."

"Today I have more ideas than when I was young. I want to use the power of technology to solve big issues that we have in this world. In a way we cheat for a good purpose; we talk to our friends in Silicon Valley and know early what's coming next that could be useful in the social area."

"My kids understood for the first time what I was doing when I started making the reading machines for the blind. - Oh, that's cool; it's a machine that can read to a blind person! - they said."

"When it came to future decisions I asked my wife whether I should continue to make even more money or whether she did not mind if I did the nonprofit thing. Luckily she agreed with my preference."

"Most social sector organizations are lagging in terms of technology 2-20 years behind mainstream business. Technology can make their work much easier and much more productive, and that's where we come in."

"Don't stop innovation just because you don't see enough market for it."

"When I was at the elite schools the only satisfaction I could imagine would be coming from the realization of my one idea or innovation. I was just thinking whether it will be in science, a Nobel price, some other destiny. Today, it makes me feel great to know that someone went through school because of my piece of technology."

"Most of our employees come from business, they can practice their profession and passion, and they get this extra thing on top. It's cool and meaningful."

"In 2000 I sold the reading machine business and invested the money in the Bookshare.org platform for blind. The idea came from my son playing with the son of a neighbour, the then-CEO of Napster. I thought that blind people should be able to share books that they already scanned just like young people shared music files."

"We need to make sure that being socially responsible is an unavoidable thing in business."

"The same thing that makes technology good for making money makes it good for helping the world."

"Many techies that come in touch with us think - oh, cool! I've got skills that can be used to help society. They enjoy thinking about meaningful things."

"In terms of social entrepreneurship I lived in a vacuum in the 90s. I only heard about the movement in 1999 from Jed Emerson. Muhammud Yunus's book about microcredit, Banker to the Poor, became my inspiration."

"I'm a scout for social applications, finding exciting technology waiting to be turned into non-commercial tools for disadvantaged groups."

"What's the social norm for a billionaire? What do they do? I believe the norm will be going in the direction of social responsibility."

Some background on James R. Fruchterman:
A highly successful technology entrepreneur, Jim Fruchterman has been a rocket scientist, founded the foremost optical character recognition manufacturer (Calera), and developed a successful line of reading machines. In 1989, he founded Arkenstone, a non-profit social enterprise, to produce reading machines for the disabled community based on the Calera technology. Following the sale of the Arkenstone product line in 2000, Jim used all of the resulting capital to found Benetech, with an explicit goal to use the power of technology to serve humanity.
Jim Fruchterman has also been active in public service, with two stints on U.S. federal advisory committees. He was named as an Outstanding Social Entrepreneur 2003 by the Schwab Foundation and also received the Robert F. Bray Award from the American Council of the Blind in recognition of his outstanding efforts to make literary works accessible to people who are blind or visually impaired. In addition, Jim is a cofounder and director for RAF Technology, Inc., America's leading high-end OCR technology company, used by the United States Postal Service to route the mail.

Some background on Benetech:
The Benetech Initiative is a nonprofit venture that provides social benefits by harnessing the power of technology. It delivers these benefits using the new model of social entrepreneurship, which combines market forces with philanthropic capital and entrepreneurial drive. Many great technologies can easily be applied to social needs, but the profitability of such efforts rarely meets the financial expectations of high technology investors. Benetech specifically pursues endeavors that emphasize a strong social, rather than financial, rate of return on investment in the areas of disability, bridging the digital divide, education, literacy, human rights, employment of the disadvantaged, and the prevention of suffering.
Benetech serves as an incubator for socially oriented technology projects, it provides seed capital for market and technical feasibility studies, and provides infrastructure for such ventures. Ideas for projects will most often come from potential customers, Benetech staff, its advisory structure, and external inventors and entrepreneurs. Most projects will operate as divisions under the Benetech umbrella, realizing significant cost reductions by sharing a common infrastructure.
Benetech offers a powerful new philanthropic option to the technological community, providing an outlet for the positive social intentions of many of its corporate and individual members. Large donors will find philanthropic investments that are closer to the venture model, complete with business plans rather than grant applications. Active donors will find the opportunity to directly apply their technology skills to social good, thus leveraging their investment. Executives will find rewarding interim opportunities after major career transitions. Professionals reaching a point in their family lives where they want to dedicate less than 70 hours per week to their jobs will find fair compensation with high personal rewards. Companies will see their technologies applied to exciting, beneficial applications and will reap marketing and public relations benefits.

If you would like to engage with the work of Jim Fruchterman or get to know more about Benetech please visit http://www.benetech.org, or, for more specific opportunities, contact joanna.stefanska@myimpact.ch or wolfgang.hafenmayer@myimpact.ch directly.