It seems odd not to acknowledge that most successful startups are not created like this. Very few are. Perhaps only the truly great ones take the organic personal project route. Apple, Google, Facebook, and YC are among the handful one could list out of thousands of startups.
Most successful startups are the result of ambitious people working hard to come up with good ideas. PG has explicitly said he started Viaweb to get rich. IIRC it was picked from a list of other startup ideas and was the second attempt. He wasn't deeply fascinated by online stores, it just seemed like a good business to start.
Not necessarily. Would you properly fund EverPix or TextSecure, or would you worry about them sticking to their principles too much and avoiding potential profit opportunities?
Because doing good cannot be made coherent with making money? Or that you have to optimize for one or the other? This seems quite limiting and contrary to human history as well.
Most successful startups are the result of ambitious people working hard to come up with good ideas. PG has explicitly said he started Viaweb to get rich. IIRC it was picked from a list of other startup ideas and was the second attempt. He wasn't deeply fascinated by online stores, it just seemed like a good business to start.