Millionaire on why purpose is the new currency

Building a society where giving is becoming a norm

Dubbed the “French Bill Gates,” Alexandre Mars achieved early success by anticipating what an online market would need, especially in mobile, and delivering it. He sold his mobile marketing agency Phonevalley to Publicis, and his social media management company Scroon to BlackBerry. By 2013, he was done with founding and selling internet and mobile companies, and decided it was time to give back.

The gap between intention and action is what Mars is looking to address

Alexandre Mars is a millionaire and philanthropist who has some novel ideas about how to change the world. He says charity Is the key — and it doesn’t have to be much. In 2018, Americans have $428 billion to charity. That’s a 0.7% increase from the year before. And most of it came from individuals according to the Giving USA Annual Report. Mars still invests through his VC firm Blisce in companies including Spotify, Pinterest, Casper and Harry’s, but most of his time is dedicated to the Epic Foundation, and he runs it like a VC firm. Charities are fully vetted, numbers crunched, and then finalists are visited to select who they will support.

Alexandre Mars’ outlook on life is buoyed by the belief that people want to help others

Though, he concedes they do not always act on this impulse. At aged 39, he decided his lucrative career creating and selling tech start-ups should draw to a close. Instead, he began putting his entrepreneurial ingenuity towards a solution which would get people to give more and give often. Mars says that full transparency is essential for getting more people comfortable giving, and it should add joy to their lives. Most people and companies cite three reasons why giving is problematic for them: They don’t know where to give, they don’t have time to research charities, and they don’t trust their money is being spent well.

Brut.