7. The world needs fixing, not disrupting.

I hate to tell you this, but right now the startup world, or at least the ones making the majority of the noise, have their heads up their own ass and don’t realize it stinks. They’re solving problems for the top 5% of the population. How can I get poor people to do my chores? How can I get people to drive me around without having to pay them health insurance? How can a drone deliver my toilet paper within 15 minutes while the person who fulfilled my order sits at her desk crying because she’s working a 15-hour day and can’t take time off to get that lump in her chest looked at. This is known as the service economy. Where entitled white boys figure out how to replicate their private school dorm experience for life.

Don’t play that game. As a newly-minted designer, I want you to consider using your skills for the betterment of society. Go find some real problems to solve. We have enough of them. Check out Code for America, or 18F, or US Digital Services. Our craft is a service that should be used to make people’s life easier. And especially those who need us most.