We tend to think that having an impact on the world requires working for a non-profit organization and living on a pittance. While there are a number of jobs that do fit that description, there are also many that defy it with stunning effectiveness. Two examples Georgi Enthoven, author of Work That’s Worth It, describes in glorious detail are Pallet and Virta.
Pallet is a for-profit company that has built hundreds of small shelters for unhoused people all over the US. The company not only battles homelessness, develops community, and empowers previous convicts to forge a better life, it also generates income. The Pallet’s brilliant founder and CEO, Amy King, built a company that makes a massive impact on humanity but doesn’t rely on grant funding and donations to do it’s good work; it’s a for-profit organization.
Virta is another such company that set out to reduce the occurrence of type 2 diabetes in the world but makes a profit along the way. Virta got started largely because its founder, an extreme athlete in his 30’s named Sami Inkinen, shockingly found out that he was prediabetic. Sami was able to curb his health’s decline through changes in his lifestyle/nutrition and desired for the world to benefit from the fact that such a feat is possible. He founded Virta to do just that but didn’t want to be tied to external sources of funding, so he set the company up as a for-profit, an integral part of why it has had the capacity to scale up and make a global impact.
When it comes to social and environmental sustainability, individuals can do much to create change without sacrificing their financial security. What company is making that change you want to see in the world? Ask ChatGPT! See if you can connect with a couple of people who work there to learn about their career journey.
If no one is doing the work you care about outside of the non-profit world, maybe you should step into your entrepreneur era and start something yourself! The College of Business is behind you all the way; check out the Institute for Entrepreneurship’s Venture Validator courses for help learning how to get your own viable initiative started. Virta and Pallet are just two examples of countless companies that have discovered a way to make money while also having a huge impact on social/environmental sustainability! You could be next!
Source: Enthoven, G. (2025). Work that’s worth it: The ambitious professional’s guide for a high-impact, high-reward career. River Grove Books.
