There’s an open secret on college campuses. Top students are funneled towards careers without consequence. They are promised large salaries at big corporations only to spend their time making tiny changes to PowerPoints and codebases. They get stuck doing work that does not matter.
Today’s opportunity costs couldn’t be higher. We’re facing existential problems that, if left unaddressed, will sink us. The climate crisis is here, affordable healthcare is out of reach, and the economy is leaving people behind.
In the last few years, we’ve seen a new kind of founder emerge on university campuses: students who see the world’s biggest problems as their personal responsibility. They’re determined, creative, and impatient. They’re already building.
We started Critical for them.
Historically, student founders have built the world’s most valuable companies. We believe the next generation will do the same. But this time, they’re solving problems that matter.
This thesis isn’t for everyone and most founders won’t fit it. We’re looking for the few that do. They are not interested in the incremental.
In the next decade, these founders will restore the climate, expand access to healthcare, and create economic systems that work for everyone. This is the type of founder whose company today will have more impact than the foundation they start tomorrow.
We’re three best friends who live our values, bet on what matters, and want to work with founders who do the same. If that’s you, we’d love to talk.
Onwards.
Max, Sam, and Seungkwon