12

Mission-Centric Total Reinvestment & Ethical Stewardship

Every Penny for Purpose

I call our final principle Mission-Centric Total Reinvestment & Ethical Stewardship, and I want to be honest: the decision to include this principle, in this exact way, was the hardest one for me.

😈 The Internal Battle

It required a long, honest conversation with myself. As a normal human being, the "greed side" of me spoke up. I asked myself, "What's in it for me?"

I initially wanted to only reinvest the revenue from the educational platform, while allowing the technology services arm to operate more like a traditional businessβ€”maybe reinvesting 51% as the law in Vietnam requires for a social enterprise. The thought was simple: 'I'm the one generating that tech revenue, so I deserve a larger share, right?'

But then, my heart spoke for the vision we are building here. And my past experiences screamed at me.

πŸ’” The Lessons from Failure

I have been in a successful, profitable start-up that failed. It didn't fail because of the market; it failed because when it was time to divide the profits, greed entered the room. Arguments over unequal splits tore the founding team apart.

I have been in another start-up with multiple projects. We were profitable. But again, greed called. We abandoned the project that held our passion and purpose to chase the one that simply made more money. The team grew disgusted with what we had become, and they left.

And I have been in a third start-up where, to maximize profit, we cut costs by mistreating our employees with constant, uncompensated overtime and by sacrificing the quality of our product. The company was profitable, but our people were miserable, and they left.

I still remember the exact moment in that third startup when I looked around the office at 11 PM on a Friday. Half the team was still there, exhausted, working on yet another "urgent" feature to squeeze out more profit. The light had gone out of their eyes. We had become everything we once said we'd never be. That image haunts me, and I swore I would never let greed destroy another team, another vision, another purpose.

I am unwilling to ever repeat those mistakes.

πŸ” The Lock That Protects

That is why this principle exists and why it is absolute. I also recognize that the success of our technology services will be tied to the goodwill and reputation of our educational mission. The two are linked. Therefore, all the value generated deserves to be reinvested back into the whole.

But what about retaining the best people? I know many companies use stock options. In a company like ours with a "total reinvestment" policy and no dividends, traditional stock options become financially meaningless.

So I envision a different path for our most dedicated and talented team members. A future where our best people can be supported to spin off their own small, autonomous organizations, with Skill-Wanderer holding a minority stake (less than 50%). This gives them true ownership and freedom. And any dividend our organization ever receives from these new ventures will be treated the same as all other revenue: it will be reinvested directly back into our global mission, after covering costs, with no exceptions.

This final principle is our lock. It is our promise to ourselves, our team, our community, and our learners. It is designed to protect our organization from the very forces that can tear even profitable ventures apart. By keeping our finances and our mission perfectly aligned, we ensure that every decision we ever make serves our purpose, not private profit.

The Price of Greed

Three startups, three failures, one lesson

1
πŸ’”

The Profitable Startup That Died

We had product-market fit. We had revenue. We had growth. But when it came time to divide the profits, greed entered the room. Arguments over who deserved what percentage tore the founding team apart. The company died not from market failure, but from human greed.

Lesson: Success without aligned values is a ticking time bomb.
2
🎭

The Passion Project We Abandoned

We started with a mission, but money called louder. We abandoned the project that held our passion to chase the one that simply made more money. The team watched us become everything we swore we'd never be. One by one, they left in disgust.

Lesson: When you betray your mission for money, you lose both.
3
πŸ˜”

The Company That Crushed Its Soul

To maximize profit, we cut costs everywhere. Uncompensated overtime became the norm. Quality was sacrificed for speed. We were profitable on paper, but our people were miserable. The best talent fled, leaving behind a hollow shell of a company.

Lesson: Profit at the expense of people is not successβ€”it's failure in disguise.

The Lock That Protects

This principle is our safeguard against the forces that destroy

Total Reinvestment

Every dollar earned goes back to the mission. No exceptions.

A Different Path Forward

Growing talent without traditional equity

The Spinoff Model

Instead of stock options that become meaningless without dividends, we envision supporting our best people to create their own autonomous organizations. Skill-Wanderer would hold a minority stake (less than 50%), giving them true ownership and freedom while maintaining our connection to their success.

Skill-WandererParent Organization
β†’
Spinoff A49% SW stake
β†’
Spinoff B40% SW stake

The Reinvestment Cycle

Any dividends received from these spinoffs follow the same principle: 100% reinvestment into our global education mission. This creates a virtuous cycle where success breeds more success, all aligned with our core purpose.

How Total Reinvestment Works

Every penny has a purpose

Revenue Streams

  • Premium services from educational platform
  • Technology services and consulting projects
  • Corporate training and partnerships
  • Future dividends from minority stakes in spinoffs

Reinvestment Priorities

  • Creating more free, high-quality educational content
  • Supporting learners in underserved communities
  • Building better learning infrastructure and tools
  • Expanding our global reach and impact

Reinvesting Back to the People

  • Fair compensation and benefits for all team members
  • Professional development funds for continuous learning
  • Supporting team members to launch their own ventures
  • Creating opportunities for community members to join our mission

Our Unbreakable Promise

This principle is not negotiable. It is the foundation that ensures Skill-Wanderer will always serve its mission, not private interests. By locking ourselves into total reinvestment, we protect our organization from the very forces that have destroyed so many others. Every decision we make will be guided by one question: Does this serve our learners and our mission?

I have seen greed destroy profitable companies, passionate teams, and meaningful missions. This principle is our lock against those forces. It ensures that every dollar we earn serves our purpose: making quality tech education accessible to every passionate learner on this planet.

- Quan Nguyen, Founder of Skill-Wanderer