1328: The $700 Million Grant-Giver Who Built a Startup with Zero Code w/ Justin Steele
Justin Steele, a former Google.org director who oversaw $700 million in grants, found himself on the other side of the table as a non-profit founder struggling to afford fundraising tools. Instead of accepting the status quo, he taught himself to code with AI and built Kindora, a Public Benefit Corporation that makes professional fundraising tools accessible to all. This episode is a masterclass in scrappy innovation, demonstrating how any entrepreneur can turn a personal "thorn in your side" into a viable business. Justin shares his incredible story of building an MVP in just two weeks from his living room, offering a powerful lesson in leveraging AI as a superpower to solve real-world problems, build a mission-driven company, and scale your impact without waiting for permission.
💡 What You'll Take Away For YOUR Business
- 🚀 How to use AI as your personal software developer to build an MVP, even with zero coding experience.
- 💡 The step-by-step process of identifying a personal pain point and transforming it into a scalable business idea.
- 💰 A fundraising strategy for early-stage ventures: why a high-volume, targeted approach to small grants can be your rocket fuel.
- ⚖️ How the Public Benefit Corporation (PBC) model allows you to legally balance profit with social impact, protecting your mission as you grow.
- 🛠️ Why being the "painter" closest to the problem gives you an unmatched advantage in developing effective solutions and products.
- 🤝 The power of partnership and how a co-founder can provide the courage and confidence to turn a prototype into a real company.
📝 About Justin Steele
Justin Steele is the co-founder and CEO of Kindora, a Public Benefit Corporation making professional fundraising tools accessible to every nonprofit. With a background that includes directing $700 million in philanthropic grants at Google.org and degrees from Harvard Business School, Justin combines big-company experience with startup grit. His journey began when he founded his own nonprofit, Outdoorithm Collective, and discovered the very tools meant to help him were financially out of reach. This inspired him to leverage AI to build a better solution from scratch, giving him a unique and powerful perspective from both sides of the funding table.
🎯 Justin’s BEST Piece of Advice for Wantrepreneurs and Entrepreneurs
"Grab your paintbrush and start painting with these AI programs."
📢 Memorable Quotes
- “I would just gut check it. I don't want to know... is this worth my time to do more due diligence or not? And I just literally had the AI do that 10,000 times.” – Justin Steele
- "As a founder, you know, you're supposed to put out products that you're embarrassed by... if you're not putting stuff out that's early prototyping, then you're probably hanging on to it too long." – Justin Steele
- "I have yet to try something and hit a wall where I'm like, 'Oh, I actually can't build the thing.' It's a superpower. It gives everybody a massive edge and we should all be in these tools. It's like jumping into an Iron Man suit." – Justin Steele
🔗 Links & Resources
