10 Startups Changing the World and What We Can Learn From Them

For lots of startup founders, a big money valuation is just half the goal. Many startups are motivated by a singular drive to change the way we view and interact with the world around us. And while every startup can teach us something, the most disruptive often have the most profound lessons. Here are 10 of today’s most visionary startups to admire, and more importantly, model:

1) Instagram

Instagram is a popular photo sharing app that uses filters to enhance photos. After being released on the Android market, it set download records and built a community of over 50 million loyal users. With no marketing budget, Instagram relied entirely on an almost fanatical community of fans to spread the word, and sold to Facebook for almost $1 billion. Lesson: Build a community, nurture it, and the users will market you.

2) 2tor

Founded in 2008 by heavyweight education entrepreneurs, 2tor partners with top U. S. universities –including Georgetown, UNC, USC and most recently Washington University in St. Louis – bring their degree programs online. Its mission is to transform higher education by bringing it online without sacrificing quality, student experience or graduation and job placement rates. With $96 million raised in venture capital and clear success cases to date, 2tor has emerged as the market leader in the rapidly evolving School-as-a-Service sector. Lesson learned? Industry reform is always possible – it just takes some creative thinking.