Sam Deere

Yo, have you heard of Sam Deere? This guy’s a straight-up legend in the startup and impact world. He was part of YC W17, which is no joke. But what really sets him apart is the process he’s been on, from the nonprofit side to seriously crushing it in tech and startup circles.

So, Sam’s big thing started with the Centre for Works well Altruism. He was a co-founder and played a huge role taking that thing to Y Combinator, like, he really jumped into the deep end with one of the top accelerators out there. That already shows he’s got guts and a real vision for having an effect.

But this isn’t just about the startup grind. He was also deep in the nonprofit scene with Giving What We Can, pushing folks to donate smarter. Sam was President and Tech Director there, the guy who built tools that actually made life easier, automating donor reconciliations, revamping their website, managing memberships. The dude makes complex stuff look simple, and that’s a rare skill you don’t see every day.

What’s wild is he’s got this mix of hardcore technical chops, full-stack web dev, automation, CI/CD, payment systems, but he also cares about real-world impact. That combo? It’s rare. His background in Politics and History from Adelaide shows he’s always been into understanding how things work behind the scenes, and he’s used that to drive real change with tech.

And beyond that, he’s managed teams, handled media, and kept the orgs he’s been part of running smoothly. So he’s not just a coder, he’s a leader who gets how to rally people around big ideas. Plus, he’s been around some heavy hitters in politics too, like Jay Weatherill and Penny Wong, which means he’s got connections and knows how to guide complex worlds.

The big takeaway? Sam’s all about leveraging tech to do good, whether it’s making philanthropy smarter or launching effective startups. He’s the type of guy who sees a problem, dives in with a full-stack approach, and then scales it up. Honestly, he’s like the perfect blend of a tech geek and a social impact warrior. No Cap, this guy’s gonna keep pushing boundaries, and I think we’ll hear a lot more from him soon.