Politics Pays. But Does Civics?

Most Americans agree that government is broken. But only a few brave entrepreneurs have tried to fix it—and their efforts rarely go well. Brigade’s experienced leaders think they can do better. And this election year, they’ll become an object lesson in taking on the greatest business challenges.

- Jason Ankeny

Americans are pissed.

Months out from the 2016 United States general election, voter discontent has reached a fever pitch: 72 percent say their elected officials can’t be trusted, per a Washington Post/ABC News poll, and two-thirds believe the nation’s political system is dysfunctional. In fact, 21 percent of people want the eventual president-elect to tear down the various levers of government and start over from scratch.

MANY AMERICANS EXPRESS this anger on Twitter. Some start brawls at campaign rallies. A few, well, are running for president. But most people simply unplug. Voter turnout in the U.S. ranks among the worst in the industrialized world: Just 42 percent of eligible Americans voted in the 2014 midterm elections, the lowest level since the U.S. Census Bureau began tracking voter activity in 1978. In the coming presidential election, only 41.2 percent of registered voters aged 18 to 24 are expected to participate, according to Tufts University research.

It is indisputably a problem. But here’s a question nobody has an answer to: Can business solve it?

Savvy entrepreneurs might see all the signs of a good opportunity. A need in the market? Ample room to scale? A ready-made set of early adopters who love politics and, with the right product, might be able to help draw in others? It’s all there. But while many startups have tried, most have failed. DemDash, a self-described “new platform for citizens to engage with their democracy,” tried to get 10 percent of San Franciscans to use it during a 2012 election, but mustered only 2 percent and is now gone. VoterMind made educational apps. Gone. VoteIQ, “the nation’s first major political social networking site”? Gone. Some have garnered a modest amount of venture capital: Votizen raised $2.25 million (it was bought and closed), and Versa raised $1.3 million (ditto).