School of Wise Innovation

👁️ BACKGROUND For as long as I can remember, ideas and the creative process have been energizing forces in my life. That passion led me to study entrepreneurship and spend 15 years working for, founding, advising and investing in early-stage startups across technology, education, politics, and social impact. In 2024, with support from Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp, I founded School of Wise Innovation to re-imagine innovation education and culture. Our programs, retreats, and media have influenced the thinking and behavior of founders, investors, and business leaders exploring how to live, work, and create with greater alignment. As I look out on the troubled state of the world, and reflect on personal experiences with the unintended consequences of innovation, I’ve become increasingly aware of the power of what happens in the earliest hours, days, and weeks after someone has a promising new idea. Decisions made during this “vision stage ” quietly shape the trajectory of teams, technologies, and the ripples those creations make in society. Yet this stage receives almost no attention, structure, or guidance rooted in ethics or wisdom. My goal is to help shift the culture around this formative period by creating a powerful resource that supports people who are shaping tomorrow’s innovations at the point where it matters most: the very beginning. 📚 THE BOOK I’m developing a 64-page, limited-edition, interactive mini-book called The Vision Guide . It is designed to be an accessible, beautifully crafted tool that helps founders and changemakers navigate the delicate vision stage with clarity and integrity. So they may bring ideas to life in ways that are better all touched, including themselves and the relationships that matter most. The guide will help readers: Clarify the appropriate delivery system and timing for a vision Integrate lessons from previous projects to avoid common pitfalls Highlight and address unhealthy motivations and blind spots Mitigate risks of mission-drift, burnout, and negative externalities Make wiser and more grounded decisions during high-leverage moments Cultivate practices that support effective collaboration This interactive artifact will blend reflection prompts, short teachings, practical exercises, and integrated digital elements like guided audio and custom software. Writing the mini-book will help refine the ideas, gather feedback, and generate momentum toward the next phase: a full-length, mainstream book that weaves together deeper research, case studies, personal narrative, and comprehensive frameworks. 🌍 THE IMPACT The “vision stage” functions like the headwaters of a river: the conditions at the source influence everything downstream. When vision-stage decisions are rushed or made from the wrong place, the consequences show up later as anxiety and depression, intractable conflict, injured personal relationships, avoidable failure, and sometimes violence to the web of life. The Vision Guide aims to shift how innovators think about risk and responsibility, success and long-term impact—starting from the moment an idea is born. Because I’m based in the heart of Silicon Valley, the book will be distributed through high-leverage channels: product leaders, founders, designers, researchers, and educators at organizations such as Apple, Google, Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft, Stanford, YC, Esalen, and others who shape the future of technology. It will also circulate among coaches, therapists, teachers, investors, and healers working with early-stage innovators. Importantly, this book does not focus on critique. It offers practical, positive pathways for people who want to build meaningful things without sacrificing their health, relationships, or values — and without unintentionally creating negative impacts in the world. 🌱 USE OF FUNDS A first draft of the mini-book has already been written. The total cost to complete the project (targeting Sept 2026) and print the first run is $24,000 . I am personally contributing $10,000. I am raising the remaining $14,000 to support: Content development and project management Professional editing Book design and illustrations Small research honorariums for expert contributors Printing 250+ copies Distribution to high-impact individuals and institutions in Silicon Valley Even a modest amount of support can meaningfully advance the work and amplify the book’s reach. All donations are tax-deductible through the School of Wise Innovation, a fiscally sponsored 501(c)(3). Donation amounts are not displayed publicly, and you may choose to remain anonymous. Donors will receive a printed copy and optional acknowledgment in the book. Your contribution supports more than a publication—it supports healthier patterns of creation across countless future projects, teams, and communities. Please reach out if you’d like to discuss the project further. "If you want to teach people a new way of thinking, don't bother trying to teach them. Instead, give them a tool, the use of which will lead to new ways of thinking”. - Buckminster Fuller Andrew Dunn works at the intersection of human development and innovation. He is the founder of the School of Wise Innovation and previously led educational initiatives at the Center for Humane Technology. Before that, he spent more than a decade in early-stage startups, including with Siempo, a Public Benefit Corporation that developed an open-source humane smartphone interface recognized globally for its approach to digital wellbeing. His work bridges multiple disciplines and communities, bringing together insights from technology, entrepreneurship, psychology, and culture to support wiser forms of creation.

Today we want to share an opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the world, fully aware how many individuals and organizations are addressing arguably more immediate and dire problems (please support those too!). We are writing to ask for your support for our fiscally-sponsored non-profit , School of Wise Innovation, so we can do our part in evolving innovation education and culture. We could tell you here all about our impact to date and strategy for 2026 (and we’re happy to do so - here’s a high level deck for reference) . But the truth is, we are not fully clear on the next best steps. And after two years of fairly consistent action since incubating out of Center for Humane Technology, we’re sensing it’s time to slow down and process what has happened. Our honest need is for a Winter of Integration: the crucial step that most skip. We intend to practice what we preach these next few months by investing in the activities that will: 😌 Regenerating Ourselves | Rest, solitude, nature, clear mind, loved ones. Spending time with Sara Wolcott’s Circular Time and at Belinda Liu’s Hestia retreat center . 🍂 Harvesting the Lessons | From both the content in our courses and retreats, and the process of building a new type of school over the last two years. A wealth of insights to metabolize and share outwards. 🧭 Wayfinding | Connecting with the amazing teachers in our orbit for guidance, and going inside to vision on the next phase of the school. 🌱 Tending Relationships | Continue weaving with folks in this community and beyond, with a focus on those who have been consistently showing up. If we want others to value these things, we need to value them ourselves. We believe we can effectively integrate the last two years with a modest $6,000 . Which like all things at School of Wise Innovation will serve as a template for how other organizations may do the same. Your donation, no matter how small (crypto welcomed!) will directly support us in growing our capacity to design more impactful programming, serve more people, and build bridges that are ready to be built.