Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives • Hacker News Board

Re: Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives

#21

Post by kalvin » Tue, Feb 17, 2026, 11:41 PM UTC

Thank YOU Chase :) (I work at Watsi)

If you'd like to see an example of what Watsi's about, check out Philip's profile: https://watsi.org/profile/2286cb03a5bd-philip

Also, fun fact: 619 of our current "Universal Fund" monthly donors first made a donation 10 or more years ago, and I'm pretty sure many of those were/are Hacker News readers.

If you're interested, see https://watsi.org/universal-fund

Re: Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives

#22

Post by watsi » Tue, Feb 17, 2026, 11:42 PM UTC

cies wrote: post #5

This is my fav charity option. It's so hard some times to know where you can do maximum good with your money: Watsi might well be it.

So awesome to hear - thank you! Hoping others will join in on watsi.org to help too. We want giving to be a bigger and more meaningful part of our day to day lives and to do this, it helps to always know and trust the impact you are making.

Re: Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives

#23

Post by frankdenbow » Tue, Feb 17, 2026, 11:52 PM UTC

Great work Chase! I remember meeting you back in the shared office with Teespring. You are right, we are not our startups, but there is a lot to be proud of, an impact is always the goal, for profit or non. Onward!

Re: Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives

#24

Post by yakshaving » Tue, Feb 17, 2026, 11:56 PM UTC

I don't comment on Hacker News very much -- in fact, extremely rarely, but I do remember this more than a decade ago and its awesome that you've stuck with this for this long.

Congratulations to you and all the work that you've done and the impact that you've had. That's pretty cool and something I think many of us aspire to. Cheers Chase!

Re: Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives

#25

Post by Karupan » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC

Thank you for the incredibly inspiring work! At a time when 99% of the founders and VCs just want to bank on the next big hype cycle and accumulate power and wealth, it’s good to be reminded that actual life changing work with direct impact on people is still possible.

Re: Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives

#26

Post by cyrusradfar » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 12:05 AM UTC

I've appreciated following your story. Happy that it's brought more meaning to your life and been a net-positive for the planet. That says a lot.

Re: Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives

#27

Post by josuepeq » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 12:13 AM UTC

nyddle wrote: post #8

That's incredible. Why even compare your startup to for-profits, while you actually make world a better place?

You’re sentiment is correct, but I also think that most Certified B Corporations arguably make the world a better place.

Re: Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives

#28

Post by maybelsyrup » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 12:16 AM UTC

Never heard of Watsi, but I just donated!!!

Grateful for your work, and sticking it out serving human beings while others hustle to secure the bag. There's nothing wrong with securing the bag, of course, but it just makes work like this even more impressive to me. Kudos!

Re: Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives

#29

Post by wetpaws » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 12:17 AM UTC

ag8 wrote: post #15

Watsi seems to be doing great work, but the title—"you helped save 33k lives"—reads as misleading to me. I guess "helped" could be doing a lot of heavy lifting here, but I would be incredibly surprised if the counterfactual number of lives saved was more than 3000. (But don't let this dissuade you from donating; concretely improving someone's life is totally a worthwhile goal, and Watsi seems very good at effecting t…

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Re: Thank HN: You helped save 33k lives

#30

Post by danparsonson » Wed, Feb 18, 2026, 12:22 AM UTC

ag8 wrote: post #15

Watsi seems to be doing great work, but the title—"you helped save 33k lives"—reads as misleading to me. I guess "helped" could be doing a lot of heavy lifting here, but I would be incredibly surprised if the counterfactual number of lives saved was more than 3000. (But don't let this dissuade you from donating; concretely improving someone's life is totally a worthwhile goal, and Watsi seems very good at effecting t…

You must be fun at parties ;-)