Introducing Human Respect Labs

Perhaps you’ve seen my writings on subversive innovation. You might be vaguely aware that I’m interested in building culture through creativity and entrepreneurship. Today, we’re launching a new venture you might find compelling.

Introducing: Human Respect Labs (HRL), a mission-driven incubator. You are among the first to learn about it.

Our mission is:

But what is Human Respect? And why is that capitalized?

Human Respect is a social philosophy developed by Chris Rufer in collaboration with the Foundation for Harmony and Prosperity. If you apply to become a vendor, you will be prompted to explore the philosophy more deeply.

But it boils down to this pledge:

This commitment is a core criterion for a project lead.

But then…

What does your project do? Does the project propagate the principles of Human Respect? Does it circumvent or mitigate the effects of institutions that threaten violence? Does it promise liberatory innovation? Does it tell an aligned story?

If your project aligns with our mission and values, we will pay you to work on it.

Here are six General Categories for applicants:

1. Content Creators
   Use video to help us propagate a culture of Human Respect.
2. Community Builders
   Create event opportunities that emphasize Human Respect principles.
3. Communicators
   Write a script or book that helps people imagine a world of Human Respect.
4. Innovators
   Pitch tech projects promising to obviate compulsion or advance HR.
5. Strategists
   Present us with a PR, social media, or strategic plan to advance HR.
6. Entrepreneurs
   Pitch MVPs that create value and hold liberatory promise.

These are broad categories, but we don’t want to miss promising projects and the opportunity to help the people driving them.

What distinguishes Human Respect Labs from other mission-based incubators is the following:

• We apply Human Respect as a lens through which to help develop projects.
• We focus on funding individuals and small teams, rather than organizations.
• We take the “start small and scale” approach, which means our total project disbursements don’t exceed $30,000 per project.
• We hope for success, but view failure as a teacher.

So, if you’re a development director, this probably isn’t for you. But if you know someone likely to create something bold yet practical, send them our way.

Let’s say you have a concept or venture for which you want to develop an MVP (minimum viable product), a script or novel you want to write, a short film you want to write and direct, or an app or technology you want to create. If the proposal fits our criteria, we hope you will consider applying.