--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I created DonorsChoose by putting pencil…" description: "\"I created DonorsChoose by putting pencil to paper - literally - and sketching out each screen of the web site and how it would work. Then I paid a prog..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/charles-best-6989_pencil_i-created-donorschoose-by-putting-pencil_2942072.jpg" --- # I created DonorsChoose by putting pencil to paper… ![“I created DonorsChoose by putting pencil to paper - literally - and sketching out each screen of the web site and how it would work. Then I paid a programmer from Poland $1,500 to turn my sketches and common-sense rules into a functioning website.” quote by Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/charles-best-6989_pencil_i-created-donorschoose-by-putting-pencil_2942072.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/charles-best-6989_pencil_i-created-donorschoose-by-putting-pencil_2942072.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/charles-best-6989_pencil_i-created-donorschoose-by-putting-pencil_2942072.jpg) > “I created DonorsChoose by putting pencil to paper - literally - and sketching out each screen of the web site and how it would work. Then I paid a programmer from Poland $1,500 to turn my sketches and common-sense rules into a functioning website.” [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He built DonorsChoose by hand‑drawing screens and hiring low‑cost overseas help to implement them. **In simple terms:** He turned sketches into a functional site with cheap programming. Key Takeaway Start with low‑fidelity prototypes and outsource wisely. Themes entrepreneurship bootstrapping design technology Mood determined pragmatic Type anecdotal motivational When to use this quote - non‑profit platform launch - early product development - budget‑constrained startups Key Concepts lean startup prototyping offshoring Questions to Reflect On - How can you ensure design intent survives translation? - What safeguards protect against low‑cost pitfalls? A Different Perspective May overlook quality or cultural communication gaps with remote developers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Poland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poland/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [Rules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules/) [Web](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/web/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [The Chinese describe themselves as political refugees. Many base that claim on China's strict population laws, which allow them to have only one child.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-koch/the-chinese-describe-themselves-as-political-refugees-many-base-that/) [Ed Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-koch/) > [I am the president of Poland, and I will never accept Poles being insulted or humiliated or facts being distorted that hurt our dignity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrzej-duda/i-am-the-president-of-poland-and-i-will-never-accept-poles-being/) [Andrzej Duda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrzej-duda/) > [If I had means, I would like to spend half a year in Palestine in order to contemplate what has been, and half a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janusz-korczak/if-i-had-means-i-would-like-to-spend-half-a-year-in-palestine-in/) [Janusz Korczak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janusz-korczak/) > [I dream of Poland becoming a modern society that is defined not by the crippling nature of history, but by our individual achievements, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-tokarczuk/i-dream-of-poland-becoming-a-modern-society-that-is-defined-not-by/) [Olga Tokarczuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-tokarczuk/) > [Poland is a country of strong women.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joanna-kulig/poland-is-a-country-of-strong-women/) [Joanna Kulig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joanna-kulig/) > [“If this is Upper Silesia, what on earth must Lower Silesia be like?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse/if-this-is-upper-silesia-what-on-earth-must-lower-silesia-be-like/) [P.G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse/) > [Just look at Poland, a sort of European perspective this has. So we have an interest in seeing this relationship be a good one.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/just-look-at-poland-a-sort-of-european-perspective-this-has-so-we/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [Having grown up in Poland, it is a dream come true for me to be playing every week in the Premier League as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lukasz-fabianski/having-grown-up-in-poland-it-is-a-dream-come-true-for-me-to-be/) [Lukasz Fabianski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lukasz-fabianski/) > [In Poland we still believe - and this certainly applies to my government - that greater competitiveness, and greater growth and savings are possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-tusk/in-poland-we-still-believe-and-this-certainly-applies-to-my/) [Donald Tusk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-tusk/) > [I'm okay with roaming around the world in my bunk for days on end. Maybe every third day I'll get a shower or stumble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-okay-with-roaming-around-the-world-in-my-bunk-for-days-on-end/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [His Holiness Pope John Paul II was a determined and deeply spiritual minded person for whom I had great respect and admiration. His experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/his-holiness-pope-john-paul-ii-was-a-determined-and-deeply-spiritual/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [No matter who becomes chancellor, Poland and Germany will remain neighbours, strategic partners, not only within the European Union, but also world partners, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marek-belka/no-matter-who-becomes-chancellor-poland-and-germany-will-remain/) [Marek Belka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marek-belka/) > [And in the last sentence I would like also to mention that Poland is one of the countries with which the United States has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marek-belka/and-in-the-last-sentence-i-would-like-also-to-mention-that-poland-is/) [Marek Belka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marek-belka/) > [Oddly enough, most of the books written about the subject aren't very good because they just focus on the more hateful movies that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-tarantino/oddly-enough-most-of-the-books-written-about-the-subject-aren-t-very/) [Quentin Tarantino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-tarantino/) > [President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus, even as he has relaxed sanctions on Castro's Cuba. He abandoned our friends in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/president-obama-has-thrown-allies-like-israel-under-the-bus-even-as/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) ## More by Charles Best > [Why is it that, when we want to think outside the proverbial box, we often put ourselves in one? We gather our team in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/why-is-it-that-when-we-want-to-think-outside-the-proverbial-box-we/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [Teachers are heroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/teachers-are-heroes/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [My colleagues and I would spend a lot of our own money on copy, paper, and pencils. I just figured there are people out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/my-colleagues-and-i-would-spend-a-lot-of-our-own-money-on-copy-paper/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [Arianna Huffington is one of the greatest champions of this idea - that anyone can make a difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/arianna-huffington-is-one-of-the-greatest-champions-of-this-idea-that/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [People not only want to support public schools, but people warm to this idea of being a philanthropist, even if they might have only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/people-not-only-want-to-support-public-schools-but-people-warm-to/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [If anything, we hope that DonorsChoose.org is going to be a prompt, a nudge in the side of the public school system to improve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/if-anything-we-hope-that-donorschoose-org-is-going-to-be-a-prompt-a/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [If you track your organization's creativity by the number of brainstorms on your calendar, you're missing out. It's more important to capture those unplanned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/if-you-track-your-organization-s-creativity-by-the-number-of/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [Our ideological dilemmas won't ever be solved by machines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/our-ideological-dilemmas-won-t-ever-be-solved-by-machines/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [One question we'll ask is, 'Who are you grateful for,' and a surprising number of people can't name anyone beyond their mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/one-question-we-ll-ask-is-who-are-you-grateful-for-and-a-surprising/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [Our name is not great. It doesn't evoke anything about school or teachers. It doesn't roll off the tongue or stick in your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/our-name-is-not-great-it-doesn-t-evoke-anything-about-school-or/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [To take on the jobs of tomorrow, students must become more than good test takers. They need to become makers who design, sketch, build,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/to-take-on-the-jobs-of-tomorrow-students-must-become-more-than-good/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [Donors are sick of writing that $200 check to the Red Cross and not knowing whether it goes for the executive director's salary or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/donors-are-sick-of-writing-that-200-check-to-the-red-cross-and-not/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [When I began teaching, my colleagues and I quickly realized that our students didn't have access to the same resources we had growing up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/when-i-began-teaching-my-colleagues-and-i-quickly-realized-that-our/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [Public school teachers from every corner of America post classroom project requests on DonorsChoose.org. Requests range from pencils for a poetry writing unit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/public-school-teachers-from-every-corner-of-america-post-classroom/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) > [My colleagues and I would spend a lot of our own money on copy paper and pencils, and often we couldn't get the resources…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/my-colleagues-and-i-would-spend-a-lot-of-our-own-money-on-copy-paper-2/) [Charles Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) [Explore all 94 Charles Best quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/) ## More Pencil quotes > [I've got to feel the pencil and see the words at the end of the pencil,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/i-ve-got-to-feel-the-pencil-and-see-the-words-at-the-end-of-the-pencil/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head to your hand to your pencil to your paper till you get the answer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/arithmetic-is-numbers-you-squeeze-from-your-head-to-your-hand-to-your/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) > [But I had never drawn on a tablet before. I've been doing pencil and paper and film for almost 20 years. I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-hertzfeldt/but-i-had-never-drawn-on-a-tablet-before-i-ve-been-doing-pencil-and/) [Don Hertzfeldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-hertzfeldt/) > [Recently a study proved that working from a larger, less cluttered computer screen increases concentration. I could have told them that. And yes, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-schiff/recently-a-study-proved-that-working-from-a-larger-less-cluttered/) [Stacy Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-schiff/) > [With pencil there is a tendency to be timid, either using very faint lines or erasing bad lines... Line sketching tends to emphasize the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laseau/with-pencil-there-is-a-tendency-to-be-timid-either-using-very-faint/) [Paul Laseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laseau/) > [“pencil the exact middle of the head’s height. Place a horizontal line there; this should be located below the eyebrows' line.  ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-london/pencil-the-exact-middle-of-the-head-s-height-place-a-horizontal-line/) Vladimir London > [“That person, I can't remember who it was right now, who said the pen was mightier that the sword-I thnk they were wrong. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-brenna/that-person-i-can-t-remember-who-it-was-right-now-who-said-the-pen/) Beverley Brenna > [An old man said Eraser are made For those who make MISTAKES. A youth replied Erasers are made for those who are willing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/echoyan/an-old-man-said-eraser-are-made-for-those-who-make-mistakes-a-youth/) EchoYan > [Nevertheless, the realization that breaking a pencil point would have far less disastrous consequences played little or no role, I believe, in this decision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolph-a-marcus/nevertheless-the-realization-that-breaking-a-pencil-point-would-have/) [Rudolph A. Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolph-a-marcus/) > [I put my pencil upon the paper, doubtfully, and drew little lines, considering my theme. But I would not long hesitate in this manner,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaire-belloc/i-put-my-pencil-upon-the-paper-doubtfully-and-drew-little-lines/) [Hilaire Belloc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaire-belloc/) > [Said Hamlet to Ophelia, I'll draw a sketch of thee. What kind of pencil shall I use? 2B or not 2B?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-milligan/said-hamlet-to-ophelia-i-ll-draw-a-sketch-of-thee-what-kind-of-pencil/) [Spike Milligan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-milligan/) > [Unfortunately when I start to talk or when someone watches over my shoulders my pencil either stops or I draw meaningless lines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-j-hughes/unfortunately-when-i-start-to-talk-or-when-someone-watches-over-my/) [E. J. Hughes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-j-hughes/) > [I don't much enjoy travelling, but I have always longed to take a slow train to Russia. I'd like to go alone - like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-birkin/i-don-t-much-enjoy-travelling-but-i-have-always-longed-to-take-a-slow/) [Jane Birkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-birkin/) > [The computer is really like a pencil, you know. It used to be. The pencil can do anything you want to, but you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-vignelli/the-computer-is-really-like-a-pencil-you-know-it-used-to-be-the/) [Massimo Vignelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-vignelli/) > [Increasingly, editing means going to lunch. It means editing with a credit card, not with a pencil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gottlieb/increasingly-editing-means-going-to-lunch-it-means-editing-with-a/) [Robert Gottlieb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gottlieb/) Browse all 433 Pencil quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I created DonorsChoose by putting pencil to paper - literally - and sketching out each screen of the web site and how it would work. Then I paid a programmer from Poland $1,500 to turn my sketches and common-sense rules into a functioning website.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Best" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/i-created-donorschoose-by-putting-pencil-to-paper-literally-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Pencil" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/i-created-donorschoose-by-putting-pencil-to-paper-literally-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/charles-best-6989_pencil_i-created-donorschoose-by-putting-pencil_2942072.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/charles-best-6989_pencil_i-created-donorschoose-by-putting-pencil_2942072.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ee/charles-best-6989_pencil_i-created-donorschoose-by-putting-pencil_2942072.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I created DonorsChoose by putting pencil to paper - literally - and sketching out each screen of the web…” — Charles Best", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Charles Best", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-best/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I created DonorsChoose by putting pencil...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/i-created-donorschoose-by-putting-pencil-to-paper-literally-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-best/i-created-donorschoose-by-putting-pencil-to-paper-literally-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```