Our Story
GOOD Search began in 2018 as a project with little capital, a high level of commitment, and a clear idea: search engines generate enormous reach every day—why not use it to create meaningful impact?
Our original idea was simple: we wanted to build a web search engine that uses the revenue generated “on the side” to support a civil society solution to the world’s major challenges every month – for greater justice, less poverty, and better care for our environment.
At the same time, the platform was meant to create visibility through storytelling that draws attention to projects and issues and inspires our community. In line with the idea: look, there are people taking initiative and changing the world for the better with innovative ideas.
At its core, this worked well. Initially under the brand GEXSI (Global Exchange for Social Investment), we identified more than 50 of the world’s most innovative social entrepreneurs, told their stories, and financially supported their initiatives. Together with other impact initiatives – including a partnership with WWF – we were able to distribute more than €100,000 through our community.
From the start, we relied on a lean structure. To build this first web search, we secured support from GLS Treuhand Stiftung and a small group of business angels, who invested a total of €180,000. Since then, GOOD Search has largely been bootstrapped and developed without external capital. We are 100% independent of venture capital.
We are Andreas Renner and Kevin Fuchs, along with a small team supporting us in IT development. In the next phase, we plan to expand the founding team.
Together, we stand for an economy that works fairly for everyone – not a system where wealth continues to concentrate while the environment is left behind. And for a world in which knowledge is freely accessible, without monopolistic control and without influence from capital or politics on the availability of information.
Over time, it became clear that the advertising-based model has its limits. Dependence on Big Tech was high, and room for maneuver was limited. A search engine that often reinforces non-sustainable consumption through advertising does not align with our values. Moreover, the negative effects of this model cannot simply be offset by using advertising revenue for good causes.
Search advertising is closely tied to Big Tech: only a few corporations have the scale needed to market ads around search terms at large scale. Anyone financing a web search through advertising can hardly avoid Google or Microsoft. And the scale is enormous: in 2025 alone, around USD 225 billion flowed into sponsored links on Google Search. Neutrality looks different.
As a result, we completely disengaged from Big Tech and the advertising networks operated by Google and Microsoft as early as 2024. While the separation happened quickly, building the new web search with a fundamentally revised tech stack took longer than expected. The reason: GOOD Search initially functioned primarily as a fundraising tool based on existing technology. Today, we are a tech company with a product that stands on its own.
With the relaunch in autumn 2026, we are opening the next chapter. We will integrate all relevant independent search feeds—including Staan, Mojeek, and Brave. This makes GOOD Search more independent, more European, and even stronger in search quality. At the same time, we are creating the technological foundation for growth.
As part of the 2026 relaunch, we also reorganized our corporate structure: ownership is once again fully in the hands of us founders—for clear responsibilities and fast decision-making. The non-profit GOOD Impact Foundation safeguards our mission long-term and ensures that purpose is not subordinated to profit.
GOOD Search is not a typical startup. We are a small founding team that has worked for years with limited resources, strong convictions, and high standards. That is exactly what has kept us independent—and still allows us to act based on conviction rather than short-term pressure.
Contact
Andreas Renner: andreas@good-search.org
Kevin Fuchs: kevin@good-search.org