CategorySeattle

Demo Day (Summer 2012)

Seven exciting, impactful teams comprise the Summer 2012 cohort of “fledglings“. These companies are busy refining their ideas and polishing their plans. On September 23rd, come be inspired by their visions and plans, presented live, on stage, at the Playhouse/Intiman Theater at the Seattle Center as part of the Seattle Next 50’s celebration of commerce and innovation...

Meet the “Fledglings” (Summer 2012)

Seven exciting, inspiring teams make up the Summer 2012 cohort:   BURN Manufacturing BURN Manufacturing was created to address the enormous need for clean cook stoves in the developing world where 2 million people die each year from indoor cooking smoke.  BURN will locally manufacture 3 million high efficiency cook stoves in East Africa in the next 10 years that will impact the lives of 16.5...

A Fresh Take on Startup Accelerators for Social Enterprise

Some additional backstory on Fledge, from Forbes.com When people consider launching startup accelerators for social enterprises, there’s always the nagging question: Does the classic model work? Is three months enough to address the complicated issues founders must wrestle with? Michael “Luni” Libes has an answer. Libes has formed a new accelerator for mission-driven companies in Seattle called...

Applications are in.. Invitations are out..

Dozens of applications arrived by the June 30th midnight deadline, including one 22 seconds into July 1st.  Thank you to all who applied! The collection of teams and ideas is inspiring.  The potential impact across these companies, once launched, could reach across billions of people, spanning the less fortunate billion living on $1 or $2 per day to small business owners and other neighbors in...

Introducing “Fledge”

A large and growing number of consumers today are increasingly:environmentally conscious, energy conscious, health conscious, conscious of sustainability, of community, and even conscious of consumption itself. Entrepreneurs who aim to address these unmet needs find little help to do so, as the entrepreneurial infrastructure is primarily aimed at fostering “tech” (be it software, “clean” or...

A “Conscious” Ecosystem

Creating a thriving ecosystem of companies capable of tackling the “conscious consumer” market requires a few components, most of which exist today, plus a few which we can easily add: Education – multiple layers of meetups, certificates, and degrees to fill the gaps of knowledge Talent and Passion – people with the know-how and drive to create and operate companies...

Social Innovation Fast Pitch (SIFP)

Fledge is not just about helping create new conscious companies, it is also about adding to the entrepreneurial infrastructure in order to grow the whole conscious ecosystem.  An ecosystem which includes: talent, education, mentorship, gathering spaces, events, incubation, acceleration, and funding. One great existing piece of “infrastructure” in this ecosystem is the Social...

Will Seattle Become the Capital of Social Entrepreneurship?

“I think there’s every reason to believe that Seattle will be the capital of social entrepreneurship in the next ten years,” says Brian Howe, an adjunct professor at Seattle School of Law and founder of Hub Seattle , which rents space to social entrepreneurs. Reason.tv sat down with Howe and Michael “Luni” Libes, a “serial entrepreneur” who has helped...

HUB Seattle

Many thanks to HUB Seattle for co-organizing and hosting #SocEnt Weekend. For those of you who have not heard of The HUB, it is an international co-op of co-working spaces for social enterprises.  You can find HUBs in over 30 cities around the world, and as of November 2011, Seattle, WA. The HUB today provides a gathering place, events, and access to mentors for socially-conscious entrepreneurs. ...

#SocEnt Weekend

Friday, February 24th, 2012, 80 strangers stepped forward into a novel experiment, moving from raw ideas into operational social enterprises in just 50 hours.  The results were not only astounding in terms of effort, but inspirational in terms of content.  Thirteen companies were created, with a potential for over a trillion dollars in combined revenue and social impact! Winner of “Best Startup...

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