Fledge is a global network of conscious company accelerators and investment funds, helping entrepreneurs create impactful companies and co-ops at scale through intense, short programs filled with education, guidance, and a massive amount of mentorship.
Each city runs (up to) one session per year. Each city’s program is a bit different from the others’, but all are focused on mission-driven for-profit companies, and all invest in their fledglings.
Th educational curriculum is based on The Next Step books and online classes, taught to fill in any gaps in the key skills entrepreneurs need to know to succeed: strategy, financials, marketing, sales, funding, etc.
All our cities share a global network of hundreds of mentors, who share their experiences, advice, and connections in 1-on-1 meetings with participants.
Every day, week after week, we push the participants forward, iterating business strategy, financial models, marketing and sales plans, funding options, and investor and sales pitches, plus we put a special focus on storytelling. The result is intense and creates lasting value for years after the companies return home.
We have been refining this service since 2012 and, to date, have helped hundreds of companies from dozens of countries. We’re eager for more. Our goal is to help foster a wave of companies that make a measurable impact in the world, collectively improving the lives of everyone on the planet.
We invest $15,000 (Peru), €15,000 (Europe), or $20,000 (U.S.) into each company we invite to participate, using revenue-based equity, which aligns our interests with the founders, avoids any pressure to “sell out”, and lets us invest in just about any market segment and most any country in the world. Plus, we make introductions to impact investors and make follow-on investments from our family of seed funds.
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...
SEATTLE, WA – August 19, 2012 Social Innovation Fast Pitch (“SIFP”) has partnered with Fledge, the “conscious company” incubator, to provide additional advice, mentorship, and support to the for-profit finalists of the SIFP 2012 program. Additionally, the SIFP 2012 Fund II investors have selected Fledge to manage the operations of this year’s $100,000 investment fund. Fledge will invite eight...
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...
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...
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...
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 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. Conscious of transportation, farmland, ingredients, and all things food-related. Conscious of supply chains, fairness, and social justice. Conscious that it takes an effort to build a...
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...
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...
“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...