Will “social capital” be the next big industry to emerge?
It’s new enough that there’s not even a commonly accepted term for it. Some call it “social capital” or “social entrepreneurism”, others “blended value”, and some choose the Starbucksian name “double-triple bottom line.” You might just call it making money from doing good.
Microcredit is the major innovation that popularized the idea of alternatives to traditional philanthropy. An economics professor named Mohammed Yunus famously pioneered giving very small loans to people in developing countries to build… Continue Reading
D.light Design sets out to replace the kerosene lamp, with eco-friendly lighting for India
A San Francisco-based company with plans to help the developing world snuff out its kerosene-burning lamps and replace them with cheap, solar-powered LEDs and compact fluorescents has finally unveiled its production models and announced the details of its for-profit business plan.
We’ve followed the progress of D.light Design from a Stanford design competition in late 2006 through its launch in the non-academic world, to the present moment. Started by two Stanford MBAs, D.light has been working… Continue Reading
Cheap lights and hot heat — two more cleantech innovators
Following in the theme of great-but-unusual cleantech startups I talked about last week, I recently took some time to talk to Bill Reichert of Garage Technology Ventures about a couple of his firm’s latest investments in the field.
Garage is the firm that Reichert heads up with Guy Kawasaki and Joyce Chung. An early-stage investor, the fund also had one of cleantech’s first IPO exits with its investment in Hoku Scientific, which makes materials and equipment… Continue Reading
Cleantech startups of note: D. Light Design, ReadySolar, Redwood Renewables
Three green technology companies emerged as among the more interesting companies at the Launch Silicon Valley pitch-fest yesterday.
Several hundred entrepreneurs and investors gathered in Mountain View, Calif. for the annual ritual, where 30 hand-picked companies gave a ten-minute pitch.
D. Light Design Wants to Eliminate Kerosene Usage
Sam Goldman and Ned Tozun, both second-year Stanford MBAs and co-founders of startup D. Light Design, want to eliminate the use of kerosene lanterns in developing countries with a… Continue Reading