Ten promising companies will be setting up shop at a “green business incubator” in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard this summer in hopes of attracting investors with the help of GoodCompany Ventures.
The incubator, which launched Monday at a “virtual ribbon-cutting” ceremony that included Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and former president of Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Chuck Lacy, will function like a workshop and provide participating companies access to infrastructure, advisors, and capital.
At the end of the summer, the program will culminate in a “funding day,” at which the ten companies will have a chance to makes theirs pitches to representatives from leading VC firms and angel investors.
GoodCompany, the VC group behind the program, aims to work with entrepreneurs and startup, for-profit companies committed both to sustainability and social impact. Hosting the incubator program at Navy Yard is part of GoodCompany’s goal of creating a community of social entrepreneurship.
“Considering the current economic climate, including the fall of iconic companies like GM, there is no question that it is time to start doing business differently,” says Jacob Gray, co-founder of GoodCompany. “Truly sustainable economic development creates both growth and addresses the environment, education, healthcare and other big unsolved issues of our time. Our immodest goal at GoodCompany Ventures is to launch Philadelphia into the lead as a center for sustainable business.”
The program’s ten businesses represent a wide range of industries and regions, including Philadelphia, Delaware, New York, Western India and Western Pennsylvania. The businesses range from BlackGold Biofuels (formerly Philadelphia Fry-O-Diesel), which has developed a way to change trapgrease into clean-burning biodiesel, to BLOX, a partnership between Onion Flats, and Landmark Building Systems Inc. to build modular, mixed-use, ultra-green buildings, to CalendarFly, a website that updates parents’ calendars with their children’s activities and school assignments.
Source: GoodCompany Ventures, City of Philadelphia
Writer: John Davidson
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