Tag Archives: Business
OG11 Exclusive Interview with Jonathan Mergele and Sean Daly, Founders of FIFTY by US
Posted on 13. Oct, 2011 by Sarah Hadburg.
FIFTY by US is a collaborative production team drawing upon varied backgrounds in film, advertising, curating, marketing, and event production. Founded in 2009 by Jonathan Mergele, Sean Daly, and Fairfax Dorn, FIFTY by US helps clients realized projects with an eco-driven perspective.
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A Whale of Design: WhalePower Bumps into Engineering Innovation
Posted on 24. Aug, 2011 by Michael Chapdelaine.
The groundbreaking work of WhalePower: bringing new, high efficiency, tubercled airfoil designs to the marketplace. Stephen Dewar, VP of Business Affairs and Director of R&D, elaborates on their inspiration, discoveries, and practical applications in this exclusive, in-depth interview.
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The Green Business Roadblock: What’s Standing in Your Way?
Posted on 11. Aug, 2011 by Doug Wein.
It’s hard to balance passion and profit. But it’s a fundamental necessity for those professionals who pursue opportunities in the rapidly evolving sustainability economy, either by choice or necessity. The stakes are high, and we know we need to make smart decisions and move quickly to get beyond business-as-usual.
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Top Ten Green News Stories of May 2011
Posted on 01. Jun, 2011 by Liz Holland.
OG|10: Green News Monthly Roundup featuring the top ten green news stories from May 2011 as followed and covered by Opportunity Green.
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Bridging the Gap Between Green and Mainstream. How Important is a Green Lifestyle to You?
Posted on 04. May, 2011 by Patrick Haase.
If you’re the average American, there’s a wide gap between your green intentions and the steps you take to make your lifestyle more sustainable. The new Mainstream Green study by Ogilvy Earth uncovers why sustainability initiatives and eco-marketing campaigns have failed to appeal to the 66% of Americans with good green intentions but little personal commitment to sustainability.
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Opportunity Green at Dwell on Design
Posted on 02. Jul, 2010 by BenjiRosen.
Dwell Magazine hosted its annual exposition, “Dwell on Design,” this past weekend at the LA Convention Center beginning on Friday, June 25th, and lasting through Sunday, June 27th. The coordinators at Dwell applied the same inventive approach they practice in their publication as they showcased one of the most dynamic and creative ideas in modern aesthetic and architecture. Although building and design were the centerpieces of this three-day event, Dwell-on-Design attendees (which included architects, professionals and environmental enthusiasts) were also exposed to countless innovative eco-products and a collection of captivating speakers.
Dwell focuses on modern architecture and design in their magazine, so it follows that development in building and design should be a focus of the exposition too. To the delight of the conference attendees, the Dwell team made sure to shy away from anything ordinary.
Opportunity Green Hosts Panel at Dwell on Design
The exhibition showcased furniture, building materials, outdoor accessories, and energy and resources that the general public has never seen before. And, in addition to “Asia Now” (which brought together the best contemporary design from Asia with an emphasis on saving energy) and “Modern Family Zone” (offering important lessons in improvement and sustainability for the whole family), “Dwell on Design” also had installations inside the convention center highlighting many unique home concepts.
The founder of ecofabulous and a good friend to Opportunity Green, Zem Joaquin, led the charge for innovative, energy-saving home ideas. Joaquin was the lead designer of the “Modern Living Showhouse,” assembled by Reclaimed Space in Austin, Texas, and built from 80-90% salvaged material. Merging style, function, and environmental ethos, the house was furnished by over twenty different eco-products. Ecofabulous advertised the showhouse project on their website, claiming the products utilized were “carefully selected for their superior sustainability standards and design aesthetic. From the lush living wall to the smart, energy-efficient kitchen and laundry appliances to the gorgeous vintage furniture from eBay.” To read Ecofabulous’s full narrative about the “Modern Living Showhouse,” view pictures, and learn about the show houses’ charity auctioning on eBay, visit here.
Actually, it seemed like Opportunity Green had members of our team all around the Convention Center on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We shared a corner space with Vapur, who designed and is selling a reusable water bottle that can be folded, rolled, flattened and frozen. While Vapur’s founder, Jason Carignan, were very busy selling out of Vapur’s innovative product, they also gave testimony on the OG Conference to all our booth visitors.
Carignan also hosted a panel on product design innovation with Nicole Landers, an OG board member and the founder of the sustainability firm, eConnect Group, and Peter Falt, the Director of Strategic Partnering for BMW Design Works. Our own dear Karen Solomon, co-founder and CEO of Opportunity Green and friend to all, was slated to anchor this panel but unfortunately lost her voice and could not participate. Landers came in as a last minute, and remarkable replacement. When thinking about his experience this weekend, Carignan admitted he “was really inspired by all of the great questions Peter Falt and [he] got from the attendees during our panel on an Insiders’ Look at a New Era of Design. Many of entrepreneurs and design professionals seeking ways to ensure their business are as sustainable as their products. I’m glad we were able to offer some practical guidance to realizing their vision.”
In fact, Nicole did a fantastic job stressing how important partnerships are in innovation and sustainability. Especially in design technology products, partnerships between the designers and their business-partners are what drive new ideas for better sustainability.
Events like Dwell on Design highlight the idea of collaboration and cooperation – ideas that Opportunity Green continues to champion. When we asked Nicole Landers what she came away with after hosting the panel, she discussed this theme of inter-connectedness, reiterating how in any smart technologies, along with having an innovative workable “public relations” are the stimulating feature. It is what steers the “three-way triangle” of people, profit, and planet onto a sustainable course.
As we come away from the conference of inspired designers and business professionals, it seems even more apparent that in order to create and maintain a market that supports both environmental incentive as well as bottom line, we have to come together. Opportunity Green 2010 has been built directly around the idea that only through partnerships and relationships can we truly make a difference. Please join us, September 22-24th at LA Center Studios for Opportunity Green: INTER 2010
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Back to the Grind: Growing a Start-up from a Daily Habit
Posted on 31. Dec, 2009 by opportunity.
Opportunity Green strives to recognize organizations and businesses that promote sustainability through marketing, product development, and social relationships. These businesses all have one central goal: to promote the Triple Bottom Line of People, Plant, and Profit. As the clean-tech industry and green business phenomenon continues to grow and expand, Opportunity Green has taken the time to recognize start-ups and small companies that make a an impact bigger than their immediate size. Out of this extensive search formed the OG25 list. Today, we are sitting down with one of our featured OG25 start-ups: BTTR Ventures.
BTTR Ventures turns spent coffee grounds into gourmet mushrooms for high-end restaurants and retail outlets. We took some time to catch up with co-founder Naikhil Arora following this year’s Opportunity Green conference, in which BTTR (pronounced “better”) was named to the inaugural OG25 list of the best green startups emerging today.
by David Pfister
OG: You and co-founder Alex Velez are fresh out of bachelor programs at Berkeley. Did you have any entrepreneurial experience leading up to BTTR Ventures?
NA: Prior to our current company, both Alex and I were passionate about building small organizations and turning ideas into reality. Alex founded a mentorship organization while at Cal, the Sage Mentorship Project, which now boasts 300 mentors. I spent my time in college building a fraternity, Alpha Epsilon Zeta, and served as its president. Also, I had previously spent six months in West Africa at the University of Ghana, Legon where I established a recycling system for the 30,000 person university campus.
OG: When did the idea for BTTR strike?
NA: It started as a project for a business ethics class during our last semester at Cal, taught by Professor Alan Ross. The class explored business situations that test one’s values, beliefs, and ethics. We also covered a lot of corporate social responsibility. Professor Ross was a big influence, showing us how business, profit, and community development can all happen at the same time. BTTR slowly blossomed into a business as we built relationships and conducted months of R&D. By the time graduation came around, we knew we had the opportunity of a lifetime ahead of us and decided to run with it.
OG: What did you take away from your experience at this year’s Opportunity Green conference?
NA: The OG conference was a great chance to talk to a lot of other social entrepreneurs and hear their experiences about growing a business. Adam Lowry from Method stands out. I liked hearing his experiences starting a company at a young age, and the roller coaster ride that it took him on. It definitely helped lend perspective to the journey we’ve undertaken.
OG: What is your most valuable habit or trait?
NA: I always think of the worst case scenario: Once I am comfortable with the worst case scenario, it gives me the drive to take risks and make drastic moves.
OG: What tips do you have for green entrepreneurs who are just getting started?
NA: There is no such thing as good luck. The harder you work, the more things will work out for you. While building a business, you will always hit road bumps, and it is how hard you work when things are at the lowest that determines your success. For us, there were months in the beginning when little was working out, costs were adding up and our cash was dwindling. It’s the work and effort you put in during those lows that eventually starts to pay off. When things are going well, some call it being lucky, but there is always a tremendous amount of work that goes into something before there is any success.
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Green Spaces NY – An Incubator for Social Entrepreneurs and Green Business Opens In Tribeca
Posted on 11. Dec, 2009 by Justine Suh.
Green Spaces New York, space for social entrepreneurs and green business ventures, officially opened their new location in downtown Manhattan last week. Green Spaces is an incubator model that encourages like-minded entrepreneurs to pool resources and ideas to ensure success of their sustainable business ideas.
Green Spaces offers various amenities for your start-up needs. A rental ranges in price from $550 a month for a full-time private space to $35 per day for drop-ins sharing an open work area. Services include a conference room, an intern program, newsletter advertising and recommendations for companies that provide bookkeeping, accounting, marketing, graphic design, and technology and sustainability consulting assistance.
The Clubhouse Membership for EcoPreneurs is also offered. This membership includes access to networking events, film screenings, gallery openings, supper clubs, pop-up retail shops, happy hours, educational workshops, and entry pass to the national Green Spaces community.
Green Spaces is located in the ultra-hip Tribeca area and its vast 5,300-square-foot loft is truly Green as its name implies. It is refurbished with entirely vintage and reused furniture. The office uses 100% wind power energy. Green Spaces has low-power utilization through a passive heating and cooling system, and is implementing a composting system and partnership with Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).
As a welcome offer for its new community into their Manhattan space, Green Spaces is offering a FREE One Day pass for individuals interested in a green working space.
To schedule a tour, utilize your FREE One Day Pass, or for more information on membership levels, contact Emma Grady at emma@greenspacesny.com.
Photos: courtesy of Green Spaces NY
