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“Hub Ventures…feels like alchemy: they’ve got the right mix and proportions of elements in the curriculum and have built a great space and an astonishing and deep network of talent to connect participants.” – Dan Ancona, Democracy Dashboard

Hub Ventures funds and supports high caliber entrepreneurs building companies for an abundant, just, and sustainable economy. We focus on technology-powered and other scalable ventures working in a variety of geographies and impact themes including economic opportunity/job creation, health & safety, environmental sustainability, collaborative consumption, and civic engagement.

The majority of Hub Ventures startups have gone on to raise additional capital from angel investors, venture capital funds, and foundations after the program, while others have chosen to bootstrap. As of Fall 2012, 80% of the 23 companies that have participated in Hub Ventures over the past two years are still operating.

CURRENT VIEW ALL

ECONOMY

  • Providing information management for the coffee value chain.

  • Developing communication solutions for a connected Africa.

  • A stealth-mode startup building technology tools to scale sustainable agriculture.

  • Technology platform enabling founders to build companies collaboratively.

  • Credit card rewards platform promoting local economic development.

  • Crowdfunding and community engagement tools for makers of local and ethical products.

  • Mobile phone platform for workers to rate their employers and for brands to manage their supply chain workforce.

  • Crowdsourcing platform to purchase fairly-paid services from workers in the developing world.

  • Creating fair wage employment by upcycling excess textiles into fashionable accessories.

  • P2P software for companies reinforcing their training programs and building a culture of continuous learning.

EDUCATION

  • Online platform that connects teachers and students to their counterparts around the world to improve social and economic mobility.

ENERGY

  • “Business-in-a-box” solar system providing electricity at half the cost of current options in Africa.

  • Crowdfunding platform for off-grid solar projects in the developing world.

ENGAGEMENT

  • Socially curated political knowledge.

  • Making giving to non-profits easy, fun, and social.

  • A new way to fund advertising campaigns that matter.

ENVIRONMENT

  • Multi-modal trip planning app for urban transit that incorporates new vehicle sharing networks.

  • A nano-scale surface to enhance water condensation and collect water in the most arid regions of the world.

  • Technology to convert human waste into clean energy for the urban poor of India.

  • Enabling families and firms to trade the water or energy they save.

  • Portable water-based laboratories providing information on water quality.

HEALTH & SAFETY

  • Proactive, automated mobile personal safety system.

  • Improving infant and maternal health disparities in the developing world.

  • Telehealth company building a mobile electronic stethoscope that provides remote diagnosis.

  • Medical devices engineered at highly reduced prices to target the developing world.

  • Organic, sustainably raised meat through a fair, humane, and transparent system.

  • Mobile platform that improves water distribution for urban residents in India.

  • Allows teens to earn money and rewards based on their safe driving performance.

  • Helps doctors identify and understand the most effective clinical treatments based on the success of other doctors.

  • Movement-based incentive program powered by real-world activity.