Global climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather. “A recent study says we can expect the oceans to rise between 2.5 and 6.5 feet (0.8 and 2 mt) by 2100, enough to swamp many of the cities along the U.S. East Coast. More dire estimates, including a complete meltdown of the Greenland ice sheet, push sea level rise to 23 feet (7 mt), enough to submerge London.” Flooding Rebranded will attempt to mitigate the impact of flooding on coastal regions within the United States. The objective being to foster a sustainable model for prevention & recovery. Our solution: REVERB, the integration of ‘eco-barriers’ into human settlements via a supporting framework. REVERB centers on two primary stakeholders: victims (or affected peoples) and natural ecosystems. Municipalities & federal government entities are considered as tertiary stakeholders in the implementation process. REVERB creates a framework for the implementation of natural/living systems to enhance (& protect) human settlement…
Petel Design is owned by Julie and Ibrahima Wagne, and has a great story, beautiful products, and an inspiring vision. In the Fulani language of Mauritania, “petel” means “little spark,” and through the sale of beautiful objects and handmade textiles, Petel supports education in Mauritania. Our team’s goal in working with Petel focused on devising strategies that would help grow sales and profits in order to increase the amount of money Petel is able to send to Mauritania to pay for children’s education. By doubling revenue in the next year, Petel could also double the amount they send to Mauritania, and if they could reach $500,000 in revenue in three years, they could not only better fund children’s education, but also have Julie transition to working on Petel full-time and build and run a school in Mauritania. Petel’s growth will help them realize their vision, mission, and have the impact they want to have in Mauritania. Through our collaboration with Petel, our analysis of their business, and the custom…
The Free Riders REALM Annual Electric Bike-a-thon is a fundraiser in which 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students ride electricity-generating bikes and are sponsored for the total number of miles they ride over the course of one school quarter, with one grade riding per quarter. This program solves three sustainability problems facing this Berkeley public charter middle school: -High energy costs, averaging $10k per month -Lack of space for physical activity on campus -Low availability of financial resources We believe that this program has the potential to reduce REALM’s energy costs by as much as 80%, to conveniently provide a much needed means of physical activity for the students and faculty, and to create an additional revenue stream for the school that can be used to increase the overall quality of their academic experience.
Consulting for Litterati, an early stage startup geared towards combining technology and social awareness in an effort to crowdsource-clean the planet. Litterati is currently running entirely by the founder Jeff Kirschner with the help from of part time volunteers, with no official organizational structure. Volunteers are contributing to Litterati due to personal connections with the founder or with the mission alignment interest of cleaning the world. Beginning 2016 the founder defined the value proposition of Litterati as a “Litter Profile and Landfill”. He saw the data collected by Litterati hashtag users as the main asset of the company, with great opportunities to generate revenue and impact. Project scope is focused on business model innovation, product/market fit, revenue forecasting, and strategic practices to create, deliver, and capture ongoing value for the client.
BriteHub is a supply-chain management software company based in Oakland, California that aims to produce low barrier-to-entry solutions for domestic manufacturers. They are a small but promising startup with 4 full-time employees, led by the vision of CEO Dorian Ferlauto, a trained engineer whose goal is to expand and transform the company into a profitable multi-million dollar operation by 2019. BriteHub offers cloud-based software with a marketplace that helps pair vendors with manufacturers, customer relationship management, and project lifecycle management. Users are able to oversee their manufacturing projects and orders, from start to finish, from Request for Quote (RFQ) to Purchase Orders (PO) to final product delivery. Both manufacturers and product sellers are able to use the software to manage their day to day business. The purpose of our 5-month long project with BriteHub has been to provide them with consulting advice in order to further develop, innovate, and clarify their business model. Our t…
We believe in a world without food waste. Food waste presents a massive social and environmental threat and an equally large economic opportunity. Every year, 10 Million tons of food and $15 Billion are wasted on the farm in the U.S. Not only this, but food waste is the single largest contributor to Greehouse Gas emissions and 1 in 7 people in the U.S. are food insecure. Wunderfood’s mission is to significantly reduce food waste by creating more farmer to buyer connections. Through a simple, intuitive and delightful digital interface, Farmers can sell all their food by instantly connecting with a large network of buyers. Buyers gain access to a new reliable channel for purchasing different grades of food, enabling them to save money on lower cost imperfect and surplus foods. This gives Food Buyers a competitive adcantages by providing more potential supply and lower purchasing costs. Currently in the U.S., channels for imperfect and surplus foods are almost non-existent. Wunderfood focuses on 3 types of…
Caring for the elderly has been an issue for many cultures over the course of history. Some see it as a form of filial piety, others a burden. Whatever the case, it is apparent that many families do not plan well enough for entry into old-age, and the responsibilities trickle down through the family, often falling on the shoulders of one or two members of the family, and under-utilizing their greatest asset: each other. Oya is an online care planning service that helps families plan and navigate their elder’s care journey. We aim to make caring for elders simple, efficient, and stress free. Our online platform and dedicated elder care planners are available to families 24/7 so you can track and manage your elders’ health, finances, insurance policies, and legal documents.
Context: In our increasingly mobile and technology-dependent society, Millennials are facing a major hurdle as they exit the “instant community” of school settings and embark on their journey as working adults. Despite increasing ability to follow their friends’ updates online, Millennials experience difficulty maintaining meaningful communities through shared offline experiences. Concept: BeRT scans your social media landscape to reveal Who is available near you and What they’re up to in real life, so that you can have more spontaneous fun with your favorite people. Market: post-academic Millennials (21-36yo) Tag Line: BeRT: Get Off Your A** & Be Right There Analogy: Waze For Humans + Tinder for Social Activity The Problem: Technology makes it easy to stay online with your friends but hard to get offline. Coordinating spontaneous activities is too complex and time-consuming. Our Perspective: BeRT helps users celebrate serendipity by coordinating spontaneous offline activities with friends, to activ…
Stella is a two-sided marketplace: people looking for recommendations and influencers looking to be paid for their passions. When a user has an advice request, say a recommendation for a first date spot, the user can initiate a message through the app, text, or email that broadcasts the question to the influencer network. Stella’s API matches the seeker’s request with influencers who are most suited to respond. Then the influencers with validated, domain expertise can respond in real-time for a suggested tip. Opportunity People do not have a way to monetize their domain expertise. There are no great social question and answer solutions leveraging network effects Seekers don’t have an easy way to find trustworthy information on-the-fly. The gig economy has significantly shifted job markets. As the market continues to shift Stella is at the forefront where independent work thrives. Share your car → Lyft Share your time → TaskRabbit Share your knowledge → Stella
The traditional music industry is undergoing an upheaval. Over the last decade, a vast number of technologies, tools, and services have been made available to musicians to help them do the jobs that record labels used to do for only a small fraction of artists. Today, more than 4 million independent musicians have the tools to record, produce, promote, and distribute their own music. This group is spending $4.5 billion on music production each year, but most of the time they end up paying too much for expensive studio infrastructure, waste time with an ill-suited producer, spend countless hours learning how to mix and master themselves, or forego music production entirely. Further complicating matters, the non-creative jobs on musicians’ plates take away from the time they want to dedicate to creating, performing, and collaborating. Fulfilling the creative dream is possible, but the process is disorganized and full of distractions. At the same time, the technologies and tools that enable musicians have also…