Civic News

GoodCompany Ventures launches with ten, asks DreamIt to play kickball

Edit: Removed information from an old press release. GoodCompany Ventures, the Center City-based incubator focusing on companies that are not only profitable but also fulfill societal needs, kicked off its 2010 Social Impact Incubator class this week. According to a press release, Mayor Nutter was on hand to begin the summer for ten new companies. GoodCompany operates […]


Edit: Removed information from an old press release.
GoodCompany Ventures, the Center City-based incubator focusing on companies that are not only profitable but also fulfill societal needs, kicked off its 2010 Social Impact Incubator class this week. According to a press release, Mayor Nutter was on hand to begin the summer for ten new companies.
GoodCompany operates much like University City-based DreamIT Ventures (which it challenged to a kickball game): after a summer of incubation, the companies are presented at a “funding day.”
The incubator, co-founded by Garret Melby, Jacob Gray and Christopher Bentley, adds an an ever-growing group socially-conscience entrepreneurial organizations in the region which already include Bcorp, Murex Investments and Missioneurs.
Follow us after the jump to see the complete list of companies:

Wish Upon A Hero is the world’s largest social helping website. It is designed to allow everyone the unique opportunity to post a wish as well as the extraordinary ability for anyone to be a hero by granting a wish. Members consist of individuals and businesses who are passionate about helping. Since its launch in late 2007, heroes have granted more than 54,000 wishes. Wishes range from baby bottles to refrigerators, from prosthetic eyes to kidney donations. No wish is too big; no hero is too small.
33needs is a web application that connects entrepreneurs solving our world’s biggest needs to micro-investors. We connect social ventures with the vast pool of seed capital in the hands of your friends, your family, and the growing number of people who believe a for-profit model allows for a deeper, more sustained impact than a traditional non-profit. We’re flipping the standard funding model on its head. It’s people-powered investing for a stronger planet.
The Urban Collective project is a youth music social enterprise that empowers young people aspiring to a career in the music industry to write, record and promote original music for independent release under expert professional mentoring.  In addition, Urban Collective builds a recording studio in each partner community center to facilitate ongoing recordings and audio production training.  Since its launch in London in 2004, more than 500 young artists across the UK have collaborated to produce several released albums, an award winning feature film, documentaries, music videos and dozens of live shows and music industry showcases. Urban Collective is now looking to launch an American Urban Collective in 2010 / 2011.
One Degree Solar is a supplier of solar energy and lighting products created specifically for resource-poor areas and developing countries. Responding to the widespread need for reliable, affordable and practical products, we have created easy-to-use, low-maintenance solutions for individuals, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations in developing countries and disaster relief zones. Founded by individuals with years of international development experience, One Degree Solar seeks to partner with governments and aid institutions, primarily to expand access to basic health and education services, thus improving quality of life in developing countries.
PlaySay empowers busy people to learn their dream language on the go. Anytime. Anywhere. On any mobile device. PlaySay turns cell phones into foreign language teachers. PlaySay has over 4,000 users, has sold over 3,000 products, and maintains 70% profit margins. The company previously raised seed funding from the Director of PayPal Japan, and is now scaling into new languages each month. PlaySay advances cultural awareness and international fellowship through language by being in every foreign language learning student’s pocket. The company is actively enhancing its innovative adaptive learning technologies for cell phones.
Tots Tit 4 Tat is an online community that offers an efficient and affordable method to keep children clothed during the time of their lives that they grow the fastest. Through our website, our members have access to a database of high quality, children’s clothing items. In exchange for contributing their children’s outgrown clothing, members receive points that they can redeem online for new, like-new or gently-used items that fit their children. We work with local and national partners to make the drop-off and pick-up of clothing as convenient as possible. Tots Tit 4 Tat provides a sustainable method for parents to extend the value of their children’s clothing.
GreenKonnect is a community-powered search engine for the green building industry, connecting green builders with building products and materials. GreenKonnect allows industry professionals to save time and conserve resources by streamlining their building product research and acquisition processes.
Zecozi is a social marketplace and meeting place committed to cultivating a vibrant community of conscious consumers.  Their mission is to build an online platform which engages the global community around the ideal that they have the power to define the future of sustainability. By fusing an extensive open marketplace with the latest social media technology, Zecozi is creating a new and exciting shopping experience where consumers come together to choose the products, companies and business practices that define what sustainability means today. Founded by a dedicated team of successful entrepreneurs, the Zecozi passion and platform were born out of the need for greater transparency and the recognition that sustainability is a moving target. Through connecting millions of like-minded consumers with solutions to navigate this increasingly complex yet rapidly growing market, Zecozi is launching a new generation of e-commerce. In this, Zecozi is …. Your friends, your world and your marketplace.
ScienceForCitizens is a new website whose mission is to further the general public’s interest in and understanding of science by enabling lay people to participate in both science-related recreational activities and formal research projects. Part match-maker, part portal, part social network, ScienceForCitizens will encourage non-experts to find out about, discuss, and contribute to science by actually doing it. It will bring together the millions of amateur scientists in the world; the thousands of potential projects offered by researchers, organizations, and companies; and the resources, products, and services that enable people to pursue these activities.
SHIFT_DESIGN is a Philadelphia-based company committed to the design and deployment of environmentally attuned product systems for residential and commercial spaces.  Founded by architects, SHIFT_DESIGN is focused on providing both off-the-shelf and custom architectural products that address a commitment to modern design and quality of space.  The company is currently engaged in the development of rainwater harvesting systems that provide functional convenience through sculptural form.

Companies: B Lab / GoodCompany Ventures / Murex Investments / PlaySay / Zecozi

Before you go...

Please consider supporting Technical.ly to keep our independent journalism strong. Unlike most business-focused media outlets, we don’t have a paywall. Instead, we count on your personal and organizational support.

Our services Preferred partners The journalism fund
Engagement

Join our growing Slack community

Join 5,000 tech professionals and entrepreneurs in our community Slack today!

Trending

Philly’s tech workers seek city life, no longer as spread out across suburbs

A new model for thinking about how to grow regional economies: the Innovation Ecosystem Stack

20 tech community events in October you won’t want to miss

Penn dean is a startup founder and ‘engineer at heart’ who loves the connection between education and business

Technically Media