Companies we have incubated
2 years ago, Virgance began a brand new type of experiment - to see if we could build mission driven companies in the same manner and style that was used to create Google, YouTube and other top Silicon Valley Companies. We raised a little over $1 Million to build our companies and test our theories. Below are the companies that we have incubated during this time.
1BOG (One Block Off the Grid)
Group Buying for Solar
One Block Off the Grid (1BOG) is the nation’s largest solar group discount company and consumer advocate, dedicated to making home installations easy and affordable. For every regional campaign, 1BOG conducts a rigorous and impartial selection process to identify an ideal installer partner, based on their pricing, track record of quality installations, reliable warranties, premium products and a viable business model. 1BOG organizes interested homeowners into a large solar buying group to negotiate lowest solar group discount rates from the installer partner so that community members can enjoy the best deal for solar power without having to become solar experts themselves.
1BOG was founded in 2008 in San Francisco, California, has campaigns running in nine cities throughout the U.S. For more information, visit www.1BOG.org.
Carrotmob
The Carrot Not the Stick
Carrotmob is a method of activism that leverages consumer power to make the most socially-responsible business practices also the most profitable choices. Businesses compete with one another to see who can do the most good, and then a big mob of consumers buys products in order to reward whichever business made the strongest commitment to improve the world. It's the opposite of a boycott. This movement is spreading around the world and growing larger day by day.
Carrotmob is now being lead by Brent Schulkin and is preparing for its next stage of growth. If you'd like to visit carrotmob click here.
GO Media
Helping You Make Good Choices
GO Media is a network of 15 environmental blogs that receives over 2 million pageviews each month. We have over 100 writers, including many high profile political and media figures such as Gavin Newsom, John Garamendi & CNN's Frank Sesno. GO Media has grown into a leader among "green" news and information sources aimed at general audiences. Written by experienced professionals and topic experts, our blogs offer authoritative content, compelling discussions, and actionable advice.
GreenOptions has now spun out of Virgance and is now being led by David Anderson. You can visit gomedia by clicking here.
Lend Me Some Sugar
Using the Social Web for Social Good
Lend Me Some Sugar was an experiments to see if we could create an online version of "American Idol" for sustainability, except instead of singers competing for million dollar prizes, it's social entrepreneurs and activists. The twist is that the money for the competitions comes from the marketing budgets of top brands. We convince brands to take money previously dedicated to advertising on websites and put it into a prize pool. We create millions of new funding dollars for projects that matter, and users get to decide what to fund with the companies' money.
Lend Me Some Sugar was in beta when we concluded Virgance Stage I and will be considered for Stage II.
SliverGiver
Just in time donations
Many people have not heard about SliverGiver because it is one of our projects that never made it out of our FailFast mode. i.e. it failed.
SliverGiver was a "bookmarklet"--a bookmark that lives on your browser toolbar--that allowed anyone to donate money to non-profits while they shopped online. SliverGiver made it easy for everyone to participate in making this world a better place. By simply clicking the SliverGiver "button" on your browser each time you shop online, a percentage of your purchase total will be redirected to a non-profit of your choice.
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