Featured Upstart
Tom Szaky | TerraCycle
TerraCycle’s first product was an organic plant fertilizer made from worm castings (aka poop) that was so wildly popular that it quickly landed in major retail outlets. It was also the first consumer product to be made entirely from garbage. Now, CEO Tom Szaky has taken that concept to a new level. He’s collecting “post consumer waste,” like Capri Sun pouches, by partnering with major consumer goods manufacturers that sponsor collection brigades. What would have been garbage is then turned into cool products like book bags and shower curtains. Major retailers like Wal-Mart and Home Depot are now selling TerraCycle’s products. You can read about more about Szaky and TerraCycle in a story I did in the April issue of Reader’s Digest.
Jake Kloberdanz, along with seven other former employees of Gallo, turned what started as a personal mission to help out a friend with her fight against cancer into a thriving business. ONEHOPE donates 50% of profits to partner charities through the creation of cause specific varietals of wine.
Anderson Schoenrock and Michael Mothner
Anderson Schoenrock and Mike Mothner, friends at Dartmouth College, came up with the idea for ScanDigital, a photo scanning company, when Mothner gave his mom a digital camera for Christmas back in 2006. “So how do I put all the photos in the garage on my computer?” his mom asked. The question was an “aha” moment for Schoenrock and Mothner.
In Good Company is a Manhattan-based shared workspace for women entrepreneurs. Co-founders Adelaide Lancaster and Amy Abrams started IGC to help women business-owners network, collaborate, and create a sense of community while giving them access to a professional work environment. I’ve been there and it’s gorgeous!
Siamak Taghaddos and David Hauser
Grasshopper, the company formerly known as GotVMail, sells advanced phone numbers/virtual phone systems to entrepreneurial companies that want a professional sounding telephone system without spending a gazillion dollars.