nuance intelligence

An in-depth report on research into sustainable economic development just got posted at nuPOLIS.  The rigor and cutting edge research that is the hallmark of this network is evident on this seminal work.

Here’s the summary:

In a new report, Sustainable Economic Development, nuPOLIS partner James Nixon details the comprehensive approaches that that cities and regions are using to build sustainable green economies. The paper, developed for the newly launched nonprofit Urban Sustainability Associates consulting service, addresses what sustainable economic development is, why it matters, and how it is similar to and different from traditional economic development. It presents a set of sustainable economic development initiatives and programs for cities/regions, with descriptions of each initiative and program, along with possible delivery partners.

The heart of Nixon’s paper presents eight distinct Sustainable Economy Initiatives: Continue reading

Tonight, the Angel Capital Summit finished the first of three review cycles for the largest annual angel investing conference between New York and San Francisco.  We’ll save the deeper analysis for later, but here is some aggregate data on the ~70 companies that reached the semi-finals, from the 190+ which applied to one of 30 partner groups: Continue reading

We’ve been party to lots of discussion about “who owns what” in the social enterprise space, from metrics to concepts, and from online profiles to the intellectual property within the discussions.  And frankly, they have all been a little bit depressing.

Today, “The Ownership of Conversation” came across the tweetstream.  Enjoy these out-takes:

So, if you think you own an idea… get over yourself. Continue reading

With the advent of the new Denver section, word came around (big tip o’ the hat to @BrettGreene) that HuffPo needed bloggers on the local scene.  Now, a couple weeks later, I’m a published HuffPo blogger.  I’ll be focusing on what I focus on in general — sustainable enterprise, impact investing and transformative IT, with a deeper recognition of all that’s happening in the Front Range of Colorado.

First post is about the GSSE at CSU, an awesome program that I strongly endorse.  If you’d be so kind, please head over and write a quick comment, to raise the profile of the sustainable enterprise in Colorado on their radar.

Reminder: Join the meetup tonight.

Here’s a summary of what to expect, straight from the Meetup description: Continue reading

Our friends and collaborators Peter van Geldern and David Marks have re-launched their Shades of Green Network (SGN) this week.  SGN is a network of advisors and investors who are focusing on building green businesses in the New York metro area.  Their network has professionals of all disciplines (accountants, lawyers, grant writers, marketers and more), and engagement begins with a gap analysis that helps early-stage entrepreneurs figure out their next steps on the path to a sustainable enterprise.  Once a business is ready, SGN has an investor network with venture capitalists, angel investors and other forms of private equity. Continue reading

Friend, advisor, sustainable investing activist and “our hero,” Jed Emerson (who is more of a Charles Barkley “I am not a role model” kind of hero) just published a piece in Forbes that  points to some trends that would startle the traditional investing community.

The little secret of this past year’s capital crisis is that while many mainstream investments incurred significant losses in value, one category remained steady–with some investors significantly outperforming the mainstream market. It’s called impact investing.  Impact investing covers that category of investment, which is viewed as “sustainable,” generating financial returns by integrating consideration of social and environmental factors into the investment strategy.

Emerson raises some little-known facts, including:

• the impact investing sector is now a $2.71 trillion industry. (where do we go to get that money, again???)
• micro finance provide a 6% return to investors, while traditional instruments were DOWN 3-5 times that much.

Alongside other recent reports in mainstream financial media, Jed’s piece in Forbes makes us think people are paying more and more attention to this sector.

Colorado State University has an incredible program within the Business School — Global Social and Sustainable Enterprise — that “seeks to provide sustainable enterprise solutions to some of the most stubborn issues of our time including poverty, disease, malnutrition and environmental degradation… [equipping students] with the tools and network to become a global social entrepreneur, where the bottom lines are people, planet and profit.  This concentration is in the business of creating a better world, improving the lives of people, while building profitable ventures.”

One of many laudable aspects of the program is the 50/50 ratio of US and domestic students in each cohort.  As we learned recently at their annual kickoff celebration — hosted at sustainable business paragon New Belgium Brewery, this translates into teams with experience on multiple continents, often boasting 10 languages spoken on an individual project.

Six prospective companies presented their plans as the program’s second cohort.  We expect one or two of these to become strong companies after graduation, if not before.  Here are very brief summaries of the concepts: Continue reading