In those first years, they threaded key needles: raised capital from supportive investors; hired a nimble team; launched their first product–the Nest Learning Thermostat. From that first spark, Nest’s vision to build a more thoughtful home and to save energy took on a momentum of its own.
The Nest team was driven. They were also lucky. Lucky to have investors who were willing to give them capital and time to get it right. Lucky to build a team that had the experience and skills to do what had not been done before. And lucky to grow rapidly and successfully in a world that was ready for them.
We founded Incite.org because we understand the impact that an initial spark of money, support and talent can have for entrepreneurs. We believe more of that spark should be directed at teams who are solving hard problems with the goal of making positive social change. And we understand that whether they’re building a company, a non-profit or a social movement, entrepreneurs need momentum.
We understand that whether they’re building a company, a non-profit or a social movement, entrepreneurs need momentum.
Our investment fund, Incite Ventures, supports early-stage, mission-driven founders who have the potential to scale, inspire others and ultimately help make the word a better place. Incite Labs, our foundation, makes grants and program-related investments to social entrepreneurs undertaking new charitable, educational, and scientific endeavors. Incite Politics is our personal work dedicated to advancing progressive state and federal policy, as well as electing candidates who approach our nation’s most pressing issues with a fresh perspective.
We will be using this space to share exciting news from our portfolio companies, to comment on the current state of affairs and to reflect on what we’re learning along the way. Our hope is that our blog will be a resource to funders and founders alike as we all work towards inciting catalytic, positive change. And you can definitely expect a few cameos from our office dogs, because they definitely make the world a better place.
That’s the goal: making the world a better place. If you and your team are building something that does that, we want to hear from you.
Join us? We hope so.
Matt, Swati, Keely & Taylor
Incite.org
