From Oregon BEST to VertueLab! Our beginnings harken back to 2007 when we were formed as Oregon BEST, a non-profit economic development engine funded by the State of Oregon to support cleantech startups. As a powerful force providing access to critical support and funding, our mission is similar but has evolved even further. Today we are thrilled to introduce our new brand, VertueLab. VertueLab is a bridge between cleantech innovators and those who fuel their work with funding and investment. For innovators - we deliver acceleration programs to help their companies grow and attract capital. For funders - we amplify their philanthropic and economic development goals. For impact investors - we are a conduit for direct investing for a combination of financial return and measurable impact. We are innovating alongside our portfolio companies by developing new impact investing models to fuel their growth and the tools to measure the environmental and social impact that their success brings. Our strategy includes expanding our geographic reach deeper into the Pacific Northwest region. We couldn’t be prouder to forge a new future ahead. Contact us at VertueLab.org
External link for VertueLab
412 SW 12th Ave.
Second Floor
Portland, Oregon 97205, US
Washington friends, please get out and vote #NoOn2117! #Washington #CCA #ClimateCommitmentAct #ClimateCrisis #Election
Washingtonians, please vote on your local ballot issues. And pls NO on 2117 #election #local #washington #climatecrisis #climatetech #climatetech #justtransition #climatejustice #climatecommitmentact
VertueLab reposted this
Washington friends: We need all hands on deck NO on 2117! #washington #election #climate
It is 21 days until election day, and voting has already begun here in Washington. We are on the front lines of one of the most important climate battles in the entire nation. We must win. No on I-2117. This campaign is truly extraordinary with over 500 organizations endorsing it and hundreds of volunteers knocking on doors, making phone calls, and doing all of the things big and small that make the difference in a close campaign. Huge thanks to everybody for all that you are doing. There are some great opportunities with the No on 2117 Campaign, details below. If you can volunteer, fantastic, thank you! Please re-post this note to help to spread the word. Let's go! Wellesley Daniels Paula F. Michael Mann Paulina López Beth Doglio Savitha Reddy Pathi Kimberly Larson Kelly Hall Stephanie Noren Leah Missik Altinay Karasapan David Benjamin Mendoza Reuven Carlyle Michael S. Stevens Lennon Bronsema Alyssa Macy Nancy Hirsh Rachel Smith Leonard Forsman Kamau Chege Ken Lans, MD, MBA Max Savishinsky, Ed.DAdam Maxwell Cinthia Illan-Vazquez Charles Knutson Guy Palumbo Matt LeDucq Adam Browning Ash Awad Megan Owen Dean Allen Donna Moodie Brad Smith Brandon Middaugh Rodney Hines Lauren Breynaert Mary Kipp Jake García Lilliane Ballesteros Kelly Evans
Amazing to see our Climate Impact Fund I portfolio company Canopii highlighted in this recent Statesman Journal article! By reimagining farming as a process requiring little to no human interaction, Canopii aims to reduce water consumption and increase crop output with their autonomous greenhouses 🌾🌱 Check out the article to learn more: https://lnkd.in/gY7wF-RR
VertueLab reposted this
Our series of reports dive into the challenges and opportunities in the region’s climate tech ecosystem, focusing on #justtransition and historically excluded founders. The reports also offer recommendations on positioning the region as a leader in an equitable Climate Tech Economy. Click on the link to download our first report in full: https://lnkd.in/guDTbHcB
New report alert! 🚨 We're so excited to share our latest report, "Catalyzing Change: Unlocking the Potential of the Pacific NW’s Climate Tech Ecosystem". 🌿 The result of months of research and in-depth interviews with key voices in the climate tech community, the study dives into the state of the region's climate tech ecosystem as well as its current successes, challenges, and opportunities while shining a light on the unique hurdles historically excluded climate tech founders face. The report also highlights emerging opportunities and strategic recommendations for the region to position itself as a global leader in supporting and investing in an equitable Climate Tech Economy. 🎯 → Follow the link to download the report in full: https://lnkd.in/g7AqA5Ax A special thank you to all of the participants and interviewees who contributed their time, knowledge, and expertise to this report.
Excited to continue the work! 💪
In a world where we are often told what we should do - but rarely told how, I am delighted to share that VertueLab will be continuing its work to encourage, educate and empower Oregon based women and underrepresented entrepreneurs, and undercapitalized small businesses be competitive in applying for, and winning SBIR and STTR federal funding under the FAST program. Big thanks to Business Oregon for its support of our application to the U.S. Small Business Administration and our wonderful village of universities, investors and entrepreneurial support organizations who recognize that great ideas can come from anywhere.
Great hanging with VertueNauts past and current during the Latino Founders Accelerator Showcase Open House at their beautiful new office 🚀🥳
VertueLab reposted this
Ultropia has been awarded a Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research Grant in the amount of $274,831 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to conduct research and development on ultrasonic washing and drying of textiles. Thank you to everyone who has supported us. VertueLab and Leon Wolf for helping us write the grant. CoMotion at University of Washington and the Washington Clean Energy Testbeds for space and commuity. Programs like VentureWell and NSF I-Corp for their frameworks for customer discovery. As well as people in the laundry industry like Gregory Gicewicz for insights into the value of our tech. Hardware is hard and slow. Cody Birkland and I have been heads down in R&D and may find that despite our bench tests being promising, the tech doesn't work at scale in the way that we would like. That's what makes entrepreneurship hard and why we're thankful that programs like the NSF SBIR exist. A bit on the journey...The NSF SBIR program was overwhelmed with applications when we applied so it took over a year for a decision on our application. We have done a lot of market research and customer discovery but R&D needs more money and is inherently slower. We wanted to de-risk our tech more and decided we would bootstrap between funding. Cody went full-time at the Applied Physics Lab. Now that we've gotten the grant, he is working all the time. On that note, we are looking to hire a Mechatronic Technician. This is an in-person, part-time role with an hourly pay of $27-$32 and a limited-term appointment of approximately one year. Duties include CNC, fabrication, building matching networks, reading and interpreting diagrams, and constructing wiring harnesses. Ultropia is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. If you require accommodations during the application or interview process, please let me know.
Glad to see the Science Guy on Washington's (and Earth's) side! 🌎💪 #NoOn2117 #WA #ClimateChange https://lnkd.in/g6seYMKj
"In addition to impacting jobs, the study highlights the potential fallout from cuts to infrastructure and environmental projects. If I-2117 is enacted, advocates say that it could disrupt billions of dollars of investments in essential projects. These include funding for road and bridge maintenance, wildfire prevention, salmon recovery, and efforts to modernize Washington’s energy grid." The passing of I-2117 will have a devastating impact on Washington's air, water, investments into the community, and more. The Climate Commitment Act is vital to decarbonization and community resillience efforts, and is something we can't afford to lose. #NoOn2117 #ClimateCommitmentAct #WA https://lnkd.in/gjCwk_JW
Our third report "Under Pressure: The Pacific Northwest's Climate Tech Ecosystem" is now live! 🌿 💫 In this white paper, we put the region under a microscope to examine the existing resources currently available to entrepreneurs, the overall trends in the climate tech/clean energy business support ecosystem, and the obstacles entrepreneurs face in growing their companies. 🔍 Our hope is that by leveraging these resources and collaborating with partners across sectors, entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest can overcome challenges and scale their impact to accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy in the region and beyond. 🌎⛰️ Read it here: https://lnkd.in/gXdDeAzW Missed our first two reports? You can find them here: https://lnkd.in/grG7998b