Mandy Arnold has heard about insurers asking urban businesses to board up windows in case of civil unrest over the 2020 election results. But as voting unfolded on Tuesday afternoon, Arnold had no plans to put up plywood at the restaurant she and her husband, Sean, own in downtown York, Pa., about two hours west […]
Joel Berg
How To Turn A Solar Panel Into A Status Symbol
Tariffs and tax credits dominate solar policy at the federal level. But all politics is local, and so are some of the policies that hamper solar installation. They include the rules laid down by homeowners’ associations and historic districts, whose gatekeepers often frown on the aesthetic impact of solar panels. That’s where Sistine Solar comes […]
Chasing The Sun
Douglas Hutchings and his colleagues at Picasolar had honed a chemical process to generate more power from solar panels, and, in the early 2010s, raised more than $4 million from the federal government and equity investors. But before manufacturers of solar panels would give it a try, they wanted proof the technology could scale up […]
These Financial First Responders May Need A Lifeline To Keep Serving Grassroots Founders
Eason Counseling Associates nearly tripled its staff in 2019 after founder VaShonda Eason began to pursue the school-based mental health business on a full-time basis. By March of 2020, the firm had a staff of 25 operating out of offices in Rogers and Fayetteville, said Haven Eason, VaShonda’s husband and COO. Before becoming an entrepreneur, […]
A Tucson Startup Tackles The Loneliness Epidemic
Cindy Jordan is neither a psychologist nor a techie, but she founded a company in 2017 that blends elements of both: Pyx Health. Based in Tucson, Arizona, the startup contracts with insurers to identify and alleviate loneliness among at-risk members through an app and a call center. “To me, this is just about the straight […]
How Charlotte’s Web Became An Early CBD Leader
After founding Charlotte’s Web in 2013, the Stanley brothers were focused on carving out a legal market for their flagship product, hemp extracts containing cannabidiol, or CBD. By 2016, they were focused on a good problem: They were growing so fast that they needed to raise capital to fund an expansion. In 2018, they issued […]
Entrepreneurship In Puerto Rico Gets A $100M Jumpstart From A Billionaire
Mark Wieder quickly fell in love with Puerto Rico. But when he wanted to move there, he had to convince his girlfriend and business partner, Sophie Roman. Even though her parents were born on the island, Puerto Rico was not on Roman’s list of places to live and work. “The way that I saw it […]
Shortages Of Protective Gear Highlight Cracks In US Manufacturing Base: ‘It’s Like Dunkirk’
Spring is normally a slow season for Coleman Knitting Mills, which makes cheerleader uniforms, letter jackets and letter sweaters for school markets. So it had idle capacity, idle hands and a stockpile of raw material when Abe Dalebout took a call in early March from his sister-in-law, a nursing home director in Washington state. “It […]
A Pair Of Social Entrepreneurs Start To Win In The Daycare Disruption Space
Wes Selke was keen to invest in childcare startup MyVillage based on his experience backing an earlier venture from one of the company’s co-founders, Erica Mackey. But it was a visit to the home of a MyVillage provider in Aurora, Colorado, that sealed the deal. The provider had room to care for 12 children but […]
Raising An Inclusive Fund Was The Hardest Thing This Portland Entrepreneur Ever Did
Nitin Rao thought it would take about a year more to raise $13 million for two funds, which formed in 2016. It ended up taking more than two years and the funds closed on their goals only after a successful exit returned 75% of the capital that had already been poured in.