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Idea Blob: An Infectious Way to Fund Your Green Business

Written by: Paul Smith

Article Overview: If you’re like many ecopreneurists out there, you have a great idea or three cooking on the back burner right now, that could be a full fledged company, or perhaps a powerfully beneficial invention. And you think, with a little financial push and a lot of advice, it could really do something, becoming more then doodles on a napkin. Or perhaps you’re already up and running (like crazy) and some extra eyes, ears to help finesse what you’ve got going would be helpful. And $10,000 in extra money towards it would be a nice bonus. Where can you find this? One example out there right now is Idea Blob.

Idea Blob: An Infectious Way to Fund Your Green Business

If you’re like many ecopreneurists out there, you have a great idea or three cooking on the back burner right now, that could be a full fledged company, or perhaps a powerfully beneficial invention. And you think, with a little financial push and a lot of advice, it could really do something, becoming more then doodles on a napkin. Or perhaps you’re already up and running (like crazy) and some extra eyes, ears to help finesse what you’ve got going would be helpful. And $10,000 in extra money towards it would be a nice bonus.

Where can you find this? One example out there right now is Idea Blob. Idea Blob is the creation of Advanta, a bank that is exclusively focused on serving small businesses, and itself started with less then $100 seed money in 1951.

How does it work? Simple, really, the entry is right on the front page: Just give a brief synopsis of your idea. Then tell how you’d make use of the $10,000. And if you like, there’s a space for questions you need advice on. Then, just sit back, and the viewing public votes on your ideas. They may answer your questions. Or perhaps they’ll share overall feedback.

If you’re like Erin Ely, you also use a resource such as the new online green hub Green For Good to get the word out about your submission, and encourage voting for it on Idea Blob. This strategy has helped Ely, who has an idea for a permanent indoor farmers market in Eugene, Oregon, to become one of the February finalists, the results of which are coming soon, as of this writing.

Ideas are from all over the spectrum, but there are plenty of green ones to be seen on Idea Blob. In an example of compactly and compellingly expressing an idea, one is titled, “Economically Reduce the Environmental Impact of Apartment Buildings.” It says what they aim to do, and starts out with the additional incentive of that it will be done in a money conscious manner. Perfect.

So what do they aim to do? Let me let them tell you, “I would envision micro-turbine wind-generation, on-site organic waste handling, methane production from organic waste and on-site hydrogen production from excess wind-generation to name a few.” They back it up with well thought out expense breakdowns, showing a compelling, feasible offering.

So that’s Idea Blob. Now it's your turn: What other creative resources for funding and nurturing new ideas and businesses do you know of out there?

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Article Tags: apartment buildings, blob, bonus, conscious manner, ears, ely, environmental impact, eugene oregon, extra money, farmers market, front page, hub, invention, micro turbine, public votes, seed money, small businesses, spectrum, wind generation, writing ideas



Related Forum Posts
Re: Are you a Blue, Red, or Green? - Hum... a lot of reds responding... Business owners must be a very aggressive community. Now, I was surprised when I took the course personally to find out I was a Green, secondary Blue. Of course, not believing this, the first thing I did was turn to those around me to get their opinions on my colours (typical Green!). The only thing I can really say about STRUCTOGRAM is that it was fun to explore the depths of my social and physiological make-up... I did this a over a year ago now and still use it in my daily interactions (always be on your toes with Reds).
Elevator Pitch in 10 Words - "Winning Business Design For Aspiring Entrepreneurs Based On Their Idea"
Magnetic Ads - Biz Idea - Attn Young Entrepreneurs looking for a Business Idea. This came to me while sitting in Traffic for about 1 hour while looking and laughing at ridiculous bumper stickers. Note: this idea is rough but will help get the idea-momentum going. Idea: Sell advertising on the back of cars in the form of reusable magnetic signs (about the length of 2 or 3 bumper stickers) Most people shouldn't have reservations to participating if they get a cut of the monthly fee you charge the company advertising and it doesn't hurt their car. An example of a Magnetic Ad: Geico: I saved 15% on my Car Insurance. Call 1-800-U-SAVE-15 You don't have to pay the cost associated with creating the Magnetic Ad because you will advise the company that this belongs to them and you can get them in touch with someone who created reusable magnets. So your basically managing two sides: 1. Company's that want to advertise 2. People in your neighborhood (to start) who will put the ads on their car. Bigger cars can have more than one ad. Happy Money Making!
Re: 10 ideas to make you money in 2010 - I think Education would be hard to break into. Baby Boomers, Life Support and Trading Down, however, seem like good markets. As for Green technology goes, I don't think the business has to be entirely based on Green ideologies, but rather a business that embrace Green philosophies and use that as a marketing tool.
My entry - 1. The Best Business Books Ever: The 100 Most Influential Business Books You'll Never Have Time to Read - this is a fascinating book about the history of Business theory, and I'd recommend it to anybody. 2. The Big Book of Small Business: You Don't Have to Run Your Business by the Seat of Your Pants, by Tom Gegax. Ditto. 3. PADI: The Business of Diving Book Okay, so this book won't be of use to anyone who doesn't want to start a scuba store, but I did, and this book was of course invaluable to me in reaching that goal.


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