In the age of climate-change marches, conversations about inclusion and innovative civic activism, social impact is a growing section of the Atlanta tech ecosystem.
Look no further than Techstars Atlanta's newest project, the Social Impact Accelerator, for proof there's a movement brewing in the city.
Stuart Wood, founder of Last Bottle Clothing, has said he's felt that social impact startups have been overlooked.
"Through efforts of people like Barry Givens ... and Emory's social entrepreneurship program, all of those things show me there is a rising social entrepreneurship ecosystem that's bubbling a little bit below the surface," he said. "I'd heard it so much over the past 12 to 18 months---about social impact here in Atlanta."
Wood said one of the biggest challenges he's experienced as a social impact startup founder is funding. However, he's optimistic about the changing tide; Wood said customers are more likely to pay premiums for products with a social impact mission.
"I have no doubt in my mind it’s in the future," he said.
To give you a look into Atlanta's social impact scene, we've selected five startups with social impact missions that you should know about.
Last Bottle Clothing
Before the sweeping trend of phasing out plastic straws, Stuart Wood knew he needed to do something about the amount of trash and plastic in our oceans and other environments. While living in southeast Asia, Wood would often see litter and trash all over the ground, a sight that really bothered him. It planted the seed for his company, Last Bottle Clothing, a 100% sustainable clothing company made from recycled plastic bottles.
Unlike some sustainable clothing companies Wood makes sure the entire process of producing the clothes is environmentally friendly and there's absolutely no waste-product.
"We're insuring plastic never gets into the environment," he said.
Last Bottle Clothing was part of the Farm Startup Accelerator sponsored by Comcast NBCUniversal.
Purposity
Purposity is an Atlanta-based nonprofit startup that connects users to real life needs in their community and tracks their generosity.
Founder Blake Canterbury said he created Purposity after speaking with friends about their difficultly finding local needs to support. He said he wanted to reimagine philanthropy from the ground up to make it fun, engaging and impactful, with a brand people want to be associated with.
The startup, backed by former Home Depot CEO Frank Blake and Georgia Power, partners with local school systems and nonprofits in a community that have been vetted and are designed to move people from poverty to sustainability, Canterbury said.
“So the school social worker will walk into a house and they’ll see the kid sleeping on the floor and now they’ll pull out their phone and enter that need into our system in real time, immediately, on the spot,” he said.
Purposity is designed to provide for local needs, so a user can plug in their zip code and see what’s affecting their neighbors. The startup currently operates in Georgia cities, Denver and Nashville.
The average need costs about $40 on the site and once a need is met, it’s closed out, so a user knows their donation has made a difference. Users can also keep track of all they’ve donated through Purposity and the needs they’ve met on a profile.
mini city
In the past decade alone, the city of Atlanta has cut its homeless population in half and helped those in need get off the street. But the issue is far from solved.
mini city serves as a resource hub for assisting the homeless and tackles some of the biggest problems with homelessness---identification and employment. The social enterprise startup has streamlined the admin process for legal identification, vital records and employment forms, cutting the time from 90 days to two days.
In November, mini city was one of two winners of the Startup Runway pitch competition, where founder India Hayes was awarded $10,000.
EnrichHER
EnrichHER puts action behind the phrase "women supporting women." Through funding, conferences and a network of successful female founders, EnrichHER brings together a network of women to accelerate business growth and cultivate a growing, supportive ecosystem.
EnrichHER's mission is "to create opportunities for women-led businesses" by focusing "on social change, empowerment and creative uses of monetary value." The platform is able to help women raise funding rounds from $50,000 to $250,000. EnrichHER has assisted women in raising $10 million in the capital and connect with over 20,000 people through activations.
Founder and CEO Dr. Roshawnna Novellus has been honored amongst the Atlanta Business Chronicle's Women Who Means Business awards, the 40 Under 40 by Georgia Trend, as a Halcyon Fellow for Social Impact, the Top 25 Disruptors and Innovators in Tech and one of the 27 Black Founders and Investors to watch in 2019 by PitchBook.
iAccess
iAccess is a mobile application that helps users rate, review and read about accessibility of a venue, restaurant or other public space. Brandon Winfield came up with the idea for iAccess after being paralyzed from the chest down as a result of a motorcross injury.
Winfield said despite his efforts to stay active and travel, he noticed amenities at many venues and spaces—in bathrooms, at entrances and more—were inaccessible for those who aren’t able-bodied.
“I wondered why I’d have to show up to a place just to figure out the bathroom wasn’t accessible,” he said. “Whether it was a stall or just the door in general, I couldn’t get into it.”
iAccess is designed for people with disabilities and their friends and family in mind. Users are able to look up a venue, rate its accessibility and leave a review.
In August, iAccess had close to 1,000 users. Earlier this year, the startup won the Social & Culture award at the SXSW Accelerator Pitch competition.
