Jessie and Will Baxter were so moved by the plight of impoverished Mayan women in Guatemala in 2011 that they decided to devote their lives to helping them. Today, about 30 of the women help make $69 yoga bags -- bags for yoga mats and other property needed by people who practice yoga -- for the sister and brother’s business. San Francisco-based I AM Company’s goal is to provide high-wage jobs for more than 10,000 Mayan women in Guatemala who weave local products to support their families, but are very poor. The Baxters are so proud of their mission that they use it as a sales pitch online. The Yoga Journal said Will Baxter might be “the Jerry Lewis of yoga.” “The work we're doing now aims to create a way out of poverty for thousands of Maya weavers in Guatemala,” Jessie Baxter said. “The social goal is the business. We only use business as a vehicle to solve a social problem.” The Baxters’ ambition and perspective about business might sound unusual to many business executives, but they are part of a worldwide network that focuses on helping socially-conscious startup companies grow. The network, which is called The Hub, was founded in London in 2005 and now has more than 5,000 participants in more than 30 cities on five continents. The Hub’s participants include entrepreneurs who want to launch or expand their business, mentors who help entrepreneurs develop the skills they need to succeed, and venture capitalists who fund socially-conscious startups. Berkeley, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco Bay and Seattle are the American cities with The Hub programs. Boulder, Colo.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Washington, D.C., have been accepted, but haven’t organized yet. The programs are based on the principle that communities are better when businesses focus on the “triple bottom line” of people, planet and profit, Elizabeth Stewart, the CEO of the Los Angeles hub, told Forbes magazine. Cities with local hubs have incubators where entrepreneurs share office space and are helped by mentors, events and workshops as well as opportunities to communicate with “like-minded peers, partners and investors” from all over the world, according to The Hub’s website. I AM is one of 125 companies that has an office in Hub San Francisco’s 20,000-square-foot incubator. Jessie Baxter wrote in an e-mail that I AM’s launch would “never have happened without The Hub” because local entrepreneurs and The Hub’s global network helped I AM raise $49,000 and provided crucial startup tips and psychological support. “When you're starting out you can't underestimate the value of a strong support network,” she wrote. “Having people beside you who are going through the same highs and lows does make it easier, it makes you feel like you can do it.” Hub Ventures also has an office at the San Francisco hub. It was part of The Hub program and is now a separate entity, Hub Ventures program manager Andrea Bouch said. In its two years, Hub Ventures has accepted 23 startup companies into a 12-week program that includes $20,000 in seed funding, technical and business advice, and “access to an incredible network” of advisors, investors and mentors,” according to Bouch. “A big perk of being part of the program is introduction to additional investors so our hope is that more funding comes in from those relationships,” wrote Bouch. Eighteen of the 23 startups are still operating. They include Diime, Evotech, Project Repat and Samagra. Diime makes products that lower the mortality rate of newborns in the developing world. Evotech makes medical devices at “highly reduced prices” so hospitals in the developing world can afford them. Project Repat recycles used textiles into fashionable accessories. Samagra makes technology that converts human waste into clean energy for poor people in India. San Francisco’s hub program, which has 1,300 of the international network’s 5,000 participants, is much larger than other American hubs. It has 58 mentors. People who want their community to become part of The Hub network must apply to The Hub’s office in Vienna, Austria. Applications from a team of people who can show that they can organize their community’s entrepreneurs and social activists are more likely to be accepted, The Hub communications coordinator Gail Rego said in an e-mail. Governments are not involved.
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