Quality Bicycle Products (
QBP) Founder Steve Flagg is emphasizing the "and" in the new "Purpose AND Profit" program, which will provide seed grants of up to $5,000 for student green-business ventures at the University of Minnesota.
QBP has made a two-year commitment to the Carlson School of Management's Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship, which has engaged in similar partnerships in the past.
Small seed grants matched with other investment capital might be used for development work or the design of a website or product, explains Holmes Center Director John Stavig. The center also provides legal and accounting advice, and mentoring by alumni, businesses and other volunteers.
"It's amazing what the students can do with a small amount of money," says Stavig.
Some past Holmes Center startups have gone on to become successful businesses, including
NewWater and
Bright New Ideas.
This round of QBP-backed ventures must combine environmental stewardship, community service or biking advocacy with sustainable business practices--corporate goals that are by no means at odds, Flagg explains.
"To have a vision and a purpose and values, you have to be around tomorrow to realize the benefits," says Flagg, whose LEED-certified headquarters in Bloomington sport one of the largest solar installations in Minnesota.
Sources: John Stavig, Gary S. Holmes Center for Entrepreneurship; Steve Flagg, Quality Bicycle Products
Writer: Jeremy Stratton