Social impact and environmental  sustainability are now having measurable effects on almost every industry worldwide, and as a consequence, represent some of the most exciting areas to build a startup today. But most of the early-stage impact entrepreneurs we speak to aren't yet aware of the wealth of resources that are available to help them.

With applications for the Impact and Sustainability Founder Institute now open, we're excited to release the Impact and Sustainability Startup Resource Guide, which is currently in Draft v1 below! It was developed by the Impact and Sustainability Founder Institute and local leaders: 

This is just a draft, and while we spent many hours on this research, more input is needed. Please leave your comments on this collaborative Google document to help us complete the list. There are definitely omissions on this current version. 

Are you looking to build a startup in Impact and Sustainability? Then apply to the Impact and Sustainability Founder Institute today!

Startup Stages

There is no one right way to build a technology company, but for the sake of simplicity we have outlined a basic, common, sequential framework.

1. Idea Stage

This is where new entrepreneurs get inspired, learn best practices, develop skills, validate ideas, and begin to build their team and product.

A. Inspire

• Impact and Sustainability Startup Media: Centralized local information, listings, and news. (i.e. startup blogs/ publications/ lists/ FB groups/ newsletters)
  
  
  1. OnImpact
  2. Sifted - Sustainability
  3. Startup Digest Impact Entrepreneurship
  4. Startup Savant - Sustainability
  5. Sustainability Times
  6. TechCrunch - Sustainability
  7. The Impact Newsletter
  8. UK Tech News - Sustainability

• Inspirational Impact and Sustainability Startup Events: Open, inclusive startup events that often focus on ideation. (i.e. Startup Weekend, idea fairs, and inspirational meetups)
  
  
  1. Blackbird Impact Summit: Sustainability
  2. Change4Impact Conference
  3. Climate Startup Week
  4. COLLISION
  5. ECOSUMMIT
  6. Green Future Conference
  7. Green Impact Week
  8. IMPACT FESTIVAL
  9. Impact Summit Online
  10. Impact Week
  11. NOAH Zurich Conference
  12. Oslo Innovation Week
  13. Scaleup Impact Summit
  14. SDG Tech Awards
  15. Startup Weekend Sustainability
  16. The Tech for Good Awards
  17. Web Summit

B. Educate

• Best Practices: Beginner knowledge-sharing tech events. (i.e. beginner events that serve to educate more than inspire).
  
  
  1. 1 Million Cups
  2. Fintech for Good
  3. Impact Tech Meetup
  4. IxSA
  5. Network for Business Sustainability
  6. SEED
  7. Social Impact Collective
  8. Startup Founder 101
  9. Startup Grind
  10. Sustainable Asia
  11. The Sustainable Innovator Berlin

• Training & Feedback: Skill & Idea development events and startup bootcamps for entrepeneurs. (Includes comprehensive training programs, like Founder Institute, General Assembly, Lean Startup Machine, code camps, etc)
  
  
  1. Berlin Social Impact Innovation Meetup
  2. Blockchain for Social Impact New York
  3. Blockchain for Social Impact San Francisco
  4. Data for Social Good Melbourne
  5. Data Science for Sustainability
  6. Days of Impact
  7. Design Thinking for Social Impact
  8. ESMT Berlin Sustainability Bootcamp
  9. Founder Institute
  10. Golden
  11. Green Solutions Bootcamp
  12. ImpacTech
  13. NYU Law Social Enterprise & Startup Law Group
  14. Radical Partners Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp
  15. SDG Academy
  16. Stardust Startups
  17. StartupGym
  18. Sustainability Discourse Berlin
  19. Sustainary
  20. Technology for Sustainability
  21. The Social Impact Startup
  22. Think.dk Meetup
  23. WemanConnect

C. Validate

• Team Formation: Events for Finding Co-founders in Impact and Sustainability.  (i.e. tech networking events or other resources that facilitate early-stage recruitment and cofounder matching)
  
  
  1. Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs
  2. Berlin Sustainable Startups
  3. CoFoundersLab
  4. Endeavor
  5. GreenUps
  6. Impact Makers
  7. Planet A Ventures Network
  8. Social Impact Entrepreneurs
  9. Sustainability and Social Impact Community Group
  10. Sustainability Hub Berlin
  11. Sustainable Business Network
  12. Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia
  13. The London Sustainability Community
  14. The SDG Network
  15. Young Professionals for Sustainability

• Build First Product: Hackathons & product events in Impact and Sustainability.
  
  
  1. Accenture Sustainability Hackathon
  2. Change4Impact Hackathon
  3. circle17 Impacthon
  4. Code4Green
  5. Earth Hacks
  6. Hack for Earth
  7. Hack the Normal
  8. Impacto Chile Hackathon
  9. MakerBay Foundation
  10. Sustainability Hackathon

2. Launch Stage

In this stage, entrepreneurs establish and formalize the company, develop the product, get feedback from customers, and prepare for the next step.

A. Start

• Establish: Impact and Sustainability law firms & banks for startups
  
  
  1. Alston & Bird
  2. Aspiration
  3. Barclays
  4. Bennett Jones
  5. Cooley
  6. ecolytiq
  7. esela
  8. Danske Bank
  9. Deutsche Bank
  10. First Republic Bank
  11. Foley & Lardner LLP
  12. Hanson Bridgett
  13. Hogan Lovells
  14. Holland & Knight
  15. Ignition Law
  16. Kirkland & Ellis
  17. Latham & Watkins LLP
  18. Law Firm Sustainability Network
  19. Lawyers for a Sustainable Economy
  20. Mayer Brown
  21. McCarter & English
  22. McDermott Will & Emery
  23. Mercury
  24. Miller Thompson
  25. Mintz
  26. Morgan Lewis
  27. Morrison & Foerster
  28. Nixon Peabody
  29. Norton Rose Fulbright
  30. Ogier
  31. Orrick
  32. Osler
  33. Paul Hastings LLC
  34. PNC Bank
  35. Rabobank
  36. Silicon Valley Bank
  37. Skadden
  38. Triodos Bank
  39. Wells Fargo Bank
  40. White & Case
  41. Wilson Sonsini

• Impact and Sustainability Workspaces: Co-working and flexible workspaces for startups in Location Forthcoming.
  
  
  1. Banyan Workspace
  2. Centre for Social Innovation
  3. Climate Ventures Coworking
  4. CoCoon
  5. DISIE
  6. ECO SYSTM
  7. EINS
  8. Fishburners
  9. Fora
  10. Green Spaces
  11. Impact Hub
  12. InEDI Coworking
  13. OneCoWork
  14. Rockit
  15. Second Home
  16. Sustainable Valley
  17. Sustainable Ventures Workspaces
  18. The Alliance Center
  19. The Greenhouse London
  20. The Mills Fabrica
  21. Think.dk
  22. Tropical Nomad Coworking Space
  23. Tuesday Coworking
  24. WeWork
  25. Work.Life

B. Develop

• Formalize: Impact and Sustainability accounting, development and HR tools for early-stage startups.
  
  
  1. Accounting for Sustainability
  2. Acre
  3. Climate17
  4. CSRJobs
  5. For Purpose Jobs
  6. GearedApp
  7. Greenjobs
  8. Guaraná
  9. Hanson Search
  10. Impactfellows
  11. InApp
  12. Mightybytes
  13. SDG.careers
  14. Soluntech
  15. Sustainability Works
  16. Talent Nation
  17. The Sustainable Recruiter
  18. Wholegrain Digital

• Impact and Sustainability Incubators: Groups that prepare companies for seed investment and provide advanced mentorship. (i.e. advanced knowledge sharing, later stage events and resources)
  
  
  1. 12Tree-impact
  2. B4i Bocconi for innovation
  3. Barclays Social Innovation Facility
  4. Bethesda Green Innovation Lab Incubator
  5. CoCoon
  6. Echoing Green
  7. Exponential Impact
  8. Fvtura Incubator
  9. GCPIT Incubator
  10. GrowUp Incubator
  11. Hall Labs
  12. HIGGS Green & Social Entrepreneurship Incubator
  13. Illinois Impact Incubator
  14. IMPACT 307
  15. Impact Nation
  16. INCO Incubators
  17. i2 SustainIT
  18. Lighthouse MASSIV
  19. NAI Impact Incubator
  20. Omdena
  21. Pacific Greenpreneurs Incubator
  22. Project Amplify
  23. Shell StartUp Engine
  24. Squared Circles
  25. StartupX
  26. Sustainability Incubator
  27. The Mills Fabrica Incubator
  28. Ubiquity Sustainability Incubator

C. Launch

• Impact and Sustainability Seed Accelerators: Seed funding mentor programs (Techstars-style programs that provide funding)
  
  
  1. +Impact Accelerator
  2. 100+ Accelerator
  3. Accelerating Asia
  4. Amazon Launchpad Sustainability Accelerator
  5. Apple Impact Accelerator
  6. Bethesda Green Accelerator
  7. BGV The Tech For Good Programme
  8. Black Sea ClimAccelerator 2022
  9. Blue Startups
  10. BonBillo
  11. Climate Ventures Accelerator
  12. Climate Ventures Earth Tech
  13. Commons Accel
  14. Decelera Ventures
  15. Fledge
  16. FoodFutureCo
  17. FoodLabs
  18. Fuse42 SDG Accelerator
  19. G-FORCE
  20. GCPIT Accelerator
  21. GK Plug and Play
  22. IBM Sustainability Accelerator
  23. IMPACT Accelerator
  24. Impact City Accelerator
  25. Impact Kommons Accelerator
  26. Impact StartUp
  27. ImpacTech Accelerator
  28. Katapult Ocean Accelerator
  29. MAZE
  30. Me.reka Accelerator
  31. Motherland
  32. Norrsken Impact Accelerator
  33. Positive Earth
  34. Quest Ventures Sustainable Impact Accelerator
  35. Rocket Seeder
  36. Rockit Impact Accelerator
  37. SDG Impact Accelerator
  38. Seafood for Good Accelerator
  39. SEED Accelerator
  40. Ship2B Foundation
  41. Startup Wise Guys Sustainability Accelerator
  42. Startupbootcamp Bold Action
  43. Startupbootcamp Sustainability Accelerator
  44. Sustainable Ventures Accelerator
  45. tech2impact Accelerator
  46. The Impact Accelerator
  47. VertueLab
  48. Wilstar Impact Startup Partnership
  49. WorldStartup

• Pitch & Demo Events: Tech events that showcase Impact and Sustainability startups for investment.
  
  
  1. +Impact Accelerator Demo Day
  2. 100+ Accelerator Demo Day
  3. Cornell Impact Investing Competition
  4. FTxSDG Challenge
  5. Fvtura Demo Day
  6. Get in the Ring Impact Competition
  7. GI100 Pitch Competition
  8. GK Plug and Play Demo Day
  9. Impact Kommons Demo Day
  10. Impact Nation Demo Day
  11. Lighthouse MASSIV Demo Day
  12. OIW 100 Pitches
  13. PreCycle Innovation Challenge
  14. Startupbootcamp Sustainability Accelerator Demo Day
  15. Texas Sustainability Innovation Challenge
  16. VITO4STARTERS
  17. WE Rise x SheDisrupts Philippines
  18. Yale Sustainable Venture Prize

3. Growth Stage

Here, a startup proves their utility, receives recognition, and scales up. This usually requires funding, angels, VCs, and ways to connect them to startups.

A. Recognition

• Impact and Sustainability Investor Networking:  Events and groups that connect professional investors with founders.
  
  
  1. American Sustainable Business Network
  2. Angel Effect
  3. Angel Investment Network
  4. Angels of Impact
  5. Berlin Impact & Sustainable Investing
  6. Canada Forum for Impact Investment and Development
  7. Enterprise Angels
  8. Fi Impact Investing Forum
  9. Geneva Angel Investor Network
  10. Geneva Forum for Sustainable Investment
  11. Global Impact Investing Network
  12. Global Impact Investing Network Investor Forum
  13. Global Islamic Impact Investment Forum
  14. GoImpact
  15. Green Angel Syndicate
  16. Green Entrepreneurship Forum
  17. Hellenic Impact Investing Network
  18. Impact Days Vienna
  19. Impact Investing Conference
  20. Impact Investors & Entrepreneurs NYC
  21. Nordic Investor Lab
  22. Resonance Angel Investor Network
  23. Seattle Impact Investing Meetup
  24. Seed&Click
  25. SeedTribe
  26. Social Impact Investment & Sustainability Conference
  27. Social Impact Investment Network
  28. Sustainable Investment Forum
  29. Sustainable Network
  30. SWAN Impact Network
  31. tech2impact
  32. The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment
  33. The Impact Investment Forum
  34. Top Tier Impact
  35. Vectors Angel

• Major Media: Mainstream local business press that often showcase local startups.
  
  
  1. Business Green
  2. CNBC
  3. Eco-Business.com
  4. Financial Times
  5. Green Business Journal
  6. Harvard Business Review
  7. Impact Entrepreneur
  8. Inc.
  9. MDPI
  10. Reuters
  11. ScienceDaily
  12. Sustainability Magazine
  13. The Guardian
  14. Wall Street Journal
  15. WIRED

B. Funding

• Impact and Sustainability Angel Investors: Seed-stage investors and micro-vcs.
  
  
  1. Andreas Lehner
  2. Anna M.
  3. Antonis Schwarz
  4. Bill Gates
  5. Brian Andrés Helmick
  6. Christine Yu
  7. Helena Wasserman Eriksson
  8. James Lette
  9. Joachim Jake Layes
  10. Joe Platnick
  11. Karen Wendt
  12. Kasia Zalewska
  13. Kiel Berry
  14. Laina Raveendran Greene
  15. Luis Bonell
  16. Lydia Guett
  17. Olivia Sibony
  18. Peter Bachmann
  19. Peter Bruce-Clark
  20. Ramez Naam
  21. Rayyan Islam
  22. Shaun Arora
  23. Stanley Kwong
  24. Uma Sekar
  25. Zécca Lehn

• Impact and Sustainability Venture Capitalists: Series A and beyond
  
  
  1. Access Ventures
  2. ACCION
  3. ADB Ventures
  4. Alante Capital
  5. Alumni Ventures
  6. Ananda VC
  7. Bethnal Green Ventures
  8. Better Ventures
  9. Big Path Capital
  10. Blue Earth Capital
  11. Calvert Impact Capital
  12. Climate Ventures
  13. Decelera Ventures
  14. Dream Labs
  15. Elevate Capital
  16. Encourage Capital
  17. Eniac Ventures
  18. Founders Factory Sustainability Seed Program
  19. Fresh Ventures
  20. FullCycle
  21. Giant Leap
  22. Good and Well
  23. HEED Capital
  24. Human Ventures
  25. IMPACT ENGINE
  26. Katapult
  27. Moore Ventures
  28. MSM Impact VC Fund
  29. New Age Capital
  30. New Profit
  31. Obvious Ventures
  32. Peak Sustainability Ventures
  33. Planet A Ventures
  34. Quest Ventures
  35. REDF
  36. Renewal Funds
  37. Responsibly Ventures
  38. Rethink Impact
  39. Root Capital
  40. Sandbox Industries
  41. Satgana
  42. SDG Impact Fund
  43. Ship2B Foundation
  44. Social Impact Capital
  45. Speedinvest
  46. StartupGym Venture Fund
  47. Sustainable Ventures
  48. SustainVC
  49. The Ecosystem Integrity Fund
  50. The Global Good Fund
  51. Tilia Impact Ventures
  52. Tin Shed Ventures
  53. Trill Impact
  54. VertueLab Climate Impact Fund
  55. Vital Capital
  56. VOX Capital

C. Growth

• Infrastructure: Office space, HR, local business insurance. (i.e. office space/ HR/ insurance providers for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
  
  
  1. Allianz
  2. Aon
  3. AXA
  4. Chubb
  5. Egon Zehnder
  6. HR4GREEN
  7. Instant Offices
  8. Lloyd's
  9. LoopNet
  10. Marsh
  11. MatchOffice
  12. MetLife
  13. Offices.co
  14. Regus
  15. Segal
  16. Travelers Insurance
  17. Zurich Insurance

• Expansion: Impact and Sustainability Growth accelerators and consultants. (i.e. programs and business consultants for capital-rich companies to grow and scale)
  
  
  1. Accenture
  2. Aleron
  3. Altus Impact
  4. Alvarez & Marsal
  5. Anthesis Group
  6. Arthur D. Little
  7. Avieco
  8. Bain & Company
  9. BearingPoint
  10. Boston Consulting Group
  11. BSR
  12. Capgemini
  13. Deloitte
  14. dss⁺
  15. ERM
  16. Ernst & Young
  17. Ethos
  18. Eunomia
  19. Gaia
  20. IBIS Consulting
  21. IMPACTO Consulting
  22. Kearney
  23. Ksapa
  24. McKinsey & Company
  25. NewForesight
  26. Nordic Sustainability
  27. PwC
  28. Sphera
  29. Sustainalize
  30. Third Partners
  31. WSP

4. Impact and Sustainability Startup Success Stories

Successful homegrown companies that have raised significant institutional funding, employ a large workforce, or have achieved liquidity.

1. abillion
2. Aspiration
3. Back Market
4. Betterfly
5. Britishvolt
6. Chezuba
7. Chief
8. Cruise
9. Einride
10. Empower Eco
11. Enpal
12. Esusu
13. Goodr
14. Headway
15. Helion Energy
16. Mainstream Renewable Power
17. Optibus
18. Paper
19. Persefoni
20. Persona
21. Plenty
22. Redwood Materials
23. TNG FinTech Group
24. Treedom
25. Watershed
26. Winningtemp

Supporters

To facilitate the steps, every ecosystem needs strong supporters.

1. Impact and Sustainability Startup Leaders

Successful local founders who lead the ecosystem & frequently mentor newbies.

1. Andrea Monti
2. Andrea Orsag
3. Cathy Xiao Chen
4. Chris Sherwin
5. Chris Wedding
6. Claudia van´t Hullenaar
7. Hannah Mansour
8. Ida Svenonius
9. Jessie Coates
10. Jo Appleby
11. Joanna Buczkowska-McCumber
12. Juan Parodi
13. Justin Bean
14. Katherine Brown
15. Kristine Nagle
16. Malin Berge
17. Mark Griffiths
18. Nicola Cerantola
19. Nisaa Jetha
20. Riddhima Bhatnagar

2. Impact and Sustainability Government Startup Resources

Public organizations that facilitate local economic development

1. Chamber of Sustainable Commerce
2. Dubai Chamber of Commerce Sustainability Network
3. Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy Netherlands
4. Ministry of Environment Denmark
5. Ministry of Environmental Protection Israel
6. Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment Singapore
7. Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development Luxembourg
8. NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
9. Office of the Federal Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO)
10. Sustainability Victoria
11. The Government of Japan - Sustainability
12. UK Government - Sustainability
13. US Green Chamber of Commerce

3. Talent

Major local business or tech universities and employers that attract and retain local talent.

• Local Impact and Sustainability Tech Universities (universities with prominent technical or business programs)
  
  
  1. American University
  2. Arizona State University
  3. Bard College
  4. Chatham University
  5. Colorado State University
  6. Columbia University
  7. Cornell University
  8. Dickinson College
  9. Duquesne University
  10. Erasmus University
  11. Georgetown University
  12. Georgia Institute of Technology
  13. Harvard University
  14. Hofstra University
  15. Lewis & Clark College
  16. Maastricht University
  17. Maharishi International University
  18. RMIT University
  19. Rochester Institute of Technology
  20. Stanford University
  21. Sterling College
  22. Tufts University
  23. University of Auckland
  24. University of California Irvine
  25. University of California Santa Barbara
  26. University of Gothenburg
  27. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  28. University of London
  29. University of Manchester
  30. University of Maryland
  31. University of Michigan
  32. University of Oxford
  33. University of Pennsylvania
  34. University of Sussex
  35. University of Toronto
  36. Wageningen University

• Impact and Sustainability Tech Employers
  
  
  1. Adobe
  2. Amazon
  3. Apple
  4. Cisco
  5. Dell
  6. Esri
  7. Fairphone
  8. Google
  9. HP
  10. IBM
  11. Intel
  12. Lenovo
  13. Meta
  14. Microsoft
  15. NVIDIA
  16. Samsung
  17. Tesla

Learn more about the Startup Ecosystem Canvas here, and leave us your thoughts on the Impact and Sustainability Canvas on this collaborative Google document (This is just a draft, and more input is needed!)

Are you looking to build a startup in Impact and Sustainability? Then apply to the Impact and Sustainability Founder Institute today