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Client Spotlight: Elemental Excelerator

How EEx helps startups transform communities

by mangrove team
published on 11.13.2018
Local change equals to global impact

We’re lucky, here at Mangrove, in that we get to work with some pretty great people. In addition to our team of designers and developers (who are rad), our clients are an amazing bunch. We feel it’s important to take some time to highlight the important work that they are doing, and this month we are shining our spotlight on Elemental Excelerator (EEx). We spoke to their Communications Lead Lauren Tonokawa about the work they are doing to make the world a better place.

How Elemental Excelerator makes an impact.

EEx funds start-ups. Each year, they work with 15-20 companies that best fit their mission and fund each company up to $1 million for improving systems that impact people’s lives: energy, water, agriculture, mobility, and beyond. The primary focus is bringing business models and companies to scale. The benefit is multi-faceted: help startups succeed and transform communities. EEx is guided by two philosophies:

  • Place-based innovation

    Each community and geography has a unique identity made up of resources, needs, cultures, and people. This is why local input on the challenges faced by residents, businesses, and policymakers is so integral to finding solutions to address them.

  • Systems approach

    Each community and geography has a unique identity made up of resources, needs, cultures, and people. This is why local input on the challenges faced by residents, businesses, and policymakers is so integral to finding solutions to address them.

In order to design a more clean, resilient, and equitable future, EEx takes a hard look at the world around us, recognizing that the ways in which everything we do in our daily lives is connected. Then, they look for technologies and businesses that have the potential to transform these systems.

Foundations

EEx grew out of an agreement between the Governor of Hawaii and the US Department of Energy. Since 2008, they have funded more than 60 startups and 40 innovation projects in Hawaii, and are now taking their own model to scale by expanding to California. In 2017, EEx and Mangrove got together to redesign their website and make it easier for them to extend the reach of their work. Fun and sophisticated animations reflect the company culture, and easy editing and Salesforce integration make it simple to keep their site up-to-date even as programs and services grow and shift.

Looking Ahead

When we asked what gives EEx hope for the future, Lauren answered, “Our portfolio companies. They’re building solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.” At Mangrove, we share this sentiment. When we have clients like EEx supporting change-makers throughout the world, it brings us hope for the future too.

Interested in getting involved?

Find more information here:
For startups, apply at elementalexcelerator.com/apply
For corporates and investors, get in touch at elementalexcelerator.com/partner-request
Stay updated at elementalexcelerator.com/newsletter

A Certified B Corp, Mangrove is a woman-owned website design and development company with a diverse, talented team distributed around the globe. We’ve been building websites since 2009 that amplify the work of change-making organizations and increase the competitive power of businesses owned by historically marginalized people.

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