Austin is a city full of entrepreneurs, and RideCares is one of the newest programs helping our community’s nonprofits through regular business transactions. RideCares is an initiative that encourages Lyft and Uber drivers to give a portion of their tips to a nonprofit organization of their choice. We spoke with RideCares founder, Kyle Hoskins, about his innovative program. What is RideCares? How does it work? “RideCares gives Lyft and Uber drivers the opportunity to pledge a portion of their tips to raise funds and awareness for causes they’re passionate about. Drivers who wish to participate are provided car stickers to help inspire positive cause-related conversation, as well as a personal driver.ridecares.com website to tell why they support their cause and track progress.” How long has RideCares been around and how did it come to be? What are some of your future plans for RideCares? “RideCares in its current form launched in late August of 2015. RideCares originally started in August 2014 as a website I created to log my fundraising efforts driving Lyft to get late night party-goers home safely and donate 100% of the proceeds. I spent a lot of time figuring out the best way to share that wonderful experience with as many people as possible. Thus, RideCares was born. RideCares is proud to have started here in Austin, Texas, and while we already have one driver from another state, I hope to make RideCares a “household” amongst those who use Lyft and Uber in Austin and then […]
Read MoreSeptember’s Face 2 Face Recap with Laura Roberts
Photo Credit: Austin Business Journal This month’s Austin Business Journal’s FACE 2 FACE speaker series brought in the co-founder and CEO of Pantheon Enterprises, Laura Roberts. Roberts formed Pantheon Enterprises to end the myth that green technologies are less effective and more expensive. The company’s mission continues to be to develop and commercialize products that help increase financial growth, while at the same time sustaining human health and safety. Prior to joining the company, Laura was a self-described “treehugger” and owned many “kill corporate America” t-shirts while working as an elementary school teacher in the ’90s. Her transition to Pantheon was circumstantial after her father passed away. Both parents owned a small chemical company, and in an effort to help her mother save her business, Roberts stepped in. She frequently stated during the interview that she recognized her own empathetic nature from a young age. Roberts aims to be an example for women entrepreneurs. She persevered after 300 investors said “no” to funding an elementary school teacher’s company. “Not having industry specific management” was the top reason for venture capitalists not to invest. She was pitching during the “dot-com era,” where there was much more of a focus for investors receiving liquidity in a 3-5 return. Since then, there has been a shift to the “impact” investor that is not so focused on the fast return, but the real change the company is trying to make. She advises young entrepreneurs to only take from shareholders who are purpose-aligned and mentioned […]
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