5 Questions with WSJ “Startup of the Year” Finalist PlanetReuse

As anybody in the Kansas City startup world knows, our city is full of great startups.  But in the grand scheme of things, we are just one city on a large United States map.  There are thousands and thousands of startups being built throughout our country, and standing out from the rest is an extremely arduous task.  Of all of the hundreds of thousands of startups in our nation, it’s nearly impossible to narrow down the best ones.  But thanks to some incredible work and research done by a publication called The Wall Street Journal, it can be done...and has.

The Wall Street Journal recently announced 24 companies for its Wall Street Journal Startup of the Year (#WSJSOTY) initiative.  Over the next few months, The Wall Street Journal will be tasking their 24 finalists, from over 500 entrants, with milestone tasks, ultimately leading up to the crowning the Wall Street Journal’s Startup of The Year.

Of those 24 finalists, only one hails from Kansas City.  Lucky for us, this new company is stationed on the 5^th floor of Think Big Coworking, our well-known coworking space in downtown Kansas City.  Which company, you ask? PlanetReuse Marketplace powered by InvenQuery, one of the oldest members of Think Big Coworking. 

Nathan Benjamin, CEO of PlanetReuse.

Think Big was fortunate enough to snag 10 minutes with Nathan Benjamin, CEO of PlanetReuse to talk more about being a top 24 finalist for Startup of the Year.  

THINK BIG:  How did you hear about The Wall Street Journal’s Startup of the Year award?

NATHAN:  We heard about the opportunity through Pipeline and applied for the program. There was an extensive application process and out of more than 500 startups nationwide, we were selected.  We’re excited to represent not only the Midwest, but our local Kansas City startup community as well.

THINK BIG:  So far, what has this experience been like?

NATHAN: It's been challenging, but in a good way. Wall Street Journal is assigning tasks for each of the companies along the way. The first task (which will be aired in a few weeks) really encouraged us to step outside our comfort zone as a team and look at the way we were presenting ourselves to our current and potential customers. The task asked us to re-imagine our logo, our tagline even our company name. It urged us to examine our core value and to consider how we might best communicate it to different audiences, which gave us a deeper understanding of what makes us unique among our competitors.

They also just announced which mentors would be paired with which startups and we couldn’t be more pleased. We're excited to study under the expertise of our mentors Carly Fiorina and Alex Osterwalder, who both have incredibly impressive, successful backgrounds. We're looking forward to their suggestions and feedback on our concept, our marketing and our operations.

THINK BIG:  Of all the business challenges of the program, what task(s) do you feel PlanetReuse will excel in?

We think that we will excel at many of the tasks and feel that our mission and direction of the company are aligned with the criteria for the SOTY: First, the social impact of the business and second, the viability of the business.

I also think we can nail the elevator pitch task. We’ve been working to narrow down exactly what makes PlanetReuse Marketplace a viable, disruptive company and our passion shows through in our presentation. I was actually just asked last week by Scott Case with the Startup America Partnership to deliver a 30-second pitch on the spot at the 1 Million Cups event at Kauffman Foundation here in Kansas City—a little nerve-wracking, but great practice for the tasks to come.

THINK BIG:  Have you seen or experienced any impact from being chosen as 1 of 24 finalists?

Definitely.  We’ve seen a deluge of support from the Kansas City startup community. We’ve been overwhelmed by the number of friends and family who have voted for us on the WSJSOTY site, along with so many of our startup comrades. The KC startup community is incredibly kind to one another and the social media attention we’ve received has been just amazing. We’ve also received really great press from local media outlets. It just reaffirms our belief that Kansas City really is the best place to start a business.

THINK BIG:  Even though it is early, if PlanetReuse were to win SOTY, how do you think that would elevate the business?

It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to educate the country about the positive impacts of material reuse, inspiring a huge audience to think reused before new and donate before ditch. Communicating this message to millions nationwide makes us and the reuse industry "winners" already.

We take a triple bottom line approach to business, ensuring that people, the planet and profit are all taken into account. Winning would be a fantastic platform for fundraising and finding like-minded individuals who share our belief that we can do well by doing good. It would also be confirmation that sustainable businesses, ones that can make money while making a difference in their communities, are not only valuable, but viable and the way of the future.

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We’re excited for what’s in store for Nathan and the rest of the PlanetReuse Marketplace team. Learn more and follow along with their journey on WSJSOTY and be sure to vote for PlanetReuse here.

Kansas City Startup InvenQuery Raises $1.1 Million and Continues to Save the Planet

Many Midwestern entrepreneurs may have heard of Planet Reuse, one of the new successful startups making waves here in Kansas City.  But many may need to start paying attention to InvenQuery as well, Planet Reuse's inventory, point-of-sale and e-commerce solution for reuse centers.

The Kansas City-based startup, which currently operates out of the Think Big Partners coworking space, bizperc, has raised $1.1 million in seed funding and Series A investment.  Primary investors include $650,000 by Dundee Venture Capital (Omaha, Nebraska) and $450,000 from a prior angel investment.  The investment will be used to enhance the InvenQuery technology and improve customer outreach.

The InvenQuery mobile application is currently beta testing the product with two local Kansas City reuse centers.  The technology, according to Brian Alferman of Missouri Habitat for Humanity ReStores, "should help us drastically improve awareness of our store and the flow of unique items we have here at any given time."  In addition, the new platform will attract new customers, prevent price tampering and provide new reporting and point-of-sales tools.

InvenQuery's niche market isn't a small one either.  There are currently 1,200 for-profit and non-profit reuse organizations in the United States that accept donations of used and surplus building materials and then resell them to the public at 40-60% of the price of new.  The industry is growing at 20% per year.  Currently, the reuse market place is a $250 million industry.

But this investment isn't just a win for InvenQuery.  It's also a win for the environment.  According to a recent press release, InvenQuery's mobile application will actually prevent millions of pounds of usable surplus materials from going to landfills.  Without a system like InvenQuery's, the environment will continue to suffer with the 40% of US landfill waste that comes from the building construction and demolition industries.

Hats off to the team at Planet Reuse and InvenQuery for their new investment and initiative to make the world a better place!  To learn more about InvenQuery, please visit www.invenquery.com.

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PlanetReuse Marketplace powered by InvenQuery Wins SXSW Eco Startup Showcase

Client of Kansas City-based startup accelerator and business incubator Think Big Partners, PlanetReuse Marketplace powered by InvenQuery, a technology  company that is making awareness of and access to reclaimed building materials nationwide simple, won the SXSW Eco Startup Showcase on October 4, 2012 in Austin, Texas.

In its second year, the SXSW Eco Conference is designed for professionals in business, government, non-profits and academia who want to look at environmental and sustainability issues through a fresh lens, develop new collaborations and contribute to innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges facing the environment, the economy and civil society.  The SXSW Eco Conference consisted of exhibitions, speakers, the SXSW Eco Hackathon, special events, parties and the SXSW Eco Startup Showcase, the portion that PlanetReuse Marketplace won.  SXSW Eco took place just a week after The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce held its annual Leadership Exchange in Austin, Texas, providing an even greater collaboration with the booming tech hub.

The SXSW Eco Startup Showcase was a one-day venture capital pitch that spotlighted innovation and entrepreneurship in the clean tech space.  With over 100 applicants from around the world, only 14 had the opportunity to present a three-minute pitch to an expert panel of judges during the Startup Showcase in Austin.  The finals consisted of just three clean-tech startups, PlanetReuse Marketplace, NuMat Technologies and Zeta Communities, each presenting an eight-minute pitch to the same expert panel of judges.  The three startups were critiqued on product/service, industry/market validation, sustainability/social responsibility impact, business model, team and presentation.  At the final awards presentation, PlanetReuse Marketplace was named the first-ever winner of the SXSW Eco Startup Showcase.

“Winning the Startup Showcase increases our credibility,” said Nathan Benjamin, founder and partner of PlanetReuse. “It gives us recognition among our peers in the sustainability community and acts as a reputation-builder as we continue to spread the word about reuse, increase awareness and raise capital.”

The PlanetReuse team accepting their win at SXSW Eco.

Judges for the SXSW Eco Startup Showcase consisted of partners from a variety of venture capital firms including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Intel Corporation, Black Coral Capital, Austin Ventures, and Nth Power, providing probing questions to all semi-finalists about their business strategies and exposure to potential funding opportunities.

“Nathan and Willow have a great story,” said Mitchell Jacobson, director of the ATI Clean Energy Incubator and mentor/pitch coach to the PlanetReuse team. “They were up against some pretty complex companies.  But PlanetReuse’s SaaS model is simple.  They did a great job of explaining the size of the market.  Plus, no one else is doing this!”

“This award—from a panel of judges sophisticated about both clean tech and business investment— further validates our concept and market traction,” said Willow Lundgren, chief strategy officer for PlanetReuse Marketplace.  “We’ve enjoyed great momentum this year.”

In addition to its big win at SXSW Eco, PlanetReuse Marketplace began beta testing its technology in two reuse centers in Kansas City, MO this summer and continues to connect with reuse centers around the country.  The company is actively raising Series A funding, and has earned national recognition: a grant from the Chase/LivingSocial Mission: Small Business Program, a featured Social Enterprise in Bloomberg Businessweek, and success at Sustainable Brands 2012 innovation competition.

“This new [SXSW Eco] competition gives a first place prize of exposure and pride,” explains Jacobson.  “PlanetReuse Marketplace has been recognized as the best company out of 100 other applicants and that means a lot.  They can lean on this for further funding in the VC and clean-tech space.  There’s a lot of work to be done, but PlanetReuse Marketplace can certainly use this win to its benefit.”

Follow PlanetReuse! @PlanetReuse

Chase and LivingSocial Award PlanetReuse with $250,000 Grant

PlanetReuse, a member of the bizperc coworking space here in Kansas City, among 12 other startup businesses, was awarded a $250,000 grant from Chase and LivingSocial earlier today.

Twelve small businesses from across the nation received $250,000 grants through Mission: Small Business, a program designed to increase awareness of the important role small businesses play in local communities.  The grant program is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Nearly 70,000 businesses registered for the grant program and 3.1 million consumers voted for their favorite small businesses.  Lucky for PlanetReuse, the Kansas City-based startup has an incredible following, business idea and attitude and was able to claim one of the twelve grants!

Companies that submitted were evaluated based on applications that displayed a feasible growth plan, creativity, overall passion for the business and potential to make a positive impact in the local community.  PlanetReuse has joined other businesses such as Bright Power (New York), The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen (San Francisco, CA), Lasher Sport (Anchorage, AK) EcoScraps (Provo, UT) and six others in Mission: Small Business.

PlanetReuse is a consulting and brokering company that matches materials with designers, builders and owners to serve LEED efforts and sustain the planet while cutting costs.  The startup's green initiative, dynamite team and incredible business idea is attracting investors from near and far.

So what is PlanetReuse planning to do with the $250,000 grant?  According to founder Nathan Benjamin in a PlanetReuse blog, the startup plans to use the funds to continue to build the reuse industry, reuse economy and expedite the outreach and accelerator of the company's launch of PlanetReuse Marketplace powered by InvenQuery.  

We could not be more proud of our coworking space member, PlanetReuse!  Just another testament that that Kansas City startup scene truly is flourishing.  

For more information about the Mission: Small Business grant, read the full press release: Chase and LivingSocial Award 12 Small Businesses $250,000 Grants, Totalling $3M Through the Mission: Small Business Program.

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bizperc Member Named One of America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs of 2012

Nathan Benjamin and Willow Lundgren of PlanetReuse.

Photo: Bloomberg Businessweek

Last week, BloombergBusinessweek announced bizperc member PlanetReuse as one of America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneurs of 2012.  The Kansas City startup has been honored because of its scope, impact and sustainability efforts (and beat out over 300 other social companies to be placed in the Top 25!).


"We're honored to be among so many amazing companies doing impactful work around the globe," says Nathan Benjamin, Founder of PlanetReuse. "We see our business and ourselves as instruments for building a more sustainable future.   It's great to see Bloomberg Businessweek spotlight all kinds of social entrepreneurs who are similarly driven."

PlanetReuse is dedicated to decreasing the amount of waste going into landfills.  According to the Building Materials Reuse Association, housing and building construction and demolition waste account for 40% of what's going into America's landfills.  PlanetReuse's goal is to shrink this number to 30% by 2020.  In order to do so, PlanetReuse collaborates with commercial architects, contractors and building owners to reclaim and extend the life of building materials in new projects.  

For the residential building industry, PlanetReuse is beta testing a technology platform,  PlanetReuse Marketplace powered by InvenQuery, that will showcase inventories from reuse centers across the country with the aim of making it as easy to shop online for used materials, as it is to shop for new materials.  

"Being a facilitator of positive change in the world isn't just the domain of non-profits and public institutions," says Willow Lundgren, PlanetReuse's Chief of Strategy.  "We believe--and there are studies to back this up-- that the most successful for-profit businesses are those that consider economic, environmental and social impact."

PlanetReuse is looking for YOUR vote to become the final five of America's Most Promising Social Entrepreneur from the 25 on the list.  Vote for PlanetReuse here and become a part of this movement!  A big congratulations to PlanetReuse for making it into the Top 25.  Now, it's up to us to see that the KC-based company takes the title!  Vote today.  

Follow PlanetReuse: @PlanetReuse

Follow me: @AllisonThinkBig