Estimated read time: 2 minutes, 49 seconds

laci exterior

FastSpring finds inspiration in a cutting-edge incubator for cleantech startups — also known as the LACI.

One of the things that truly sets FastSpring apart as a business is our values. We are constantly pursuing new ideas that not only help businesses selling software, SaaS, or digital goods but also shape the evolving tech landscape at large.

Our exploration of innovative tech often pushes us beyond the beautiful coastline of Santa Barbara. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit a true pioneer in the emerging cleantech space known as the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator. I am thrilled to share some of the highlights from the visit below.

Introducing LA’s Cleantech Incubator – LACI

As a digital strategist, I am always inspired by individuals and organizations that are building towards making the future a better place. So when a few members of the FastSpring team were invited by LACI’s SVP of Operations, Ben Stapleton to take a tour of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator located in LA’s downtown Arts and Innovation District, well let’s just say… the team and I were stoked!

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator is a unique partnership among public, private, and educational sectors that are all invested in supporting cleantech businesses in Los Angeles. The non-profit organization is supported by the Mayor’s office, the city’s universities, the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, and more. In its first five years, LACI incubated 67 companies which raised a total of $134M in funds and sent over $335M in long-term economic benefits to the city.

“This is a co-working space. What we’re working on right now is shared services with the focus being creative brands, legal, accounting, HR, you know, IT support. We’re trying to manage the process, provide consistent service for people at reasonable rates while providing each of our companies a bit of credit to spend on the shared services so that we can see where they place their chips.” – Ben Stapleton

LACI is the business equivalent of baseball’s farm system: it identifies local talent, nurtures it, and helps it get to market, resulting in more jobs and a bigger green economy in Los Angeles. A few notable members of their roster include Green Commuter, Avisare, and Permacity.

Building an Economy—Green or Digital.

Ben explains that there is a strategic imperative to building a green economy. The city’s primary economic growth strategy is to drive innovation in clean technologies. The Los Angeles region is already the largest green economy in the nation, and there is an unprecedented economic opportunity as the country rebuilds its energy and transportation infrastructure, shifting energy dependence away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable energy sources.

This tour truly struck a chord with us at FastSpring. Our goal is and always will be to help our customers maximize and grow their digital business globally. It was refreshing to see a similar-minded group pushing the boundaries of tech to help shape the future of business around the world.

We are thrilled to follow along as LACI works to make Los Angeles, and the world, a cleaner place.

For more information about LACI, please visit https://laincubator.org/.

By the way, do you know of any amazing businesses doing forward-thinking things to help make the world a better place? Tell us all about it on Twitter. Tweet us at @FastSpring.

Tagged with:
Innovation startups