Archive for category: Featured Enterprise

August 29, 2019

By: Pavan Iyer, founder of eightvillage and Backyard ATL

Backyard ATL is an affordable housing initiative that provides Atlanta homeowners with backyard space a platform to earn additional income with their property. We are a turnkey solution that takes care of the design, financing and construction of a rental unit in a homeowner’s backyard. A homeowner signs a lease agreement for Backyard ATL to construct an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU). After building and renting out the unit, the homeowner receives a percentage of the revenue as part of the land lease agreement while we continue to manage the rental.

*interior image from AIR Serenbe artist homes

The concept seeks to create a mechanism for homeowner preservation. The homeowner receives a new income stream that would otherwise be inaccessible to them. Homeowners can use this passive income to offset various rising costs from gentrification to preserve their existing homeownership. Backyard ATL’s scalability tangibly impacts density, providing housing choice via incremental, scattered development. This found density and housing choice helps keep market rates in neighborhoods down while integrating new residents into the community.

We are currently in a pilot phase. Generator, Ryan Gravel’s non-profit dedicated to the catalyzation of innovative ideas for cities, helped spark the beginnings of our pilot by connecting us to communities where the issues and opportunities related to Backyard ATL were most relevant. From that we were able to secure a partnership with Focused Community Strategies (FCS), a non-profit community developer in South Atlanta, to build out our program in their community. FCS helped us secure contracts to develop three sites in the South Atlanta neighborhood, which is in an early phase of gentrification and is presently home to a predominantly African-American working-class community. We have also obtained preliminary commitments from investors willing to fund the construction of the pilot projects. Our customers are proud to participate because it helps with their own housing and financial security and adds an affordable unit that integrates new residents into the community while preserving the existing character of the neighborhood.

Backyard ATL is a capital intensive business, and the model inherently has to be a for-profit, social venture. The reasons being that:

1) The market for our business only exists if we do our best to benefit the homeowner’s interests (i.e. homeowner preservation/cutting homeowner costs of living through passive income), and because our market is mostly lower-middle income homeowners, we have to be intentional to create a business model that benefits homeowners.

2) For this to be impactful on any sort of meaningful level socially, we need scale. Philanthropy is not an option as it does not offer a mechanism to scale the operations of this business. A for-profit model allows for the potential scale of Backyard ATL through access to a larger pool of capital. Ideally, the scale results in attracting political capital, resulting in philanthropic capital to layer our investment pool.

3) The idea for the business was conceived out of a social need. Affordable housing is a large issue across all cities, and not many solutions are attempting to create a model that hits on “gentrification without displacement” like we are.

The challenge to all this is that this type of capital has been very difficult to find, especially in the fiscally conservative South. For Backyard ATL to be successful, there needs to be some sort of financial value put into the social value that we are generating. In other words, investors can take a reduced return with the knowledge that for each basis point they give up, they can create that much more affordable housing and reduce the socioeconomic and racial gap that much more.

Most investors’ expectations are that it is achievable to create the same meaningful social impact while maintaining traditional returns, which is practically and unfortunately untenable.

If Backyard ATL scales, we can help to keep thousands of low-middle income homeowners in place while accommodating Atlanta’s skyrocketing population growth. However, it can’t scale unless the social value of what we are bringing is not only accepted but also embraced by its investors. If we hope to provide market solutions that are actually solving social issues, we will need to find capital that is more conscience of the realities of the problems we are trying to solve.

Profile Summary:

• Entrepreneur Name: Nedra Deadwyler
• Venture Name: Civil Bikes
• Impact Focus Area(s): Historic Preservation, Community Identity, Culture Work
• Business Stage (Ideation, Startup, Early, Later, Mature): Early
• Year Venture Established: 2013 / 2014
• Business Type: Social Impact / LLC

The Issue

Social entrepreneurship is about solving problems. Tell us about the challenge you are focused on addressing and why it is critical that we make progress.

“Civil Bikes brings attention to unseen and under-recognized stories of Atlanta. We emphasize the importance of having someone who resembles or is from that particular community. We want to be as authentic as possible. This allows for those outside (and inside) to gain a deeper understanding of the lived experiences and have a nuanced view of the history. The Guide serves as a literal guide through the highs and lows of the historical narrative. The 1.5 to 2 hours is not enough time to tell the full story, so we pair the history up to sites that are critical to the telling of the narrative that we may have lost to demolition, at risk of losing because of neglect, or it has been adapted to some other use and we have no idea what purpose it once served. In a changing city, remembering is a challenge because sometimes people prefer to forget and move on.” 

Your Journey

Entrepreneurship is a journey that requires connections and support from a wide array of stakeholders across the ecosystem to help successfully identify, start, and grow a social enterprise.

“My entrance into culture work came in an unassuming way and has multiple threads. It is an extension of my love of riding a bicycle and having the thought while touring Alabama- a largely rural state- that exploring history on a bicycle would be more interesting than riding in the back of a car! Another thread is while growing up, I constantly asked questions to understand why issues like racism, genderism, and nationalism existed, not using those words of course, but sought to understand these things that did not align with my beliefs or what my parents and family taught me. I became a social worker, lived in other cities and the practice of listening, examining society and embracing cultures were choices I sought in my professional, religious, and social life. The final thread was coming to terms with the fact that relationship and lifestyle choices were not enough to create equity for myself and others, that goodwill didn’t go far and wide. I was compelled to take action and find more intentional ways to address issues that are of concern and work to impact society. Today, I believe that the only way to have a future is to seek a just society.”

Why Georgia’s Social Impact Ecosystem Matters

Being an entrepreneur is hard and it’s even more challenging when you are a social entrepreneur as your business model and / or structure doesn’t follow the same path as traditional start-ups.

“There are entrepreneurs on both sides of my family and both are traditional in structure. I come from a non-profit/service mindset, and learning how to create a sustainable business model is one of my biggest challenges. Civil Bikes’ current business model takes money from admissions tickets and reinvests those profits into locally-owned businesses, cultural and historical spaces and artists, which changes our profit margins. 

Additionally, this direct exchange into the tour community supports spaces at-risk of being gentrified, harkens use to the identity and character of the neighborhoods, and are either Black, women, immigrant, or LGBTQAI/ Queer-owned. Other sources of revenue are a list of services: tours for our audiences, developing tours as an economic development tool for groups (municipalities, cultural groups, businesses, etc.), sponsorships and grants, and merchandise. 

Finally, I am thankful to my last employer for not seeing any conflict with me running Civil Bikes and appreciate Clay, my family, a few close friends and now my CCI [Center for Civic Innovation] family for that felt and necessary emotional, hands-on, and technical support. I’ve experienced burnout before and thankfully, it is not on the horizon!”

Interested in learning more about Civil Bikes, please visit:

• Instagram: @civil_bikes
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/civilbikestours/ 
• Website: https://civilbikes.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nedra-deadwyler-7a793122/ 

Profile Summary:

• Entrepreneur Name: Terri-Nichelle Bradley
• Venture Name: Brown Toy Box
• Impact Focus Area(s): Education, Black Children, STE(A)M, Cultural Representation
• Business Stage (Ideation, Startup, Early, Later, Mature): Startup
• Year Venture Established: 2018
• Business Type: For-Profit Social Enterprise
• Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia

The Issue

Social entrepreneurship is about solving problems. Tell us about the challenge you are focused on addressing and why it is critical that we make progress.

“The projected net worth for Blacks in 2053 is $0. That is not for you and for me but that is for the children we are creating solutions for today. Brown Toy Box produces STEAM-themed subscription boxes, children’s products and in-class experiences all designed to not only change the way Black children see themselves and what is possible for their futures, but to also disrupt, dismantle and destroy that abysmal forecast.

We are working to create a new narrative through early exposure, positive cultural representation, and access. We are using all the data we have around the science of play to counteract a systemic social crisis.”

Your Journey

Entrepreneurship is a journey that requires connections and support from a wide array of stakeholders across the ecosystem to help successfully identify, start, and grow a social enterprise.

“My journey has been a long one with a lot of significant challenges. Creating this business has been and continues to be an uphill battle, but I know that if it were easy everyone would do it. In fact, when I first launched as a direct-to-consumer subscription box, I knew I was only reaching a portion of my market- affluent Black moms who understood the importance of preparing their children to explore STEM. The problem was, when I created this business, I knew that I wanted to touch high-potential children born into in high-poverty communities. Until I figured out a way to do this, spiritually the work felt a bit disconnected. So, it really wasn’t until we expanded our business model from solely being direct-to-consumer to also working with corporate partners to get our products into the hands of young scholars in Title 1 schools that we started seeing real traction and I felt like I was really working in my mission.

One of the things that makes Atlanta so special is that once I was clear on what Brown Toy Box was going to be and how we were going to implement our solution, it feels as though Atlanta just rallied behind me in a lot of ways. I was selected as a Center for Civic Innovation Fellow, then a Civic Innovation resident funded by The Sara Blakely Foundation, and finally, I was chosen to be a part of the City of Atlanta’s Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative. Because my work is so centered in improving the lives and futures of Black children, I am excited to be selected as one of the companies asked to join the Russell Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship’s Founding 100, which starts this month. Emory has also been supportive in many ways. Just last month, I received a small but meaningful investment from Emory Impact Investment Group. The school’s social impact students worked with me to create an impact measurement tool, because one of the most important aspects of my work’s success is to collect data and quantify impact.”

Why Georgia’s Social Impact Ecosystem Matters

Being an entrepreneur is hard and it’s even more challenging when you are a social entrepreneur as your business model and / or structure doesn’t follow the same path as traditional start-ups.

“What is interesting about the social impact space is people still assume that if you are running a mission-driven business that you should be nonprofit. I have always been clear that while I support and respect so many nonprofits both locally and nationally, I didn’t want to structure my business that way. My focus is growing a sustainable and impactful business with capacity to create jobs while procuring from black and brown makers, toy designers, and self-published authors for our boxes. The more we can grow and scale, the more impact we can make. Therefore, for me, the work that folks like Conscious Capitalism, Center for Civic Innovation and others are doing around amplifying the work of for-profit social enterprises is important.

The elephant in the room is that as a Black female founder and CEO it is still difficult to gain access to the room. Luckily for me, I have worked hard to build my network, but I am very clear that I still don’t have access to all the rooms that need to hear about the work and impact of the work we are doing with Brown Toy Box. I, along with others on the front lines actually doing the work, still need to be endorsed by Atlanta’s kingmakers and that is a very small and exclusive group of who’s who. That needs to change and there needs to be more space at the table- to be clearer- more Black business social impact business leaders need to have unfiltered access to the room. I think this will do a lot to open pathways to funding, more significant corporate sponsorships, and deeper understanding.

The current conversation around innovation in Georgia is squarely centered on tech. The truth is that the social impact space is not only driving innovation in key areas such as education, sustainability, health, food justice and public health, but it is the impact and outcomes from this work that will ultimately make communities more livable, attractive to prospective companies, and will play a major role in the economic development of our state.”

Interested in learning more about Brown Toy Box, please visit:

• Instagram: @browntoybox
• Twitter: @browntoybox
• Website: www.browntoybox.com 
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terrinichelle/
• Articles: https://hypepotamus.com/community/georgia-stem-day-potential-steam-education/

Profile Summary:

• Venture Name: Emory Impact Investing Group (EIIG)
• Impact Focus Area(s): Business Lending, Consulting, Workforce Development, Job Creation
• Business Stage (Ideation, Startup, Early, Later, Mature): Startup
• Year Venture Established: 2014
• Business Type: Student-Run Microbusiness Lender
• Headquarters: Atlanta, GA

The Issue

Social entrepreneurship is about solving problems. Tell us about the challenge you are focused on addressing and why it is critical that we make progress.

“Emory Impact Investing Group was founded in 2014 to provide microloans to local entrepreneurs who lack access to capital.

Formally known as the ‘Microbusiness gap,’ research shows that there is ~30% drop in number of microbusinesses per capita from low- to high-poverty neighborhoods in the United States. To unlock the full economic potential of the Atlanta community, EIIG aims to close the microbusiness gap in traditionally high-poverty areas by increasing the number of successful small businesses. We direct our efforts in pursuit of this goal by providing early-stage financing, knowledge, and networks necessary for the sustainable growth of businesses.”

Your Journey

Entrepreneurship is a journey that requires connections and support from a wide array of stakeholders across the ecosystem to help successfully identify, start, and grow a social enterprise.

“Dr. Peter Roberts and the Social Entrepresize @ Goizueta at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School have done extensive research on entrepreneurship in the metro-Atlanta area. His findings have revealed the presence of a microbusiness gap between low- and high-poverty neighborhoods. Dr. Roberts identified high-poverty neighborhoods within Atlanta that lack small businesses, but are economically capable of supporting them. This belies a large problem: a lack of initial capital and network resources for entrepreneurs in Atlanta that need them most. EIIG was created to be a part of the solution to this problem, providing microloans to local entrepreneurs who offer macro benefits and direct social impact to their local community.”

GSIC and the Map

The mission of the Georgia Social Impact Collaborative (GSIC) is to accelerate the growth of impact investing in Georgia. Over the past 18 months, GSIC and its partners have engaged hundreds of investors, nonprofits, social entrepreneurs and others who care about scaling social impact through leveraging creative capital. The result of this work is the Map, an interactive resource designed to educate and connect stakeholders interested in impact investing. For more info, see www.GaSocialImpact.com and the Summary Report from phase 1 of the Map.

From your perspective, why do we need to develop Georgia’s Social Impact Ecosystem and how can the Map help with that?

“The entrepreneurial spirit is at the core of the Georgia community, from high-growth tech to a thriving small business network. When working with social entrepreneurs, matching needs to support resources is crucial for driving impact. Integrating all impact investing stakeholders into one platform is the next step towards building a leading model for economic empowerment, implementable in other states across the nation. Georgia’s Social Impact Ecosystem will allow organizations and individuals to start sharing best practices, monitoring and evaluating impact, and ultimately, provide an enabling environment for businesses to thrive within Georgia.”     

Interested in learning more about the Emory Impact Investing Group, please visit:

• Website
• Facebook

Profile Summary:

• Entrepreneur Name: Brian Cayce, Vice President, Investments
• Venture Name: Gray Ghost Ventures (GGV)
• Impact Focus Area(s): International Development, Technology, Financial Services
• Business Stage (Ideation, Startup, Early, Later, Mature): Early
• Year Venture Established: 2003
• Business Type: For-Profit Investor (Impact Venture Fund)
• Headquarters: Atlanta, GA

The Issue

Social entrepreneurship is about solving problems. Tell us about the challenge you are focused on addressing and why it is critical that we make progress.

Gray Ghost Ventures is a pioneer of the global impact investing movement and continues to be innovative in furthering its expansion. As one of the earliest private investors in microfinance, GGV seeks to eliminate poverty and strengthen communities through catalytic, early-stage investments in the developing world by focusing on enabling technology, financial services, and other products and services concentrated on enhancing the quality of life for large, underserved populations in emerging markets.

GGV’s Vice President of Investments, Brian Cayce, estimates that there were as few as two to three other firms in the country practicing what we now identify as impact investing in 2003. Gray Ghost now has over $125 million in several funds under its belt, but the team has maintained its focus and mission.

Your Journey

Entrepreneurship is a journey that requires connections and support from a wide array of stakeholders across the ecosystem to help successfully identify, start, and grow a social enterprise.

Brian’s background was uniquely suited for impact investing in developing countries — though not an investment professional at the time, he had served overseas in multiple capacities, as a Peace Corps volunteer (based in Turkmenistan), a non-profit employee, a business consultant, and a technology executive. He knew firsthand the challenges that entrepreneurs in emerging markets faced with getting their product funded and a company built to scale.

In the early 2000s, Brian was working for a private investor who wanted to move beyond helping entrepreneurs in emerging markets through microfinance, into a true equity play to invest in for-profits in those markets. Gray Ghost Ventures started in 2003 as one of the very first mission-driven tech investing firms — focusing on early-stage companies that improve the lives of underserved populations through tech.

GSIC and the Map

The mission of the Georgia Social Impact Collaborative (GSIC) is to accelerate the growth of impact investing in Georgia. Over the past 18 months, GSIC and its partners have engaged hundreds of investors, nonprofits, social entrepreneurs and others who care about scaling social impact through leveraging creative capital. The result of this work is the Map, an interactive resource designed to educate and connect stakeholders interested in impact investing. For more info, see www.GaSocialImpact.com and the Summary Report from phase 1 of the Map.

From your perspective, why do we need to develop Georgia’s Social Impact Ecosystem and how can the Map help with that?

“From our earliest days at Gray Ghost Ventures we were always intentional about building connections in the nascent impact investment industry.  It was our belief that our chances of success would be greater if others were involved and we were working collaboratively. While we were competitive with one another, there was such a small group of practitioners at that time that we all benefitted from the open collaboration and cooperation, as well.  

In many ways, the social impact scene in Georgia is in a similar state: it is young and enthusiastic and many of the participants know each other well and support each other.  However, impact investing grew to the scale of today through momentum over the years as new participants entered the space and there was an industry that was welcoming to them.  Georgia’s social impact scene could do the same, and that is why Georgia Social Impact Ecosystem Map is such an important tool for our community. Hopefully, the Map will serve as a landing spot which will allow social innovators and investors to connect, get familiar with the good work of one another, and find ways to build social value together.”

Interested in learning more about Brian Cayce and Gray Ghost Ventures, please visit:

• Website
• Hypepotamus Profile of A Social Investor
• Facebook
• Twitter