Metal-Free Battery, Recycled Plastic, Solar Companies, Affordable Housing Developer Among Companies We're Considering at the Next Impact Cherub Club Meeting

This Month's List Features Got Bag, SorbiForce, Solar Harvest for Howle Farms, Stride Development and BlocPower

I’m not a financial advisor; Superpowers for Good should not be considered investment advice. Seek counsel before making investment decisions.

When you purchase an item, launch a campaign or invest after clicking a link here, we may earn a commission. Engage to support our work.

As we gear up for the 1:00 PM Eastern, March 26, 2024, meeting of the Impact Cherub Club, we invite you to join us. The club is an informal gathering to review impact investments everyone is eligible to make, and virtually anyone can afford. We share responsibility for completing basic due diligence before making investments. No one is required to invest.

There are no dues or fees to participate, and I don’t touch the money. When members invest, they do so directly for their own accounts. We benefit from new members only by the fresh perspectives they bring and our growing social impact. Please join us!

Next Meeting—March 26, at 1:00 PM Eastern

At our next meeting on March 26, at 1:00 PM Eastern/10:00 AM Pacific, consistent with our plans for future sessions, the agenda will have three items:

• Diligence Reports

• Education Moment

• Preliminary Consideration of New Candidate Investments

I’ll review those items in reverse order.

New Company Consideration

After some preliminary screening, I’ve shared some candidate offerings with the members of the club to choose which we’ll review this month. Members chose the following:

Got Bag

GOT BAG North America, with a valuation of $12 million, is raising funds on Wefunder. The company makes travel bags and urban lifestyle products using recycled Ocean Impact Plastic. GOT BAG has sold over 100,000 products online and to elite retailers like Saks, Free People, and REI and spans three continents with over $20 million in global net revenue in 2023. Benjamin Mandos founded GOT BAG North America in March 2023. The current crowdfunding campaign has a minimum target of $200,000 and a maximum target of $500,000. The campaign proceeds will be used for marketing and PR initiatives, supply chain optimization, partnerships and collaborations, and retail presence. (Courtesy of KingsCrowd.)

SorbiForce

SorbiForce, with a valuation of $10 million, is raising funds on Republic. The company has developed the world’s first non-metal sustainable battery. SorbiForce batteries are made using activated carbon, technical carbon, iodine, bromine, zinc salts, and water and will be a game-changer for the energy storage industry. The business is led by an experienced team and has collaborations with the Center for Innovation at the University of Arizona. Serhii Kaminskyi and Oleg Sheremeta founded SorbiForce in September 2022. The current crowdfunding campaign has a minimum target of $50,000 and a maximum target of $1.24 million. The campaign proceeds will be used for technology and product development, sales and marketing, professional services, infrastructure, and general working capital. (Courtesy of KingsCrowd.)

Education Moment

This month, we’ll take time to discuss the use of artificial intelligence to accelerate regulated investment crowdfunding due diligence. Impact crowdfund investors take the same risk as traditional angel investors except that they make smaller investments. To maximize impact and investment returns, we need to complete due diligence more efficiently. AI could be a primary tool to help us accomplish this objective.

Diligence Reports

We’ll begin with the due diligence reports from the Impact Cherub Club members who volunteered to research the companies after we briefly learned a bit about them last month. After hearing the members’ reports, we’ll vote to determine whether or not to recommend investment in the companies. The decision will be made available to everyone who registers to attend, including those who don’t make it. Register here.

Here are the companies we’ll learn more about this month:

Solar Harvest for Howle Farms

Solar Harvest for Howle Farms is raising funds on Climatize. The project is aimed at the deployment of a solar system at Howle Farms. Howle Farms is a family-owned rural farm in Hartsville, South Carolina, that plans to install a 43.55 kW solar array and a 92.16 kWh battery storage system to meet its energy needs. Solar Harvest for Howle Farms will help the farm decrease its operating costs and allow for proper environmental conditions for optimal production. John Carey founded Solar Harvest for Howle Farms in May 2023. The current crowdfunding campaign has a minimum and maximum target of $309,180. The campaign proceeds will be used to fund the solar and storage project. (Courtesy of KingsCrowd.)

Stride Development PBC

Stride Development is raising funds on Wefunder. The company builds housing using innovative designs and construction methods. Stride Development lowers utility costs and reduces carbon emissions to improve residents’ health and create safe spaces. The buildings of Stride Development are affordable, future- and inflation-proof, and lower energy use and bills by 90%. Tyrone Grandstrand founded Stride Development in August 2022. The current crowdfunding campaign has a minimum target of $50,000 and a maximum target of $950,000. The campaign proceeds will be used for affordable housing application fees and requirements, architect and design expenses, and land purchase costs. (Courtesy of KingsCrowd.)

BlocPower

BlocPower Energy Services is raising funds on Raise Green. The company owns and operates energy projects installed in client buildings under the BlocPower pipeline. BlocPower Energy Services has already earmarked multiple projects in New York, California, Colorado, and many other cities and utilities. The company is led by an experienced team and aims to make greener, healthier, and smarter buildings for all through affordable access to critical energy efficiency, clean energy retrofits, and hazard remediation projects. Donnel A. Baird founded BlocPower Energy Services in January 2021. The current crowdfunding campaign has a minimum target of $50,000 and a maximum target of $1 million. The campaign proceeds will be used for BlocPower projects, legal expenses, and accounting expenses. (Courtesy of KingsCrowd.)