Incubation Updates: Farm to Flame Energy & Treecup Tea
Addressing climate change and the environment
Entrepreneurs are everywhere in our communities. They come from different walks of life, generations, communities, ethnicities, and industries. They are the dreamers, the makers, and the most resilient. In 2020, we witnessed the entrepreneurs in our community continue to build, disrupt, and persevere every day. Last year was a test for many, but for our Ascender entrepreneurs, it was a new challenge to tackle. What does innovation look like in times of crisis? For our 2020–2021 Ascender Incubatees, it looks like this.
Farm to Flame Energy
The Problem: According to the UN, the number of people without access to electricity declined from 1.2 billion in 2010 to 789 million in 2018. This still leaves 1 in 10 people around the world in the dark. This problem is even more noticeable in developing countries where many countries rely heavily on oil for electricity. According to Farm to Flame Energy’s research in Nigeria, 50% of businesses own diesel generators, and around $12 billion is spent on diesel for backup energy.
The Solution: Farm to Flame Energy produces biomass generators capable of utilizing many bio-waste feedstocks in smokeless combustion for the most efficient biomass power generation. With a generator and fuel processing unit, Farm to Flame aims to generate electricity in an energy-efficient way. The company proposes a solution that is cheaper, produces a lower carbon footprint than its competitors, and has greater fuel flexibility by running on different types of agricultural waste such as wood chips, corn stock, and other types of dry biomass.
Updates from Farm to Flame:
- Assembling the first beta stage product. The company is currently building a small beta stage 10KW generator to create electricity and test the technology’s capabilities at a small scale.
- Seeking funding for green technology generation. While building the first product requires extensive time and effort, it also requires a lot of funding. The team has been busy applying for different National Science Foundation grants and pitch competitions to fund its green tech projects. The team has been successful in securing funding from the Transtech Virtual Pitch competition at West Virginia University ($3,000), Clean Energy Trust ($5,000), Orangetank from Syracuse ($2,500), and Duquesne University New Venture Challenge ($1,000) to mention a few.
Interested in helping tackle climate change with Farm to Flame? Visit their website and connect with the team here.
Treecup Tea
The Problem: Consumer behavior is changing. A recent, McKinsey’s consumer-sentiment survey shows that consumers are paying more attention to how companies demonstrate care and concern for people and how they treat their employees. People want to feel emotionally connected to the brands they love and support causes that take on climate change, carbon emissions, single-use plastics, and deforestation. Finding ways to address these causes, like deforestation, is not easy but it requires bold creative ideas.
The Solution: Treecup Tea is a new-to-market iced tea company that plants a tree in Haiti for every bottle sold. Mark Sotomayor, founder and Tea-EO (Tea Executive Officer), aims to introduce delicious tea flavors inspired by his Peruvian family’s recipes and traditions and bring joy to all tea lovers. The organic and ethically sourced loose-leaf tea is produced in Evans City, PA. For every purchase of tea, customers get a taste of delicious flavors and contribute to the Treecup Tea and Haiti Friends partnership. For every tea bottle sold, one tree gets planted in Haiti to help reforestation projects.
Updates from Treecup Tea:
- Rallying supporters to make more tea. Last fall, the company launched a Kickstarter campaign to help finance the company’s first-ever mid-sized production and cover additional shipping fees associated with importing the eco-friendly glass bottles. The Treecup team successfully raised $8,969 exceeding its goal of $5,000 on the Kickstarter platform.
- Introducing a new tea line. During the off-season for iced-tea lovers, the company launched a limited edition ancient hot teas. Learn more about the new tea blends here.
Help reforestation initiatives in Haiti while enjoying delicious teas. Check out Treecup Tea now.
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