Hub is Hiring: Community Attractor & Hosts

We’ve gotten a great  response for our open Host positions. Thanks for all the great applications- we’ll continue considering any resumes received by February 15th. We are also seeking for a new role, a Community Attractor to expand the breadth and diversity of our community! Please see below for more information about the position and how to apply. We look forward to hearing from you

2 Major Announcements from Hub Bay Area

A new day is dawning.

In a year in which traditional systems and assumptions have been disrupted, new voices of innovation and determination are effervescing.  Evangelists of community, new media, non-traditional capital markets, and entrepreneurship seek new answers to the problems of our age.  Hub Bay Area feels privileged to be a part of this movement by offering an ecosystem, resources and a platform to these voices.  It is for this reason, we are proud to announce two major developments in the Hub Bay Area community.

1)  An intent to lease at the San Francisco Chronicle for the home of our future SF Hub

2)  A partnership with First Light Capital to offer seed funding to start-up social entrepreneurs.  Informational meeting on Monday December 7th

San Francisco Chronicle Building: The SF Gate and SF Chronicle released a story about plans to renovate the Chronicle building to become a new Hub for social innovation.  The Hub Bay Area space will be over 6,000 square ft. and located on the first floor of the Hearst family owned Chronicle building.  Click here to read more.

First Light Capital: First Light Capital has announced Hub Bay Area as the home of the new $500,000 West Coast Village Capital Fund.  Inspired by the village bank model used in microfinance throughout the world, Village Capital is an innovative investment model built on the hypothesis that entrepreneurs, working intimately together and providing peer support to one another, will be able to efficiently and wisely allocate investment to one another’s companies.

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West Coast Village Capital (WCVC) is a social venture program that brings entrepreneurs together to learn from and support each other’s social enterprises.  Over the course of 12 weeks, up to 30 social entrepreneurs will work together in groups of 5 to share their knowledge, strengthen their models, and build their businesses.  Additionally, WCVC puts the investment decisions in the hands of entrepreneurs themselves.  First Light Ventures will make $25,000 and $75,000 investments in the 5-10 companies identified as most ready for seed capital.

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First Light Ventures is a catalyst fund that promotes social impact through investment and infrastructure development.  First Light is testing the Village Capital model through four distinct pilot programs: West Coast Village Capital (San Francisco Bay Area, California); Unreasonable Village Capital (Boulder, Colorado); Idea Village Capital (New Orleans, Louisiana); and Dasra Village Capital (Mumbai, India).

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WCVC is looking for social entrepreneurs with bright ideas and sustainable business models.  If you have a business idea to help improve the world, they want to hear about it.  The WCVC program is based in the Bay Area and will run January 19 through April 14, 2010.  Applications are due by January 7, 2010.  A public information session will take place December 7, 6:30pm at Hub Berkeley (David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way, Suite 400, Berkeley, CA 94704).

More information is available at www.vilcap.com.

Legal Issues? Hanson Bridgett Legal Huddle at The Hub

They say justice and our legal system is blind, that doesn’t mean you should be.

Social innovation can often times be stifled with the complexities of the US legal environment.  What’s stumping you and who would you like to hear offer advice?  Hanson Bridgett is sponsoring a very exciting series at The Hub about legal issues as they relate to social innovation.  Come join us on Thursday,December 17th for another great Huddle, but even more, we want to hear your perspectives on what the next Huddle should discuss and who we should invite to take part in the discussion.

Click here to vote and give your comments

Then, register for the event at eventbrite!