Rubicon Global

Rubicon Global
Private
Industry Waste Management
Recycling
Founded 2008 (2008)
Founders Nate Morris, Marc Spiegel, Hank Dudgeon, Lane Moore
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Nate Morris, CEO
Slogan Environmental Innovation
Website rubiconglobal.com

Rubicon Global is a cloud-based, full-service waste and recycling company focused on sustainability. It works with customers to find inefficiencies and cost-savings in their waste stream and to develop new and innovative ways to reduce, re-use and recycle waste.

Rubicon has developed a mobile application to provide on-demand trash pickup.[1] The company has been compared to tech startups like Uber and Airbnb.[2]

History

Rubicon was founded in Kentucky in 2008 by Nate Morris and Marc Spiegel who were friends from Eastern High School in Louisville.[3] Spiegel’s family had been in the garbage hauling trade for more than a century; his knowledge piqued Morris’s interest in starting a company that could disrupt the waste industry. Morris put $10,000 on personal credit cards to fund initial expenses, like a website and basic legal work.[4] Shortly thereafter, Hank Dudgeon joined as a co-founder.

Funding

In 2010, Rubicon received early seed money from QuarterMoore, an Atlanta-based private investment firm. QuarterMoore principal Lane Moore joined Rubicon as a co-founder.[5]

In the summer of 2012, Rubicon received $5 million in its first financing round. Investors included Rotunda Capital Partners, Richmond Global and C.M. “Bill” Gatton.[6]

In January 2015, Rubicon raised $30 million in a second round of financing. Investors included Auren Hoffman, Barry Sternlicht, Brad M. Kelley, Chris T. Sullivan, Bruce Lunsford, Marc Benioff and Fifth Third Bank.[7]

In September 2015, Rubicon raised $50 million in a third round of financing. The round was led by Nima Capital. Investors included Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Kravis, Paul Tudor Jones, Goldman Sachs and Wellington Management.[8] The company’s post-money valuation climbed to $500 million.

Corporate information

Rubicon has offices in Atlanta, Lexington, Ky., New York and San Francisco.[9]

Business model

Rubicon aims to cut costs for customers by working with suppliers to reduce inefficiencies and maximize the amount of waste being diverted from landfills.[10] Customers include 7-Eleven and Wegmans.[11] Rubicon serves the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and plans to launch in 18 additional countries in early 2016.[12]

Rubicon is a cloud-based company. It created and maintains its own software platform that analyzes its customers’ waste stream and makes sense of all the data on haulers, clients, and recycling possibilities.[13]

Sharing Economy

In 2015, Rubicon launched an app that provides on-demand trash pickup.[14]

Rubicon has been called the “Uber for trash.”[15][16] Key Rubicon advisors and employees with Uber connections include Oscar Salazar, David Plouffe and Brent Callinicos.

Small Business Empowerment

Rubicon has focused on small business empowerment. The company is partnered with the National Federation of Independent Business to promote and expand their independent vendor network.[17]

Impact

Zero Waste

Rubicon CEO Nate Morris has said that the company's goal is to move all of their "material into something more sustainable than a landfill by 2022."[18] Rubicon is a member of the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council.[19]

B Corporation

Rubicon is a certified B Corporation.[20]

In 2013, Rubicon worked with companies including Warby Parker and Prudential Financial to pass a law in Delaware recognizing Public Benefit Corporations.[21]

See also

Harvard Business School Case Study on Rubicon Global, by William A. Sahlman and Hunter Ashmore http://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=50206

References

  1. ↑ Fehrenbacher, Katie (6 Jul 2015). "Coming soon: An Uber for trash". Fortune. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  2. ↑ Lapowsky, Issie (1 Jan 2015). "A Startup Just Got $30 Million to Shakeup the Garbage Industry". Wired. Retrieved 22 Dec 2015.
  3. ↑ Zax, David (25 Oct 2014). "Dividing and Conquering the Trash". New York Times. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  4. ↑ McCullough, Mike; D’Angelo, Caroline (13 Aug 2012). "Investing in Disruptive Sustainability". Wharton Magazine. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  5. ↑ "QuarterMoore Capital Provides Growth Capital and Strategic Support for Rubicon Global". Wharton Magazine. 10 Feb 2010. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  6. ↑ "July 30, 2012 - Funding Round Venture". Crunchbase. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  7. ↑ "Lexington-based Rubicon Global raises $30M in latest round of financing". Lexington Herald-Leader. 16 Jan 2015. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  8. ↑ Kolodny, Lora (17 Sep 2015). "Rubicon Global Picks Up $50M for On-Demand Trash Removal". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  9. ↑ Connect with Rubicon Global
  10. ↑ "The Elimination of Garbage". Knowledge@Wharton. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 22 Dec 2015.
  11. ↑ Lapowsky, Issie (1 Jan 2015). "A Startup Just Got $30 Million to Shakeup the Garbage Industry". Wired. Retrieved 22 Dec 2015.
  12. ↑ Hook, Leslie (9 February 2016). "Rubicon Global: tapping an app to tip". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  13. ↑ Lapowsky, Issie (1 Jan 2015). "A Startup Just Got $30 Million to Shakeup the Garbage Industry". Wired. Retrieved 22 Dec 2015.
  14. ↑ Fehrenbacher, Katie (6 Jul 2015). "Coming soon: An Uber for trash". Fortune. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  15. ↑ Strauss, Daniel (18 Aug 2015). "David Plouffe joins board of the 'Uber for trash'". Politico. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  16. ↑ Fehrenbacher, Katie (6 Jul 2015). "Coming soon: An Uber for trash". Fortune. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  17. ↑ "Rubicon Global - Small Business Empowerment".
  18. ↑ "The Elimination of Garbage". Knowledge@Wharton. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 22 Dec 2015.
  19. ↑ "Members of the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council". Retrieved 22 Dec 2015.
  20. ↑ "B Corp Community - Rubicon Global". Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  21. ↑ Menin, Sophie (29 April 2013). "Benefit-Corporations on the Rise". Barron's. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.

External links

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