DoneGood, PBC

DoneGood is an e-commerce platform that enables consumers to find ethically-sourced, sustainably-made products.

As Forbes notes, DoneGood is “the Amazon of social good.”

According to Nielson’s annual Global Corporate Sustainability Report, 66% of consumers are willing to spend more for a product if it comes from a sustainable brand — in other words, a brand that is environmentally conscious.

Recently, big businesses have made an effort to take advantage of this trend — for example:

In 2011, less than 20% of S&P 500 companies filed Corporate Social Responsibility reports outlining their social and environmental impact. Last year, more than 80% of these companies filed a report.

In 2017, consumers spent $27 billion online for ethical and sustainable products. But despite this figure, consumers don’t have a quick way to find ethically-sourced, sustainably-made products. And brands focused on making a social impact don’t have a cost-effective channel to reach these shoppers.

DoneGood provides a solution to consumers and brands with its online shopping platform.

In short, DoneGood provides two ways for consumers to find ethically-sourced products:

- Laptop Plugin: Users download a free plugin on their laptop, then shop online as usual. When they search for products on Amazon, Google, or one of hundreds of big-name retailers’ websites, the plugin automatically shows socially and environmentally responsible brands and products on the side of the screen.

- DoneGood Website: Users can find thousands of products from hundreds of mission-driven brands. These include companies like Norton Point (creating sunglasses made from 100% recovered ocean plastic), Mpowerd (producing inflatable lights for camping or decoration that run on solar power), and Looptworks (making shopping bags out of "upcycled" materials).

DoneGood earns 10% to 20% commission on each purchase from a DoneGood partner brand. In addition, brands can pay to be promoted on DoneGood’s website and email newsletter.

In the future, the company will add additional revenue streams — including:

Licensing a DoneGood-approved seal for use on other retailer websites…

Allowing other sites to use commission-generating DoneGood links to its partner brands…

Fulfilling bulk purchases for non-profit organizations and businesses seeking sustainably-made goods…

And monetizing aggregated data.

DoneGood launched in November 2016. Since then, the company has surpassed 100,000 users, and has secured partnerships with 140 brands, including Patagonia and Warby Parker.

In addition, the company has partnerships with eco-friendly organizations such as “1% for the Planet.” This is an international organization whose members contribute at least 1% of their annual sales to environmental causes.

DoneGood founded “Shop for Good Sunday,” which the company describes as an alternative to popular shopping days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. On “Shop for Good Sunday,” consumers shop from more than 50 social impact brands.

DoneGood has been featured in notable media outlets including The Washington Post, Forbes, and CNBC. In addition, the company completed the incubator program at Harvard University’s Innovation Lab.

As of May 2018, DoneGood’s cost to acquire a customer — which it does through paid marketing — was $1.60. Each customer’s lifetime value, meanwhile, was $3.60.

In the future, the company aims to grow its user base and increase the average amount spent per user. In addition, DoneGood will phase out its current “freemium” pricing model for brands and transition to a 100% paid platform.

If it can achieve these goals, DoneGood projects to achieve partnerships with 300 brands and generate $1.3 million in revenue in 2019. It projects to reach 1,700 brands and $33 million in revenue by 2022.

With its focus on sustainability and social impact, DoneGood believes it could soon be an attractive acquisition target for larger e-commerce companies looking to increase their sustainability footprint. These companies include Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Target.

Team Background

Peter Kruskal - VP of Data Science

Peter brings experience in data analytics to DoneGood, where he has worked for three years.

Before that, he worked as a Postdoctoral Scholar at Harvard University and The University of Chicago.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Oberlin College and a Ph.D. in Computational Neuroscience from The University of Chicago.

Cullen Schwarz - Co-Founder & CEO

Prior to starting DoneGood, Cullen worked for several years in the public relations field, specifically in politics.

He formerly served as Press Secretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where he also served as spokesman for Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

In addition, he served as Communications Director for U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, and U.S. Congressman Gary Peters.

Cullen formerly served as a legislative aide in the Michigan House of Representatives.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Western Michigan University.

Gabe Jacobs - VP of Marketing

Gabe previously served as Senior Digital Media Manager for The Rockefeller Foundation, a private foundation focused on humanities projects. While there, he focused on developing the foundation’s online and social media presence.

He previously founded Upside Social Initiative, a communications company focused on connecting organizations with similar focuses around the world.

He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Music Business and Marketing from the University of Southern California.

Rachel Kiriakos - VP of Partnerships

Prior to her time with DoneGood, Rachel worked for Craftsy, an online platform focused on areas such as quilting or knitting. While there, she served as the company’s Senior Manager of Business Development.

She formerly worked in the public relations department of DabbleHQ, a marketing company, specializing in drafting press releases and managing the company’s social media channels.

In 2013, she worked on the social media team at BrightNest, a website providing articles and how-to guides on home maintenance that was acquired by Angie’s List.

Rachel earned a Bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University and an MBA from Northeastern University.

Fleming Au - VP of Technology

Fleming previously founded ekau Enterprises, a marketing company.

In addition, he co-founded Roomaloo, a platform that helps users find available roommates.

He previously served as Head of Mobile Technologies for Reppio, an e-commerce platform. While there, he headed the development of the company’s mobile app for iOS.

Fleming earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Illinois.

Co-Investors