These days I am occupied – nearly obsessed – with an idea for a new social venture start-up in Vermont – a state that thrives on individual pluck within an awareness of the whole.  With luck, you would join a very small, very accomplished group of advisors to this new venture, all of whom have a track record of success starting businesses based on creativity and social value.

Here is a little background:

Rewind: Johannesburg 2004. After a carooming ride from Botswana  to South Africa with a group called Pioneers of Change (http://www.pioneersofchange.net) I met with young entrepreneurs in the city over the course of several days and was introduced the idea of “The Hub,” (http://www.the-hub.net) – a place for young people with ideas for the next generation of businesses to incubate their start-up in a relaxed environment, connected to a global network of individuals concerned with leaving the planet better off than we got it.

Okay, fast forward: Two things collide in my imagination over the last week. The first is my recent involvement in the Onion River Exchange, an exciting start-up that aims to connect people with talent and skills to share with people in need through volunteering. The second was an article in the do-gooder magazine ODE that profiled the nascent success of the The Hub idea and its plans for growth.

Since both I and ORE are looking to share some prime office space in a relaxed social space of ideas, I figured others are too. Combined with my own interests and passions for the state of Vermont, a light went off in my head:

Let’s start a Hub in Vermont’s capital. A Hub that not only provides a full featured office environment and access to a global network, but also a robust learning program that draws upon the skills, creativity and experience of some of the world’s top entrepreneurs – at home and abroad.

So here is the idea in a nutshell, recently shared in an online network of entrepreneurs in which I participate, ned.com:

The Hub Montpelier is a place to incubate the next generation of small business ventures in Vermont that combine a passion for our state with market forces to deliver innovative products and services.

The Hub will be a place to share, refine, and launch these ventures within a relaxed physical space that is connected to a vibrant global network of innovators.

In addition to providing low-cost access to a fully-featured office environment, the Hub Montpelier will provide regular structured and unstructured learning opportunities for members and the community. These will include the latest ideas in technology, sustainability and development as well as social gatherings and arts-related events.

And so here I find myself embarking on a new experiment rather different from anything else I’ve tried before, excepting perhaps the CAVE, the collaborative artspace I co-founded in Washington, DC.