CPX 2009: Social Innovations are the New Cool

What do a telepresence robot named QA, a color-changing Mind Lamp and an affordable prosthetic joint for above knee amputees have in common? These inventions and more were featured at yesterday’s Cool Products Expo at Stanford University. The event featured over 50 designers, start-ups and other companies, from such well-known names as Yahoo and Logitech to Toonables, launched by a group of Stanford students.

GCB attended the expo to spot up-and-coming social entrepreneurs. Of particular note:

Catapult Design: The design firm, based in San Francisco, develops user-centered products to give the BoP access to life’s basic needs. At CPX, the team was demonstrating the Hippo Roller, a device that improves access to water by making it possible to transport 24 gallons of water; traditional methods, like carrying water buckets on one’s head, only allow for carrying approximately 5 gallons. Fewer trips to collect water means that people become more productive and can spend more time focusing on income-generating work or education.

The Hippo Roller in action.

driptech, inc.: The Palo Alto company designs and manufactures affordable, low-tech drip irrigation for farmers in developing countries. With an investment of $20, a small-scale farmer might grow anywhere from $100 to $260 worth of high-value vegetables per year, according to the company’s website. Currently testing with 15 farmers in India, the company is now moving into its prototyping/manufacturing phase. As if to demonstrate proof of concept, I was offered an onion from a (presumably) drip-irrigated field, which I declined citing that it might look a little strange for me to be carrying an onion around CPX.


3brick design: 3 billion people in developing nations still cook on an open flame, usually with their pots resting on three bricks or stones. This open-flame cooking method is inefficient and unsafe, and is the cause of death of 1.6 million people a year through toxic indoor air pollution. The team at 3 brick, through a user-centered design process, created a stove that is 3 times more efficient, is cost-effective and offers greater durability. Says co-founder Jeremy Orlow, one of the keys to success and adoption is in convincing users that the stove (which costs about $6 to end-users who survive on less than $2/day) will pay for itself in fuel savings and greater efficiency.

Demonstrating the 3brick stove

Common among most social ventures are the challenges of creating sustainable business models, overcoming barriers to adoption and creating efficient manufacturing and distribution strategies. Unfortunately, just being cool isn't enough.