The sharing economy is a new way of living. It’s a sustainable way of looking at how we live our daily lives using goods and products to be much more efficient and mindful of our natural resources and our personal impact. Instead of buying that new cycling light or yoga mat or kitchen bar stool, check out Yerdle to find and share free stuff you don’t have to buy! This is an enriching way to make new friends, put a smile on your face making someone happy with their new gift and create significant benefits for our use of our resources and our planet.
Morgan Drmaj of PlumeSocial interviewed Stuart Rudick, founder and CEO of Mindfull Investors, on the topic of a sharing economy.
MD: Stuart, what are examples of how that’s working now? You mentioned examples like Air B&B, Zipcar.
SR: In the last two years, the sharing economy has expanded dramatically around the world and has touched many people’s lives. Key examples are companies like Zipcar, Uber, Air B&B, and Task Rabbit. Technology has been developed and deployed through mostly web and mobile apps that enable people to share resources and products in a way that was first looked at as crazy and impossible. But now everybody is doing it. This new sharing economy makes our resource use more efficient and more economical.
MD: You’re working with an exciting new company called Yerdle. Yerdle is a marketplace where people exchange goods for free. Everything from a skateboard to a camera to a set of golf clubs. Is that accurate? What other kinds of things can be found on Yerdle?
SR: Go on there and see for yourself and enjoy the many, many products that are there. There’s just about anything you could imagine that’s sitting in your or your neighbor’s closet, garage or storage locker that just isn’t being used anymore. These items are still in good condition, but not being put to use, so people want to share them with others. You’ll see products on there from blenders and vacuum cleaners to backpacks to skis. We even had a donor give a car away on Yerdle. Anything is possible to share on Yerdle. You have it, you’re not using it, you want to share with somebody else, you can put it up on Yerdle or find it on Yerdle.
MD: Why did you get involved with Yerdle?
SR: One of the founders, Adam Werbach and I have known each other for many years and met through the environmental community where Adam was previously the president of the Sierra Club. He and I had mutual values and passions around protecting the environment and our resources while building successful companies with great profits. Adam teamed up with Andy Rubin, who he had worked with when Andy was the chief sustainability officer for Wal-Mart to start Yerdle. They started looking at how to reduce the consumption of things and asking, “How can we look to create a sharing economy as a new way of doing business—a new way that’s going to touch people’s lives, bring them greater joy, greater value, and be successful and sustainable?” Yerdle is the answer!! Yerdle has over 25,000 members and is growing at an accelerated pace. The company, and most importantly, Yerdle members, are enjoying early success and we feel it’s going to become a major platform for people to be able to share goods in the future. I liken it to the E Bay for sharing goods.
MD: You already kind of touched on it, but what are the possibilities you envision for the shared economy and how does it align with what Mindful is up to?
SR: Our goal at Mindful is investing in brilliant, passionate, innovative entrepreneurs like Adam and Andy that are seeing there’s a new way to live life with meaning and purpose. There is a bright future to create businesses focused on products and services that positively impact our lives and provide great economic rewards. Yerdle is one of the exciting new companies that is providing this new way of living and doing business.
MD: Anything else you’d like to add?
SR: I think one thing that’s key is that Yerdle is partnering with innovative, forward thinking brands like Patagonia, which has similar values to reduce consumption and impact on our planet. So they’ve partnered with Yerdle to bring their products into the Yerdle community when they have their own products that aren’t being used. I think more and more large companies will begin to partner with Yerdle, seeing that this is the way for the future as the sharing economy benefits all of our lives and our planet. Check out Yerdle for yourself and enjoy being part of the sharing economy!
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