Mosaic Inc.
| Industry | Solar Energy |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2010 |
| Headquarters | 1212 Broadway, Suite 300 Oakland, California, 94612 U.S. |
|
Key people
|
Billy Parish — CEO Daniel Rosen — President Steve Controulis — CFO |
| Website | joinmosaic.com |
Mosaic is a solar fin-tech company based in Oakland, California. Founded in 2010, Mosaic created their initial business model using crowdfunding principals to offer loans for commercial solar development projects. For that reason, GigaOM referred to the company as "the Kickstarter for Solar". After shifting their model in 2014, Mosaic Inc. is now focused on financing residential solar projects by leveraging third party capital partners. Through this model, the company aims to democratize the social and environmental benefits of clean energy. Mosaic is a certified benefit corporation.
Billy Parish, Dan Rosen, Arthur Coulston, and Steve Richmond originally started Mosaic to facilitate crowdfunding of loans for solar development projects. In initial tests, Mosaic facilitated about $1.1 million in private investments from 400 people to finance 12 rooftop solar plants in California, New Jersey and Arizona.
In Spring 2012, Mosaic financed five solar power plants through their zero-interest investment model. 400 people invested over $350,000 in these projects which created 73 kW of solar energy for local community organizations—saving the organizations more than $600,000 on their utility bills while producing over 2,700 job hours for local workers.
In September 2012, Mosaic financed its first solar power plant that also offered a return on investment for investors. 51 people raised over $40,000 to finance this 47 kW project for the Youth Employment Partnership in Oakland, California. With a 6.38% annual return over a 5 year loan period, a $200 investment would yield $272 by the end of the 5 years.
On January 7, 2013, Mosaic launched an online platform to let individuals invest as little as US$25 in specific solar projects while earning a 4.5% annual return on their money. Mosaic provided capital to developers at a 5.5% interest rate, took a 1% fee, and investors could expect a full return of their investment in nine years. Mosaic sold out its first public projects in less than 24 hours, with over 400 investors putting in $300,000+ and an average investment of $700.
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