Rubicon Technologies

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rubicon Technologies, LLC
TypePrivate
IndustryWaste Management
Recycling
Smart Cities
Founded2008; 14 years ago (2008)
FoundersNate Morris, Marc Spiegel[1]
Headquarters
City Center
Lexington, Kentucky
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Nate Morris (Founder, Chairman and CEO)
  • Phil Rodoni (CTO)
  • William Meyer (General Counsel and Corporate Secretary)
Websiterubicon.com

Rubicon Technologies, LLC, commonly known as Rubicon, is a software company focused on waste and recycling. It works with customers to find inefficiencies in their waste stream and to develop new and innovative ways to reduce, re-use and recycle.

Rubicon has developed a mobile application to provide on-demand trash pickup.[2] The company has been compared to tech companies such as Uber, Airbnb[3] and Netflix.[4]

History[]

Rubicon was founded in Kentucky in 2008 by Nate Morris and Marc Spiegel who were friends from Eastern High School in Louisville.[5] Spiegel's family had been in the waste and recycling hauling trade for more than a century; his knowledge piqued Morris's interest in starting a company that could disrupt the waste industry. Morris maxed out personal credit cards and sold items on eBay to fund initial expenses, like a website and basic legal work.[6][7]

Rubicon's name comes from the idiom “Crossing the Rubicon”, which means to pass a point of no return and refers to Julius Caesar’s army’s crossing of the Rubicon River in 49 BC.[8] Morris has called Caesar's river crossing “a fantastic story of disruption.”[5]

Funding[]

In the summer of 2012, Rubicon received $5 million in its first financing round. Investors included Rotunda Capital Partners, Richmond Global, C.M. "Bill" Gatton, and Joel Moxley.[citation needed]

In January 2015, Rubicon announced that it had raised $30 million in a second round of financing. Investors included Barry Sternlicht, Brad M. Kelley, Marc Benioff, and Fifth Third Bank.[9]

Rubicon investor Leonardo DiCaprio in April 2016

In September 2015, Rubicon raised $57 million in a third round of financing. The round was led by Nima Capital. Investors included Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Kravis, Paul Tudor Jones, Goldman Sachs, and Wellington Management.[10]

In October 2016, Rubicon was named a Next Billion-Dollar Startup by Forbes.[11]

Forbes reported in January 2017 that Rubicon had raised an additional $50 million in funding, bringing its valuation to $800 million.[12] French-based multi-national company Suez led the financing round which raised a total of $75 million.

In September 2017, Forbes reported that Rubicon had raised an additional $50 million from Promecap, the Mexico-based investment firm led by Fernando Chico Pardo, a long-time associate of Carlos Slim. The funding put the company's valuation at more than $1 billion.[13]

Recode reported in May 2018 that Rubicon had received $65 million in funding from the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.[14]

Corporate information[]

Rubicon is headquartered in Lexington, Ky,[15][16]

In 2018, Rubicon acquired three waste companies: RiverRoad Waste Solutions, Computerized Waste Systems and WestRock’s waste services division.[4]

Business model[]

Rubicon aims to cut costs for customers by working with suppliers to reduce inefficiencies and maximize the amount of waste being diverted from landfills.[17] Customers include 7-Eleven and Wegmans,[3] as well as Starbucks.[18] Rubicon serves the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico and launched in 18 additional countries in early 2016.[19] In February 2019, Rubicon said it was formally setting its sights on international business development, with efforts expected to focus on Europe and the Asia-Pacific region to start.[20] As of May 2020, the company said it has 2.7 million user service locations.[21]

Rubicon is a cloud-based company. It created and maintains its own software platform that analyzes its customers’ waste stream and makes sense of all the data on haulers, clients, and recycling possibilities.[3] Rubicon provides a suite of SaaS products for waste, recycling, and smart city solutions.[buzzword] This subscription business is targeted to comprise more than 50% of Rubicon's revenue.[22]

Industry reaction[]

Rubicon's business model, focused on moving the industry away from landfills and investing in technology, has elicited strong reactions from the large incumbent waste companies.[23]

At WasteExpo 2017, Waste Management CEO James Fish commented on Rubicon's landfill diversion goals by saying, "To the extent that all of us own disposal facilities of some type, maybe we are married to it, and I'm OK with that at 30 percent margins. I’m agnostic here with respect to landfills versus recycling."[24]

Acquisition speculation[]

Forbes contributor Marilyn Cohen has written that if "Rubicon is really the Uber of the garbage business, it could be a perfect future acquisition for one of the industry giants."[25]

Small business empowerment[]

Rubicon has focused on small business empowerment. The company is partnered with the National Federation of Independent Business to promote and expand their independent vendor network.[26]

Rubicon has more than 5,200 independent vendors in its network.[27] It helps small businesses achieve scale and compete through RubiconPro, a suite of app-based tools that it launched in 2016.[28]

Rubicon has partnered with The Credit Junction to provide its network of haulers with flexible financing, including access to term loans or lines of credit from $500,000 to $5 million.[29]

Smart Cities[]

RUBICONSmartCity is the company's product offering specifically designed for city governments.[30][31] Government Fleet reported that Rubicon's platform had improved driver safety, vehicle health, customer service and the ability to track public works priorities like potholes, property maintenance issues and graffiti for Rubicon's municipal partners.[32]

Rubicon launched a partnership with the City of Atlanta in December 2016.[33] The city's waste trucks are deployed with Rubicon's mobile app and the Department of Public Works has access to the company's vendor platform.

In the spring of 2017, Rubicon announced municipal partnerships with the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico[34] and the City of Columbus, Georgia.[35]

Rubicon announced a pilot program with the City of Montgomery, Alabama in June 2018.[36] In July 2019, Rubicon and the City of Montgomery signed a three-year, nearly $750,000 deal.[37]

Rubicon launched partnerships with the City of West Memphis, Arkansas in July 2018[38] and the City of Spokane, Washington in December 2018.[39]

In February 2019, Rubicon announced a partnership with the City of Fort Collins, Colorado to test new smart street sweeper technology.[40] Rubicon announced partnerships with the City of Irving, Texas in April 2019[41] and the City of Norfolk, Virginia in June 2019.[42] In November 2019, Rubicon announced a partnership with the City of Fort Smith, Arkansas.[43]

The RUBICONSmartCity technology is available on the Amazon Web Services Marketplace.[44] In spring 2019, Rubicon said the smart cities platform had been rolled out in more than 30 cities across the U.S.[45]

Partnerships[]

In January 2017, Rubicon announced a strategic partnership with Suez.[46] The companies agreed to collaborate on technology and data.

In October 2017, Rubicon announced a partnership with TerraCycle to offer more non-landfill waste solutions.[buzzword][47] The companies have access to each other's customer bases to offer new solutions[buzzword], fill in service gaps and develop new strategies.

Rubicon announced in March 2019 that it had entered into a partnership agreement with the Odakyu Group to bring its technology solutions[buzzword] to Japan and help Odakyu develop a sustainable ecosystem for all of its operating businesses.[48]

In December 2019, Rubicon announced it had signed a subscription agreement with Swiss company Helvetia Environnement.[49] Helvetia has a network of roughly 500 public sector and 15,000 private sector clients.

Rubicon announced in June 2020 a partnership with global safety certification company UL.[50]

Rubicon is a member of the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council.[51]

Rubicon has teamed with data company Trucost to give its customers accurate data on the greenhouse gas emissions from their waste.[52]

In early 2018, Rubicon debuted RUBICONMethod, a guide that encapsulates best practices for organizations striving to reduce their waste generation and keep valuable materials out of landfills.[53]

In May 2018, Rubicon partnered with the Atlanta Hawks to recycle 12,500 seats removed during the Philips Arena transformation project.[54]

Rubicon diverted nearly 12 tons of waste destined for landfills from events at State Farm Arena during the week of Super Bowl LIII.[55]

Public Policy[]

In 2017, Rubicon supported legislation in Nevada to increase collection opportunities for independent haulers. The company argued in an op-ed that Senate Bill 315[56] would "save taxpayer money, empower competition, and help eradicate landfills."[57] Republic Services responded with an op-ed arguing against the bill.[58]

COVID-19 Response[]

In response to the worldwide spread of coronavirus disease 2019, Rubicon CEO Nate Morris sent a letter urging President Trump and the U.S. Congress to support independent waste haulers in COVID-19 relief legislation.[59] Provisions in the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 benefited both waste employers and employees.[60]

In April 2020, Rubicon partnered with London-based legal technology company Libryo to offer a COVID-19 Regulation Tracker to its customers.[61] The free service is offered in eight U.S. states.

Benefit Corporation[]

Rubicon is a certified B Corporation.[62]

In 2013, Rubicon worked with companies including Warby Parker and Prudential Financial to pass a law in Delaware recognizing public benefit corporations.[63]

Recognition and Memberships[]

Rubicon has been certified as a Great Place to Work® since 2018[64][65][66][67] and was included by Glassdoor among “11 Companies with Seriously Impressive Benefits.”[68]

Rubicon won the Ecolab Award for Circular Economy Digital Disruptor at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in 2017. The prestigious award was presented as part of The Circulars, an awards program by the WEF’s Young Global Leaders. Nate Morris was named a finalist for the Fortune Award for Circular Economy Leadership the same year.[69]

In 2017, Inc. named Rubicon to its list of the 25 Most Disruptive Companies of the Year.[70] Other companies included on the list included Hyperloop One and SoFi.

Fast Company included Rubicon on its list of The World's Most Innovative Companies 2016 - Social Good Sector.[71]

Rubicon is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations[72] and the Wharton School Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership's Corporate Advisory Board.[73]

Case study[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Rubicon Global, LLC". Kentucky Secretary of State - FastTrack. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  2. ^ Fehrenbacher, Katie (6 July 2015). "Coming soon: An Uber for trash". Fortune. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Lapowsky, Issie (13 January 2015). "A Startup Just Got $30 Million to Shake Up the Garbage Industry | WIRED". Wired. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  4. ^ a b Rosengren, Cole (17 August 2018). "Inside Rubicon's voluminous ambitions". Waste Dive. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  5. ^ a b Zax, David (25 October 2014). "Dividing and Conquering the Trash". New York Times. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  6. ^ McCullough, Mike; D'Angelo, Caroline (13 Aug 2012). "Investing in Disruptive Sustainability". Wharton Magazine. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  7. ^ Contributor, Ashoka (30 June 2016). "Kentucky Entrepreneur Nate Morris Is Disrupting The World's Toughest Industry: Garbage". Forbes. Retrieved 12 July 2016. {{cite magazine}}: |last1= has generic name (help)
  8. ^ Koskoff, Maya (2 June 2016). "Why Did Leo DiCaprio Join a Garbage Start-Up—Literally?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  9. ^ "Lexington-based Rubicon Global raises $30M in latest round of financing". Lexington Herald-Leader. 16 Jan 2015. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.[dead link]
  10. ^ Kolodny, Lora (17 Sep 2015). "Rubicon Global Picks Up $50M for On-Demand Trash Removal". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  11. ^ Feldman, Amy (19 October 2016). "Next Billion-Dollar Startups 2016". Forbes. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
  12. ^ Konrad, Alex (10 January 2017). "Meet Rubicon Global, The Startup Using Uber's Playbook To Disrupt Your Trash". Forbes. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  13. ^ Konrad, Alex (12 September 2017). "Trash Unicorn: Waste Startup Rubicon Global Hits $1B Valuation With $50M Raise". Forbes. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
  14. ^ Schleifer, Teddy (10 May 2018). "New Zealand's government has made a rare investment of $65 million into 'Uber for trash' startup Rubicon". Recode. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  15. ^ Chisenhall, Jeremy (8 June 2021). "This $1 billion company hailed for innovation is bringing its global HQ to Lexington". Lexington Herald-Leader. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Rubicon Fact Sheet" (PDF). Rubicon. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  17. ^ "The Elimination of Garbage". Knowledge@Wharton. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
  18. ^ Waste360 Staff (21 February 2020). "Rubicon, DAVACO Divert 161 Tons of Metal from Landfills". Waste360. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
  19. ^ Hook, Leslie (9 February 2016). "Rubicon Global: tapping an app to tip". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
  20. ^ Rosengren, Cole (9 February 2019). "Rubicon Global sets sights overseas with new international role". Waste Dive. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  21. ^ Rosengren, Cole (22 May 2020). "Rubicon's first ESG report emphasizes software pivot, $208M potential savings for cities". Waste Dive. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  22. ^ Rosengren, Cole (20 May 2019). "Rubicon Global taking less combative tack, focusing on software business". Waste Dive. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  23. ^ Rosengren, Cole (16 May 2017). "For Rubicon Global, corporate chatter fuels a competitive fire". Waste Dive. Retrieved 3 June 2017.
  24. ^ "Waste360 Investor Summit - Waste Expo 2017". Wall Street Webcasting. Retrieved 4 June 2017.
  25. ^ Cohen, Marilyn (19 January 2017). "Steady Income With Garbage Bonds". Forbes. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  26. ^ "Rubicon Global - Small Business Empowerment".
  27. ^ Workman, Megan (6 April 2017). "Making metrics matter". Waste Today. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  28. ^ Henry, Zoë (27 May 2016). "How This $500 Million Company Empowers Trash Startups". Inc. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  29. ^ Waste360 Staff (8 September 2016). "Rubicon Global Partners with The Credit Junction for New Flexible Financing Program". Waste360. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  30. ^ "Rubicon Smart Cities". Rubicon Global. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  31. ^ Douglas, Theo (4 April 2017). "3 Cities Pilot Cloud-Based App, Dashboards to Get Smart About Trash and Recyclables". Governing Technology. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  32. ^ Kamal, Tariq (10 June 2019). "In These Cities, Fleet Vehicles Are Roaming Data Centers". Government Fleet. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  33. ^ Konrad, Alex (1 December 2016). "The City Of Atlanta Will Now Pick Up Its Trash Using An App From Tech Startup Rubicon Global". Forbes. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  34. ^ Rosengren, Cole (8 March 2017). "Rubicon announces second municipal partnership with Santa Fe, NM". Waste Dive. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
  35. ^ Rosengren, Cole (17 April 2017). "Rubicon announces third municipal partnership in Columbus, GA". Waste Dive. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
  36. ^ "Rubicon Global Launches SmartCity Partnership in Montgomery, Ala". Waste360. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  37. ^ Harper, Brad (16 July 2019). "Montgomery signs multiyear deals with tech companies". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved 17 July 2019.
  38. ^ Rech, John (12 July 2018). "WM city officials hope new GPS-based app will solve recent sanitation issues". The Evening Times. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  39. ^ Rosengren, Cole (7 December 2018). "Rubicon wins collection tech contract in Spokane, Washington". Waste Dive. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  40. ^ Waste360 Staff (26 February 2019). "Smart Street Sweepers Headed to Fort Collins, Colo". Waste360. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  41. ^ SmartCitiesWorld news team (2 April 2019). "City of Irving launches smart waste pilot". SmartCitiesWorld. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  42. ^ SmartCitiesWorld news team (28 June 2019). "City of Norfolk smartens up its approach to waste". SmartCitiesWorld. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  43. ^ "Fort Smith, Arkansas Selects Rubicon Global for Smart City Pilot Program". Rubicon Global. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  44. ^ "RUBICONSmartCity™ Technology Now Available on AWS Marketplace". Rubicon Global. 17 July 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  45. ^ Press Release. "City of Irving, Texas Selects Rubicon Global". Rubicon Global. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  46. ^ "SUEZ Steps Up the Digitalization of its Recycling and Recovery Activities by Acquiring a Stake in Rubicon Global". Rubicon Global. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  47. ^ Hermes, Jennifer (3 October 2017). "Hard-to-Recycle Waste May Get Easier with Rubicon, TerraCycle Partnership". Environmental Leader. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  48. ^ SmartCitiesWorld news team (5 March 2019). "Rubicon to help reshape Japan's waste industry". SmartCitiesWorld. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
  49. ^ Weekes, Sue (10 December 2019). "Swiss waste company signs technology agreement". Smart Cities World. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
  50. ^ "UL and Rubicon Announce Partnership to Promote Circularity, Zero Waste, and Sustainability Strategies to Businesses". Rubicon Global. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  51. ^ "Members of the U.S. Zero Waste Business Council". Retrieved 22 Dec 2015.
  52. ^ Rosengren, Cole (5 August 2016). "Rubicon teams with Trucost to provide GHG emissions data". Retrieved 7 August 2016.
  53. ^ "Introducing the RUBICONMethod—6 Steps for Successful Recycling and Waste Reduction". Globe Newswire. 7 February 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  54. ^ Mike, Sunnucks (30 May 2018). "Hawks Recycling 12,500 Seats As Part Of Philips Arena Renovation". SportsBusiness Daily. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  55. ^ Mandel, Eric (14 February 2019). "Rubicon Global, State Farm Arena recycle 12 tons of waste during Super Bowl week". Atlanta Business Chronicle. Retrieved 15 February 2019.
  56. ^ "SB315 Overview". Nevada Legislature. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  57. ^ Allegretti, Michael (14 April 2017). "It's time for waste collection norms to change". The Nevada Independent. Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  58. ^ Oudman, Tim (3 May 2017). "Response to waste collections op-ed". Retrieved 4 May 2017.
  59. ^ Morris, Nate. "Congress Cannot Ignore Nation's Independent Waste Haulers in COVID-19 Relief Package". Rubicon Global - Blog. Rubicon Global. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  60. ^ Crunden, E.A. (26 March 2020). "$2T coronavirus stimulus package expected to directly help small haulers and frontline workers". Waste Dive. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  61. ^ Redling, Adam (24 April 2020). "Rubicon offers customers free COVID-19 Regulation Tracker". Recycling Today. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  62. ^ "B Corp Community - Rubicon Global". Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  63. ^ Menin, Sophie (29 April 2013). "Benefit-Corporations on the Rise". Barron's. Retrieved 21 Dec 2015.
  64. ^ "Rubicon Certified as a Great Place to Work®". Globe Newswire. 26 March 2018. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  65. ^ "Rubicon Global Certified as a Great Place To Work® for the Second Year in a Row". Globe Newswire. 27 February 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  66. ^ "Rubicon Certified as a Great Place to Work® for Third Consecutive Year". GlobeNewswire. 10 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  67. ^ "Rubicon Certified as a Great Place to Work® Four Years in a Row". Rubicon. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  68. ^ Moore, Emily (4 April 2018). "11 Companies With Seriously Impressive Benefits". Glassdoor. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
  69. ^ "Rubicon Global Wins Circular Economy Award at World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos". Rubicon Global. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  70. ^ Henry, Zoë (13 June 2017). "The 25 Most Disruptive Companies of the Year - Rubicon Global". Inc. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  71. ^ "The World's Most Innovative Companies 2016 - Social Good". Fast Company. Retrieved 19 March 2016.
  72. ^ "Company List - Council on Foreign Relations". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  73. ^ "Our Sponsors - Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership". Initiative for Global Environmental Leadership. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  74. ^ Sahlman, William A.; Ashmore, Hunter (16 November 2015). "Rubicon". Retrieved 9 April 2017 – via www.hbs.edu. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Retrieved from ""