In a deal that could bring more investments, companies and jobs to Raleigh, a new venture group has picked Raleigh for its headquarters.

Seventh Generation Ventures, an investment group that is part of New Hampshire-based Seventh Generation which is led by a former CEO of Burt’s Bees, is establishing an office in the new HQ Raleigh facility.

HQ Raleigh is located at 310 South Harrington Street in Raleigh’s Warehouse District.

An expansion of the former HUB Raleigh shared office space venture on Hillsborough Street, HQ Raleigh says it is home to 56 companies.

Seventh Generation is led by John Replogle, who at one time was chief executive officer at Burt’s Bees. It sells natural personal care products.

Seventh Generation Ventures is focused on what it calls “socially responsible startups.”

The company recently made its first investment in a company called “Bobble.” The New York-based startup that is focused on water filtration is being moved to Raleigh.

Bobble’s focus is reusable, self-filtering water bottles. Seventh Generation Ventures acquired control of the company in May. 

The full announcement follows: 

HQ Raleigh Announces Partnership with Seventh Generation

HQ Raleigh is excited to announce that Seventh Generation Ventures, the newly launched social venture arm of Seventh Generation, will be a partner and anchor tenant in their new building, located at 310 South Harrington Street.

Seventh Generation is the largest producer of environmentally safe household products. Based in Vermont, the company is led by John Replogle as CEO. Replogle is the former CEO of Durham-based Burt’s Bees, a leader in natural personal care and an active member in the Triangle community. Seventh Generation Ventures, which was established earlier this year, will seek to fund and accelerate socially responsible startups. The company recently announced their first investment in bobble, a leading brand in water filtration, and is in the process of relocating bobble’s headquarters from New York City to Raleigh.
By partnering with HQ Raleigh, Seventh Generation Ventures will gain access to a burgeoning community of social entrepreneurs and will be viewed as a prominent resource in Raleigh’s startup scene.

Says Replogle, “We are excited to have the chance to collaborate with HQ and to effectively harness our capabilities to identify, fund, and build socially responsible companies here in the Triangle. This area has such a richness of talent, innovation, and energy that makes it an ideal location to successfully build our social venture business in the years ahead.”

HQ Raleigh is currently home to 56 companies; their new space, situated in Downtown Raleigh’s Warehouse District, will allow HQ to expand its diverse network of startups, ranging from tech, to healthcare, to socially responsible companies. Throughout the past year, HQ Raleigh has worked diligently to support social entrepreneurship through memberships, events, and working towards their own B-Corp certification. The partnership with Seventh Generation will further solidify these efforts.

Says Jason Widen, Executive Director at HQ Raleigh, “It’s partnerships like these that help us to fill a void in the entrepreneurial community and to seed companies that will provide local economic impact.”