Since both Cat and I have backgrounds of owning our own small businesses, and I had earned an executive MBA, we naturally considered building rBods as a normal for-profit company. Our vision of a motivational social network requires lots of capital that we simply do not have, so we started attending Venture Capital conferences in search of partners to get started. We loved watching entrepreneurs giving pitches to these venture capitalists, a truly exciting experience! Unfortunately, the extreme emphasis on profits didn’t fit our plan for creating a social network with a primary focus on creating common good… a healthier, happier society with less debt. We didn’t want rBod’s future dictated by profits over social good. So then we looked at the non-profit model. That didn’t fit either. As a businessman I just couldn’t see myself asking for donations every year to sustain a business that I knew was capable of carrying itself within a few years.

I searched for business models that successfully contained both elements of a for-profit and a non-profit to no avail. This dilemma dominated our thoughts as 2008 rolled around, which turned out to be the toughest year of our lives! I broke a couple of ribs on January 3rd by falling on some concrete steps while building our dream home in the Virgin Islands. About a week later I was rushed to an emergency room for other problems aggravated by the fall. This led to a prostate operation and a diagnosis of prostrate cancer, all while taking care of my dying father. All of this cost us dearly. When we went back to complete our home in September the financial market tanked and, ultimately, we ended up loosing our property. I think that it was a struggle that was meant to be, because, during all of this, the state of Vermont passed legislation creating a new type of business…an L3C (Low-profit Limited Liability Company).

The L3C was designed as a hybrid between a non-profit and a for-profit company. A company so designated must have, as its highest priority, a social mission but it is allowed to make a small profit. The law was crafted so that Charitable Organizations and Philanthropists could fund the start up of these businesses through what is called by the IRS a “Program Related Investment”. After the L3C gets on its feet and starts building a revenue stream the company must continue to meet the test of achieving overriding public good.

I can’t tell you how delighted Cat and I were when we discovered the L3C business form! It fits our company to a T! We are committed to patiently providing motivation and education about exercise, nutrition and healthy living throughout America! We have a very strong business plan that envisions rBods as the ultimate health platform in America, indeed a social network with a mission far beyond general communication achieved by other social networks such as Facebook.

The website that you see and help build today is our prototype or “proof of concept”. We look at it as a grassroots movement that recognizes that there is an elephant in the living room….Health is a personal issue! The only way for America to solve our healthcare dilemma and impending financial crisis is for each of us to recognize that ‘True Healthcare reform starts at Home’! As individuals we must take responsibility for our bodies (rBods) and as a result live healthier lives. As a bonus to our own health, our families and friends will benefit and our nation will save billions of dollars annually on healthcare expenses.

We are looking for philanthropists and non-profit foundations that share our vision to help fund rBods so we can take it to the next level. We are building a presentation that modifies our existing business plan with our experiences over the next few months targeted at a handful of non-profits that share portions of our vision such as: Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, Peter G. Peterson Foundation, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and the American Cancer Society. We want to seed our board of directors with members of these organizations so our mission will be directed by continually answering the question “How can we create maximum social good with our earnings?”

Currently, we are in the process of creating a tax deductible fund through a local foundation that can accept your donations. Since the entire L3C business model is new, this may take awhile. You can help the rBods cause in the meantime by donating a non-tax deductible gift through Paypal . Soon we will be adding a shopping cart where you will be able to purchase rBods products such as T-shirts and hats.

Have a healthy day!

rBodsBob