Making a Profit and a Difference

BusinessWeek

May 1, 2009

In January, BusinessWeek asked readers, staffers, and members of the social venture community to nominate candidates whose trailblazing companies, in operation for at least a year, aimed to turn a profit while tackling social ills. After the call for nominations ended in February, reporters and editors sifted through them, whittling the group of over 200-plus nominees to 25 finalists. In April BusinessWeek posted the profiles of the finalists in a slide show and encouraged readers to vote for the company they felt held the most promise. After all the votes were counted, CleanFish ranked among the top 5 vote-getters.

In the CleanFish BusinessWeek profile, Cleanfish co-founder and CEO Tim O'Shea likens large-scale commercial fishing to "Hoovering up ecosystems." Formed in 2004, the company connects small-scale fish suppliers with distributors to get sustainable seafood to restaurant kitchens and supermarkets, in an effort build a market for sustainable aquaculture and wild fishing that doesn't damage the environment. To do that, O'Shea has four full-time "cleanfish evangelists" among his 30-strong staff, separate from his sales force, who work to educate chefs and consumers about how they source their fish. The company's suppliers—24 artisan fish producers they call the CleanFish Alliance—have already been able to expand because CleanFish increased the market for their seafood. The company's revenue has been doubling each year for three years, and CleanFish expects to top $22 million in 2009.

www.CleanFish.com

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