Comet Skateboards — Fantastic B Corps

As one of B The Change’s 2018 Best For The World: Overall Honorees, Comet Skateboards has spent over a decade building high performance skateboards that use environmentally and socially responsible materials and practices. Co-founded by Jason Salfi, Comet offers a skateboard for every discipline of skateboarding with all materials sourced and made regionally, which helps strengthen the local economy. Read on to find out more about Jason and his Lansing, NY-based B Corp.

What’s the mission of Comet Skateboards? “The core mission of Comet Skateboards is to inspire creativity through skateboarding, foster community, and spread optimism for the future.”

What I love about owning a B Corp: “Three things come to mind: 1) The demand for a clear mission and how it drives the company. 2) The ability to communicate values to broad group of stakeholders. 3) The potential to transition leadership in ways that do not compromise the core values and mission of the organization.”

A look behind our biggest success story: “We’ve developed water-based glues and finishes for skateboard manufacturing that, rather than keep proprietary, we make our duty to share with anyone who is interested. We are proud to say that other skateboard companies use our glues and finishes on their own boards, spreading our innovations beyond the borders of the Comet brand. We have also popularized a method of board-making that utilizes manufacturing offcuts from discarded veneers and ‘upcycles’ them into functional skateboard decks.”

How we’re able to “B The Change” using our Comet principles: “Everyone on our small team has side projects we are work on that create social and environmental benefits. We carry the Comet principles with us through all our lives’ projects. We make change through our daily actions. Before worrying about profit, the principles of caring for people and our planet are our guiding light.”

If you want to become a B Corp… “Get online and take the B Impact Assessment. It takes you through a line of questioning you’d never have thought to explore on your own. It will give you guidance on issues on which you may not have experience, and make your business model stronger. Even if you are far from reaching the 80 points it takes for certification, you will learn where you need to focus your time and effort.”

Why B Corps will continue to stay on the rise: “The B Corp movement will grow. There is a collective effort to use our combined reach to better highlight what it means to thrive in this way. The B Corp certification is a powerful tool to prevent green-washing, and we need to do a better job educating the public about why this matters. We will see multinational companies certified and joining the effort to raise awareness of the core values necessary to care for the earth.”

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About Jason Salfi, Co-Founder, Comet Skateboards

Jason Salfi cofounded B Corporation Comet Skateboards in 1997. The Comet Skateboards core mission is to inspire creativity through skateboarding, community, and optimism for the future. While with Comet, Salfi pioneered several strategies for sustainability through upcycling post industrial waste, manufacturing with non-toxic materials, and integrated marketing strategies. Salfi has a BS in Natural Resources Management from Cornell University and is also the CEO of Dimensional Energy, which is scaling up a novel solar fuels platform technology.

Deborah Sweeney

Deborah Sweeney is an advocate for protecting personal and business assets for business owners and entrepreneurs. With extensive experience in the field of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah provides insightful commentary on the benefits of incorporation and trademark registration. Education: Deborah received her Juris Doctor and Master of Business Administration degrees from Pepperdine University, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in corporate and intellectual property law. Experience: After becoming a partner at LA-based law firm, Michel & Robinson, she became an in-house attorney for MyCorporation, formerly a division in Intuit. She took the company private in 2009 and after 10 years of entrepreneurship sold the company to Deluxe Corporation. Deborah is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with some of the top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites including Forbes, Business Insider, SCORE, and Fox Business, among others. Fun facts/Other pursuits: Originally from Southern California, Deborah enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, Benjamin and Christopher, and practicing Pilates. Deborah believes in the importance of family and credits the entrepreneurial business model for giving her the flexibility to enjoy both a career and motherhood. Deborah, and MyCorporation, have previously been honored by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal’s List of the Valley’s Largest Women-Owned Businesses in 2012. MyCorporation received the Stevie Award for Best Women-Owned Business in 2011.