Two Guys, Two Bikes and One Money-Making Plan to a Better World

Adam Wolfensohn and Jason Scott hatched a plan to invest the money of wealthy families and tackle some of society’s most complex challenges as they biked the six miles together each day from their Brooklyn homes to offices in Manhattan.

The duo decided to merge Wolfensohn’s private-equity fund that invests in clean energy and financial services in developing countries with Scott’s Eko Asset Management Partners, which specializes in environmental markets such as sustainable fisheries and forestry. The new firm, which started today under the name of Encourage Capital, expects to attract more than the $250 million they’ve raised separately over the past seven years by offering a wider range of investments.