Today we’d like to introduce you to Harden Goldenberg.
Harden, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My passion for the environment and sustainable energy began in college and through my many outdoor adventures: hiking the Appalachian Trail, volunteering in the backcountry in Alaska, and directing an outdoor adventure camp for at risk youth to name a few. With an eye on a career in non-profit organizations, I moved to Atlanta to serve as an AmeriCorps volunteer. I then helped to start and administer an AmeriCorps program. My next adventure began when I received a scholarship through the International Rotary Foundation to study Spanish for 6 months in Ecuador. Upon returning to the States, I married, hit the books again earning a Master’s in Public Policy, and had two sons. My plan was to return back to non-profit work but my graduate classes sparked the idea to use business as a vehicle for change and helped to hone in on the opportunities for green/sustainable companies in the southeast. After completing my certification of “BPI Building Analyst”, “Earthcraft Renovator”, “HERS”, and “NRPP Radon Measurement and Mitigation”, I founded Smart Space and have been building its steady growth for five years.
Has it been a smooth road?
It has been a smooth road. The community of non-profit and for profit organizations in my field have been an endless reservoir of inspiration and expertise that I have been fortunate to tap into as I scale up my business. The technology is always evolving and changing in sustainable development so I love what I do and I am excited to be part of a field in which I will always need to learn, adapt, and evolve.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Smart Space – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Smart Space is a full service business that offers a complete range of products and services to improve the efficiency, comfort, and health of residential and commercial spaces. Because we are passionate about the “whole space approach” with the understanding that a space performs optimally as an integrated whole, we specialize is using the most up to date diagnostic equipment (infrared cameras, blower door and duct blaster tests, pressure pan tests, flow hoods, load calculations etc.) and software modeling to analyze and offer solutions that saves our customers money. We sit down with our customers with two full reports and a plan of action that makes the most sense for each unique space. Because we often see, for example, high energy efficient furnaces in homes with disconnected and extremely leaky ducts, we believe in starting with the least expensive projects first that will give the biggest bang for a buck such as air and duct sealing, insulation, and crawl space encapsulations. If the budget allows for it and it makes sense, we then guide our customers to consider window and door installation, gutters and rain barrels, custom chicken coops, sustainable floor and carpeting, more efficient HVAC systems, water heaters, and solar. We also care about the health of spaces so we offers solutions for radon mitigation and the underlying cause of mold. Our experienced and detailed oriented crews retrofit each space with 100% guarantee satisfaction that will often be eligible for rebates and tax credits (and pays for itself over time with lower energy bills).
I am most proud of creating a business that really cares about our customers while simultaneously having a larger impact on the region by being part of an exciting and growing movement of non-profit and for profit businesses that are devoted to sustainable development. Our services directly reduce the carbon footprint of Atlanta. Wasteful and inefficient commercial and residential spaces with poor indoor air quality, are second behind cars in contributing to the carbon footprint of a city.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Aside from the diversity, history, beautiful old homes, and quick access to the mountains, I am most excited about the renaissance of entrepreneurial growth of incredible restaurants and small businesses spurred by the Belt Line project in town.
My least favorite thing about Atlanta is that it has a long way to go to develop a viable solution to traffic congestion and public transportation.
Contact Info:
- Address: 396 Atlanta Ave Atlanta, Ga 30315
- Website: www.smartspaceatlanta.com
- Phone: 4044540472
- Email: harden@smartspaceatlanta.com
