A New Mindset

Changing the world means providing services and products that have a substantial positive impact to our community and environment. We believe that developing corporate policies and practices that incorporate societal issues creates economic value, which, in turn, allows companies to grow.

For Ombligo, this means continuously challenging the status quo to find innovative solutions that minimize the production of electronic waste; such solutions include the re-use, repurposing and/or up-cycling of our partners’ used IT equipment. If a unit appears to be obsolete, we take it apart and try to salvage its individual parts. We find creative ways to create value for our partners by repurposing (i.e. up-cycling) these parts, and only turning to responsible recycling as a last resort.

Our Culture

Ombligo is a team of inspired individuals as diverse as the city and the country in which we operate. We believe in encouraging experimentation, despite the stress it causes on internal resources. Ombligo believes in sharing information across the entire company; our successes and our failures too – especially our failures. We say “we” and not “me”. Ombligo believes that the lessons learned from our mistakes can, and should, be used to educate and strengthen our team.

We started out small because we believe that bootstrapping drives innovation. We also believe that small companies should be self-funded because financial independence allows for creative freedom. We believe that it is still possible to start a great American company in a garage (as we did) and expand across the country (as we continue to do).

We wanted to make big mistakes and learn from them while we were still small. We made mistakes. We learned from them. We were honest about what we knew and what we didn’t know. We experimented. We failed. We experimented more. We succeeded. We improved upon our successes. We listened to our teammates and our partners. We worked hard. We believe we are making a difference. You can help.

Meet Our Team

Our Headquarters

Make a Difference

Donate to Charities

We provide our partners the option of donating all, or a portion of, their used IT equipment to a charitable institution of their choice. Donations can be in the form of used IT equipment that is refurbished and redeployed by Ombligo, or from the cash earned through monetizing used equipment in the secondary market. Our partners are able to make a difference, while enjoying the tax benefits associated with the value of their donations.

Bridge the Digital Divide

With the rapid pace of technological innovation, several markets and economies are left with little to no access to technology. We help bridge this digital divide by working with our partners to supply these underprivileged economies with a much needed access to technology, in the way of refurbished and accessible IT equipment.

Our partners are also able to directly fund specific projects that are aimed at serving these markets, such as providing data center equipment to schools, or providing computer and lab equipment to colleges and universities.

Protect Our Planet

We have an explicit commitment to reduce electronic waste and find solutions to reuse or repurpose our partners’ used IT equipment instead of recycling it. To that end, we maximize the proportion of used IT equipment that we resell, and we even up-cycle obsolete equipment whenever possible prior to responsibly recycling it.

When Ombligo has to responsibly recycle equipment, we hold ourselves to the highest industry standards. We have earned several key certifications that allow us to ensure that all recycling work done by our downstream vendors, is done in the most environmentally-friendly manner.

We provide our partners with full visibility into our recycling process, which allows them to set, track and achieve environmental goals. Our detailed reporting provides our partners with specific weights responsibly recycled periodically, broken down by raw material type.

Recycle Responsibly

We believe that there should be an electronics-recycling bin next to every garbage bin and paper/plastic recycling bin in the world. We believe that, if given the opportunity, people want to do the right thing. With that in mind, we have designed and have started distributing Ombligo Bins, which are recycling bins for electronics. Ombligo Bins are locked bins that encourage employees of large companies and tenants of large industrial buildings to properly dispose of their used and out-of-service IT and AV equipment securely and responsibly. We recently launched a successful Ombligo Bins pilot project in select buildings and data centers in NYC.

Upcycling Projects

Our Desks

In search of a uniquely-designed desk? Our desks have been made using a stack of clean, unsellable server chassis and a piece of plywood.

Our Business Cards

Have too many business cards on your desk or in your wallet? Our business cards are made from seed paper. We encourage our partners to scan our information into their smartphones and then place the cards in the dirt, water them, and watch them grow!

Our Business Card Holders

Need something to file those regular business cards you’re still holding onto? We have repurposed unsellable voltage regulator modules that we use as business card holders.