If the geeks shall inherit the earth, Dan Goodman is someone you’ll want on your team. Not just because of his extensive credentials reflecting his science, technology and business acumen, but because he is on a quest to make the world a better place.

Goodman, who at the age of 10 founded a pinball repair firm, is a serial entrepreneur. He notes with something between a laugh and a sigh that today, after 30 years of experience as a self-starter, he carries nine sets of business cards reflecting his current projects.

Some of his recent endeavors include advising a video-game trading company, a venture capital fund and a local brewery. He also sits on the boards of an engineering firm specializing in energy efficiency projects and an educational toy company.

Kids and science take up a lot of his thoughts these days. Goodman spends most of his time fueling a project he founded in early 2006: Biodiesel University. It is a non-profit, renewable energy education organization designed to educate students, teachers and consumers about renewable energy and environmental stewardship.

His small business is getting its message out and growing by working with college students to help create the project, which is geared toward middle and high school students.

Many large corporations enlist student interns for help – it’s a symbiotic relationship – the interns gain experience in the “real world,” while the firm benefits from usually excellent work that is often free or low-cost. Although small businesses usually lack the infrastructure for an intern coordinator, if a program gets going it can save a firm significantly in cost and time.

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