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It was barely 18 months ago that Jessica O. Matthews, the co-founder and CEO of Uncharted Play, a for-profit social enterprise that manufactures energy-generating sports products, seriously considered throwing in the towel.

At the time, Matthews, who was attending Harvard Business School and running her company in New York City, questioned whether she had recruited the right team for her hybrid technology-athletics-social good startup, and whether she would ever develop a sturdy product prototype. “Each day I had to ask myself, after waking up from about three hours of sleep, ‘What the hell am I doing this for?’” she recalls.

Officially founded in May 2011, Uncharted Play formed around the idea of a soccer ball, called the Soccket, which Matthews invented in 2008 as part of a college assignment. Specifically targeted toward the developing world, where energy access is a major issue, the ball converts kinetic energy from play into electricity that can be used as a clean, off-grid power source.

The company planned to distribute the balls in such energy-deficient locations, with additional impact areas in educational innovation and physical wellness—if only it could nail down a working prototype before money from corporate sponsorships ran out.

A first-time business owner, Matthews learned as she went, enduring a barrage of early mistakes and press attention. “It’s like we were a company born into folklore,” the 26-year-old entrepreneur explains. “I often liken it to being a child star. We had to grow up in the public eye.” A major setback occurred when Matthews raised $150,000 from friends and family and, as she puts it, “threw it down the toilet for a four-pound soccer ball a vendor developed for us.”

After that disaster, Matthews brought the prototyping in-house, adopting the use of a 3-D printer. She reevaluated her whole operation, researching not only other social enterprises, but also fashion brands and energy conglomerates.

The turning point came about six months ago, when Matthews graduated from business school and began to rebuild her team. There was a breakthrough in product development. Shortly after, a major contract was signed for distribution in Nigeria, where both of her parents were born (she is a dual citizen). The contract was a vital capital injection. “If we do nothing else but this deal, we’re going to be comfortably a low-seven-figurerevenue-generating company next year,” says Matthews.

Of course, she’s hoping to do plenty else. While global distribution partnerships have been identified as a “long-lead” revenue generating stream, Uncharted Play has also recently opened its e-commerce retail shop, targeted to the U.S. and European markets. The inventory—both the Soccket II and the Pulse, an energy-harnessing jump rope—sold out almost immediately.

“By April, we will have distributed or sold 50,000 Socckets,” the CEO says proudly, adding that the company plans a Series A funding round this spring and is exploring partnerships with brick-and-mortar stores. With seven full-time employees, a handful of interns, and two all-but-full-time consultants in supply-chain management and finance, Uncharted Play is still a small business. But, as Matthews insists, “we’re big to me.”

Disarming global issues, while inspiring playful social invention

The company’s two current offerings generate energy with physical activity. Stored in lithium-ion batteries, the energy can power one of Uncharted Play’s portable LED lamps or connect to a USB adapter. It can even charge a cell phone. With every purchase, the company gives one child access to its play products and Think Out of Bounds educational curriculum.

The Soccket II

The latest iteration of the product that started it all, this standard-sized soccer ball gets charged up during normal game play. One hour of play yields up to three hours of light. ($99, unchartedplay.com)

The Pulse

Like a bicycle generator or windmill, this sophisticated jump rope harnesses rotational energy and stores it in the handles. Fifteen minutes of jumping can yield over two hours of light. ($99, unchartedplay.com)

This story appears in the January 19, 2015 issue of Forbes Magazine.