BOULDER — Looking for a green dry cleaner? An eco-friendly hair salon? A new Boulder business just might have what you’re looking for.

Launched on March 1, greener50.com — run by greener50 LLC — is a combination green business directory and social networking website that allows individuals to not only search for eco-friendly businesses in their area but also interact with that business and other like-minded people online.

The site is the brainchild of two Boulder neighbors, Rick Oberreuter and Matt Neidenberg.

“We were sitting outside talking and realized that we both had the same basic idea,” said Neidenberg, a former wilderness ranger with the U.S. Forest Service. Oberreuter, a graphic designer, said many of his clients who own green businesses had mentioned to him the need for a way to market and distinguish themselves from other businesses – without a huge advertising budget.

What began as a neighborly chat over a couple of beers has grown into a fledgling enterprise. So far, the greener50 site lists 16 businesses, mostly in Colorado, and more than 100 individual members.

“The big pull for businesses is that everybody on the site is 100 percent within their target market,” said Oberreuter. “It’s an opportunity to get out in front of that audience and have those one-to-one conversations that really make a difference.”

Although a space within the business directory allows companies to explain what make them “green,” there is currently no official screening process to determine whether a business is eco-friendly enough to appear on the site.

“If a business is trying to do the right thing, we want to encourage that,” said Oberreuter. Ultimately, he said that it’s the greener50 community that will screen businesses by commenting about their experiences with them. The company also hopes to add a “green star” system that will allow members to rate businesses on the site.

As for the social networking aspect, the pair said that although they were initially hesitant to bring ‘yet another’ social network into the world, they also didn’t want to create a stagnant website without a space to interact.

“We kept coming back to the word ‘community,’ ” Neidenberg said. “We wanted this site to be a place for people and businesses to share ideas, learn and get to know each other in a more intimate setting.”

To that end, the site also includes forums where members can discuss environmental issues or swap eco tips, as well as a library of articles, many penned by Neidenberg’s wife, Stefanie, who has an educational background in environmental policy and leadership and who serves as the company’s head writer and copy editor.

Individual and basic business memberships on greener50 are free. For individuals, this includes a profile page and the ability to interact with businesses and other members. For businesses, this includes a simple text directory listing and the ability to participate in group discussions on the site to connect with potential and current customers.

For $400 a year, businesses can upgrade to the standard membership, which includes a custom layout design for the business directory listing, the ability to be found in multiple categories in the business directory, the chance to offer special coupons to customers, featured events on the community calendar and a discount on advertising.

Or, for $1,000 a year, businesses can choose the storefront membership plan, which includes an enhanced three-page storefront business directory listing, a featured article about the business on the site, a featured listing in the directory and a company Twitter feed on the greener50 homepage.

Nonprofits receive a 20 percent discount on both standard and storefront memberships.

In terms of the pair’s own startup costs, they’ve been low. They built the site on WordPress and learned the ins and outs of the system as they went.

“We’re not even up to $1,000 in terms of the money we’ve had to spend,” Neidenberg said. “But in terms of sweat equity, we’re probably closer to $60,000.”

“We’re definitely bootstrappers,” Oberreuter added. “There’s been a learning curve, but we’ve done everything on our own with the skills we had.”

The company’s short-term goals include rolling out the ratings system and an advertising program (pricing will be available on the website in the coming months). As the business grows, Neidenberg and Oberreuter hope to turn what is currently a side project for each into a full-time career.

The duo said their long-term goal is to start with a local focus and grow organically from there into a national platform — hence the name greener50, for the 50 states.

“We want to be a catalyst for the U.S. to be a leader in the green economy,” Oberreuter said. “So we’re creating a platform to be able to do that.”

“Our dream goal,” Neidenberg said, “is to become ‘the’ eco hub on the Internet.”