A Hack-A-Thon at Normandie Christian School in South L.A. on Saturday gave a glimpse into this work-in-progress.

The techies weren’t entrepreneurs with investor backing, but teens from the low-income neighborhood. For five hours, about 70 of them shared 23 Macbooks and learned about programming, coding, web design, web development, data management and social media. They also updated the Silicon Alley website, launched at the first Hack-A-Thon last month hosted by former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Emanuel Pleitez.

This latest South L.A. Hack-A-Thon came to fruition thanks to URBAN Teens eXploring Technology (URBAN TxT), an organization that empowers inner city teen males in urban communities. Its founder Oscar Menijvar, a L.A.-based tech consultant, attended Jordan High School in Watts and only learned to type in computer class. Disappointed that instruction was still limited to typing 15 years after he graduated, Menjivar decided to effect some change.

“Growing up in Watts, I always felt I had two options. Either I hustled to survive or became a victim to the streets. One of my friends got shot and killed and another one is in jail serving a life term,” he told The Atlantic Wire. “It happened in the 90s and it’s happening now in the 21st Century so I thought this inequality of opportunity was unjust. If we don’t do something about it, two, five years from now our communities will still be in the same place.”

While L.A. may not boast the tech community that Silicon Valley has, Menjivar and URBAN TxT realized there were quite a number of untapped resources in the local industry. He referenced a map created by Forbes contributor Tara Brown and couple of her colleagues, that pinpoints 743 local startups:

L.A. tech community members like Joe Conte, senior organizer for the community building software startup NationBuilder joined in the day of teaching.

Conte has much faith in the L.A.’s potential to become a tech hub. “There are a bunch of tech companies who have chosen to be based out of Los Angeles including our investor,” he said. “I see great things here in the future – especially since we can forge partnerships with Hollywood and the entertainment industry.” Virginia-based Nathan Latka, co-founder and CEO of marketing and advertising startup Heyo, stopped by while in town and added to the conversation by tweeting his good impression.

Advances at this Hack-A-Thon make up only a fraction of the pro-bono opportunities URBAN TxT has offered since Menjivar founded it a few years ago. They take applications for a 15-week intensive information technology summer academy hosted at the University of Southern California and last year, took those kids to the Google headquarters for a tour and panel.

For one of the participants, 13-year-old Kevyn McCurchin, the trip had the impact Menjivar intended. “Going to Google made me kind of wish L.A. would be how Silicon Valley is, with so many tech jobs and ideas,” he said. “I think we can be like Silicon Valley, starting with the people. If we’re willing to learn more technology and productive things, South L.A. can become a better place.”

It was on the drive back from Silicon Valley that Menjivar, McCurchin and other participants came up with the name Silicon Alley. And conversations on social media after the Hack-A-Thon suggest that other people are on the same page.

“We [built this business] because we’re human beings who care about this planet,” says cofounder Eric Ryan. Method pulled in revenues of $100 million last year, selling bathroom cleaner, dish soap, hand soap and the like made from non-toxic, plant-based ingredients. In January it launched an eco-friendly laundry detergent. Method puts its products in sleek, often clear plastic bottles that give it a fresh look–notably different from traditional packaging.

It’s up against some stiff competition. Clorox ( CLX – news – people ) launched an eco-friendly cleaning line called Green Works in January 2008. A big marketing campaign, not to mention Clorox’s existing relationships with retailers, has helped it grow. Clorox claims on its website that Green Works is the “#1 brand in natural cleaning.” Procter & Gamble ( PG – news – people ) has an element of green in its cleaning products for professionals such as janitorial and housekeeping services. Smaller competitors to Method include Mrs. Meyers Clean Day, which says it sells “aromatherapeutic” household cleaners.

For all their apparent popularity, “green” household cleaning products still make up just a tiny sliver of the overall market for home cleaning goods. In 2008 environmentally friendly cleaning products accounted for just 3% of the market, according to research firm Mintel International. It’s a fast-growing sector, though. Mintel predicts that green products will grab 30% of the market by 2013.

Andrea Kerr Redniss, an analyst at marketing communications firm Optimedia, gives Method considerable credit for spurring the conversation about green cleaning products. “They definitely brought along the concept that you’re cleaning with poison in your house and really pushed it before it was the trend,” she says.

Method has used marketing smarts (its tagline is the unifying slogan “people against dirty”) to get itself into 160 retailers across the U.S. Its products are also available in Canada, England, Australia, France and Japan, on Amazon.com ( AMZN – news – people ) and on its own Web site. Four pillars define the product experience, according to cofounder Adam Lowry: high performance, a healthy profile, product design and fragrance.

To get its goods into Target ( TGT – news – people ), Method promised Target executives that its product line would continue to expand–Method wasn’t planning on being a one-shot wonder. Not long afterward, some of its products started to leak on Target’s shelves. Method quickly figured out the packaging problem, fixed it and kept selling at Target.

The company got its start in 2000, when high school buddies and former roommates Lowry and Ryan crossed paths in San Francisco. The pair had complementary skills: Lowry studied chemical engineering and environmental science at Stanford University and Ryan–who serves as chief brand architect–had worked in advertising and brand positioning for The Gap ( GPS – news – people ), Old Navy and Saturn. They started in a 200-square-foot room, pooling $90,000 of their own money. The duo borrowed $200,000 from friends and family members. In 2002 Method raised some venture capital funding, which enabled the company to go after the national market.

Method outsources production but has in-house scientists (known as “green chefs”) work only with materials that meet strict environmental and health standards. The focus on a simple, clean aesthetic is always front and center. Boasts Lowry: “Nobody does the combination of style and substance in the way that we do.”