100-Interview Initiative: Into the Minds of Impact-Driven Startups

It originates from who we are…

We are a diverse group of individuals who share a common goal: to make a difference. Our collective passion for environmental sustainability and ethical design drives us. We firmly believe that technology can be a force for good, and we want to make a positive impact through the work we do.

And what is the work we do?

We design software products for startups and scale-ups. However, we don’t want to just push endless products onto the market, we are committed to creating solutions that provide real user values and lasting impact.

So, how do we create impact through our work then?

With this shared passion and aligned belief, this is the question we asked ourselves earlier in our journey.

On one hand, it’s simply focusing on doing our best at what we do - building software products that provide real user values. We achieve this by:

1. Conducting research to deeply understand user needs, gather insights and design products that address those needs.
2. Focusing on ethical design to create solutions that are not only functional but also inclusive, responsible and sustainable.
3. Rigorously testing and validating our ideas to ensure they meet both user expectations and our ethical criteria.
4. Eventually bringing the products to market. Because the ultimate goal is to bring these thoughtfully designed products to the market, where they can create a lasting impact.

On the other hand, to create a more positive impact through our work, we want to also work with other like-minded companies who are aiming to drive impact with the work they do. We believe that together, we can amplify our impact and make a difference in our environment and society.

Then comes the question - who are these impact-driven startups?

“Why don’t we do some research and find out?” - This naturally came to our minds, as it’s usually what we start with when jumping on a client’s project. It’s so we can understand better our target audience.

What do we want to learn from our research?

Defining the goal of research - it’s the first thing you should set forward before conducting your research. We followed the same principle and defined our goals and focuses:

• Market dynamics We want to understand the dynamic landscape of impact-driven startups and investments, identify trends, and spot where the wind is blowing.
• The growth journey We want to learn what motivated the founders to start their journey, their growth strategies, what impact they aim to drive and how that impact is measured.
• Overcoming challenges We want to examine the hurdles and challenges faced by these startup ventures as they bring their products to market.

What will be the result of the research?

We aim to do 100 interviews in total. Once we reach that magic number (or an interesting amount), we’ll synthesise the findings, write out the patterns we found in a nice publication and make it available to the world.

We believe knowledge should be shared, and by collaborating, learning and sharing, we can pave the way for a more ethical, sustainable, and impactful future. Therefore, we’re also going to share snippets of interesting learnings we get from the companies we speak to along the way through social channels.

How you can participate?

With just over 1 month's time, we've completed 13 interviews and have a whopping 87 more to go!

If you're on a mission to create a positive impact with your startup or investment fund, we invite you to reach out to us. Share your insights, experiences, and stories! You can fill out the form below or even book a call directly with our interviewer.

Your contribution can help us better understand and support the community of impact-driven businesses. Together, let's embark on this journey to create a better world through innovation and shared values!