Driving political change for impact start-ups

Guest post by Ewan White, Director, Boldspace

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Mission is a word that is often overused by start-up founders and teams, but in the impact space it is essential to everything that happens at the business. Whether it’s emerging players indirect air capture, EV innovators or start-ups looking at nature conservation these are businesses that are built around a mission, not just an idea.

This means that these businesses and their leaders are perfectly placed to help drive the broader societal and policy changes that are needed to turn positive ambition into reality. The problem? The scrappy world of a start-up environment can feel a far cry from the stuffy traditional rooms where these decisions are being made in Westminster or Brussels.

As firms scale, there is a broader range of political and regulatory audiences that will become increasingly important. Therefore, the quicker leaders can learn how to talk the right political language across the different ways they communicate, the better placed they will be in the future. This isn’t at the expense of the passion and vision which drove the creation of the business in the first place, it’s about aligning that vision to political asks which are aimed at accelerating progress outside the operations of the business itself.

The important first step is to consider what that political ask is. This might be a technical policy ask of a regulator or department which will unlock positive change in a specific area, or a more significant societal change which requires long-term Government action and collaboration with the private sector. These broader causes often align naturally to impact start-ups and the more positive society they are trying to achieve.

Once the ask is defined and that start-up is clear about what outcomes it is seeking to achieve from political change, it can then look at how to engage. As a start-up this requires finding opportunities for collaboration, identifying causes or organisations which align to the company’s mission and leveraging existing communications activity to engage a political audience.

For an early-stage start-up that is already fighting for the attention of potential investors and customers, it might seem a step too far too soon to add policymakers to that list. This is why it’s important to identify organisations which can bring different voices together to create a vehicle for change.

Organisations such as the Startup Coalition in the UK and the European Tech Alliance are focussed on creating the best environment for start-ups in areas like regulation and finance. There are also sector specific trade organisations such as Energy UK, the CCSA and Direct Air CaptureCoalition which bring together innovators to collaborate on initiatives around specific sector issues. Finding organisations which align to a company’s mission can help to get political asks heard and elevate the profile of impact start-ups among both peers and potential corporate partners.

Lobbying has historically been a dirty word often associated with large corporations in sectors like Oil & Gas but it should be seen as a powerful tool for impact start-ups to deliver lasting change. It is also evolving, and political change no longer happens within the confines of boardrooms and political departments.

There is a huge opportunity for businesses which are scaling in the impact space to leverage their position as innovators and spark political change through campaigning across different channels. Conversations in the media and on social are often where policy change is sparked as it is a place to mobilise support and drive public interest in a cause.

As companies across the impact space attract more funds and reach new scale, considering early on their views on policy change can help to differentiate the company, build credibility and ultimately deliver the change they are seeking to create in the world.

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