Some of the biggest opportunities are hidden in plain sight - David Hinton, GoodTech Ventures 

The 4th edition of the GoodTech Ventures Accelerator has kicked off, welcoming a new cohort of eight impact-driven startups to its eight-week, founder-first program. GTV will provide support, networks, and prize grants totaling £20,000. The programme is funded by the Mayor of London and is completely free for founders to join - with no equity taken.

This year’s cohort includes: 

• Koala For Work – Building neuro-inclusive workplaces
• Tailored Futures CIC – Digital resettlement for ex-offenders
• Ellyfe Ltd  – Predicting dehydration in older adults
• The School Register – 'Check-a-Trade' for school interventions
• XPark Games – Gamifying digital career discovery
• Circe – Group therapy for women, made accessible
• The Hive– Data-driven collaboration in prisons
• Remedy Legal – AI-powered legal support for renters

David Hinton, Senior Venture Partner at GoodTech Ventures says that in selecting the participating startups, impact is the North Star.

“So firstly, does the venture prioritise social change, especially for disadvantaged or underrepresented groups. But to scale and sustain that impact, the commercial model has to be sound too, even if it’s still early. In the end, we’re backing founders who are ambitious, deeply understand the problem they’re tackling, and are committed to levelling the playing field through technology.”

‍

Success for David and the team at GTV is about the founders. Reflecting on the most important metrics, he says:

“The most important measure is the stories they tell after the programme — the lessons learned, the tough but necessary iterations, the breakthroughs, the networks built. Each founder defines their own metrics, but if they come out listening, growing, adapting, and feeling supported and connected, that’s success in our eyes.”

For example, when Jeremy from SocialHeads joined a previous edition, “he had the commitment and technical know-how, but being a tech-for-good founder was still new territory.”

“Through the programme he built confidence in impact management, business models and foundership, and since then he’s built a team, gone deep on user research with young people and care professionals, and made some strong hires. What I love most is his openness in sharing the journey — it’s inspiring for other founders just a few steps behind him.”, David adds.

‍

Opportunities and mistakes

Some of the biggest opportunities in impact tech are “hidden in plain sight.”

“It’s not always about flashy new tech, but about fixing the “boring but vital” systems that actually make services work for people. 

And we’re also seeing a greater appetite from public services to engage in the early stage, slightly riskier, but more rewarding work — so we’re helping to connect those dots too.”

“In impact tech, you only go far if you go with people.”, he adds. “The founders who thrive are the ones who build the right relationships and make the most of the sector’s collaborative spirit, where everyone is ultimately working towards the same goal. 

And the second thing is optimism — many are driven by frustration at the problem, but the ones who succeed hold a deep belief, quiet or loud, that things can be better and that they can help make it happen.”

‍

When it comes to most frequent mistakes impact-driven founders tend to make, David emphasises three important ones:

“First, founders often rush to build big solutions and chase investment, when so much early validation can be done lean with prototypes or simple tests – especially with vibe coding tools like our friends at Lovable out there. 

Second, they lose sight of the user — it’s all about nailing that unique value proposition, earning trust, and building from there. 

And third, paralysis: with so much to do, many struggle to prioritise and focus on what really matters day to day.”

‍

What does the ecosystem need?

What we must start with is “recognition of the true value of impact tech.

The spotlight often goes on high-growth, economy-inflating ventures, but impact startups are the ones tackling the systemic issues that hold growth back: things like inequality, poor access to services, or lack of skills. 

Aside from economic growth it’s about human progress - technology that creates fairness, equity, wellbeing and prosperity for all isn’t just nice to have, it’s central to the kind of society we want. 

With that recognition comes the need for greater support: policy shifts that make it easier for the public sector to engage with early-stage founders, resource allocation that prioritises impact as well as growth, and strong ecosystems like the one we’re building at GoodTech Ventures.”

‍

Looking ahead

Lastly, we asked David to share with us their plans for the next 2-3 years: 

“Over the next few years, we want to support more founders across the UK, which means delivering more programmes and opening up access. 

A big focus will be unlocking the power of community — more peer-to-peer support, more collaboration with the wider ecosystem. 

We also want to go deeper into problem spaces: working alongside Catch22’s own services and other public service partners to explore future challenges and opportunities. 

By bringing our founder community into that work, we can co-create solutions that not only grow ventures but also drive public service reform and build a stronger, fairer society.”

‍

Thank you, David Hinton!