Morning Innovators ⚡ In less than 5 minutes, we’ll cover…

🥳 The best funding opportunities, events and jobs in the Start-Up world this week
📰 This week’s biggest news stories in the Start-Up world
🌏 How this Start-Up is helping children become planet protectors
🍺 How you can use your marketing campaigns to spread an important message
🗣 A tool that allows your audience to engage with your powerpoint in real time

✨ Last week’s most clicked link, was this link taking you through to Clover’s new $30m fund looking to back early-stage future of work startups

🎄 This is our last issue of the year, but we’ll be back in the New Year with all sorts of Opportunities, Openings and News updates - have a great festive period!

Happy hustling,

Rich

🎤 Opportunities + Events

🌠 Lightspeed Ventures have just announced a mammoth raise of $9bn across multiple funds, predominantly focusing on AI - connect with the team here!

🕸 The Nordic Web Ventures have raised a $6 million fund to back early-stage Founders in the region - connect with the GP here!

🛤 Twin Track Ventures have raised a £5m fund to invest in defence and dual use startups - contact the team here!

We now have a community of thousands of Start-Ups and Founders, here are the hottest Start-Up job opportunities from the Innovators Uncensored community on our very own Start-Ups Job Board!

💼 Start-Up Jobs

🧑‍💻 Senior Software Engineer, DevAlly
📊 Head of Product, SuperFI
✈️ Founding Software Engineer, TRVLR

😡 Monzo shareholders revolt over CEO exit. Sifted

 🍕 DoorDash rolls out Zesty, an AI social app for discovering new restaurants. TechCrunch

🩺 Uber Eats alum lands $14m seed from a16z to fix WhatsApp chaos for LatAm’s doctors. TechCrunch
 
💳 Monzo secures European banking licence ahead of international growth. UKTN

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At this time of year, most people are well and truly in the swing of Christmas parties. People are celebrating, drinks are flowing and good times are being had.

However, Carlsberg took a moment to send a message that is never more relevant than at Christmas time. With their latest campaign, they reminded people to use their product sensibly, and to avoid driving after they do consume it. They’ve removed the ‘Carl’ from their logo to represent what happens as a result of drink driving - Carl being the name of someone that could potentially lose their life from an accident like this.

Aware this week’s marketing stunt is slightly somber, but how can you use this time of year to spread an important message in your marketing?

Each week we highlight our favourite tools - either something we’ve been using in our businesses, or tools that our Start-Up community have recommended.

For 38 years your PowerPoint slides have been talking to your audience. Now it's time for them to listen. Using nothing but the chat in Teams, Zoom or any other meeting platform, StreamAlive enables your audience to author and update your slides in real-time. Add all kinds of interactions from polls, word clouds, interactive maps, quizzes, and spinner wheels DIRECTLY inside your existing PowerPoint slides. Note: works with PowerPoint v16.100 and above.

Planet Protector Box: Turning Small Actions into Lifelong Values

Planet Protector Box is an educational, action-led sustainability product designed to help children make small, achievable changes that benefit the planet. Founded by Reece, the business sits within the wider Face It mission: teaching children strong values and morals from a young age, and empowering them to grow into thoughtful, environmentally conscious adults.

At a time when technology dominates childhood, Planet Protector Box aims to keep essential principles, responsibility, empathy and care for the world, firmly in focus. The product combines education with action, helping children feel that their individual choices can genuinely make a difference.

Building Together: A Founder Partnership at Home

Reece started Planet Protector Box alongside his girlfriend, whose design skills played a crucial role in bringing the concept to life. Together, they shared a vision of creating something that was not only impactful, but also capable of becoming a sustainable business.

Working as a duo allowed them to blend creativity with purpose, combining Reece’s mission-driven mindset with strong visual storytelling and product design. It was a partnership that made the idea tangible.

Finding the First Supporters Through Storytelling

The first customers didn’t come from paid advertising or large campaigns. Instead, Planet Protector Box grew through direct outreach and honest storytelling on social media.

Reece leaned on existing networks, openly sharing the why behind the product rather than simply promoting what it was. By focusing on the mission, helping children develop environmental values, early supporters connected emotionally with the idea.

Pre-orders played a vital role, allowing the team to validate demand before committing to larger production runs. Those first customers weren’t just buyers; they were believers in what Planet Protector Box stood for.

Scaling with Purpose: Partnerships Over Promotion

With the initial launch complete, Planet Protector Box is now entering its next phase of growth. Scaling isn’t about pushing volume at any cost, it’s about alignment.

The focus is on strategic partnerships with organisations that share the same values. Partners earn a set amount per sale with no upfront cost or financial risk, creating an ethical, mutually beneficial way to expand reach while keeping the mission front and centre.

It’s a model designed to grow impact alongside revenue, not at its expense.

Lessons from the Journey: Progress Over Perfection

One of Reece’s biggest learnings has been the importance of momentum. Waiting for perfection only slows progress.

Launching early, testing ideas, listening to feedback and iterating quickly proved far more valuable than trying to get everything right from the start. If he were to do it again, Reece would simplify even further and get into the hands of customers sooner.

The journey has reinforced the importance of flexibility, humility and staying close to the people the product is built for.

Bootstrapping with Grit and Creativity

Planet Protector Box has been fully bootstrapped from day one. Early funding came from a £2,300 prize won at a pitching competition, combined with revenue from pre-orders and profits from a previous clothing brand Reece ran and later closed.

This mix of small wins and reinvestment allowed the team to cover production and launch costs while laying the groundwork for growth, without giving up control or compromising the mission.

When Everything Goes Wrong at Once

The toughest moment came during a particularly difficult November. A pitching competition the team had been relying on for funding fell through. A major opportunity to showcase Planet Protector Box at Simon Squibb’s live event was unexpectedly cancelled. At the same time, manufacturing issues emerged, with some products failing to meet quality standards.

Everything seemed to unravel at once. But that period forced a shift away from chasing single moments of opportunity and towards building something more resilient, structured and sustainable.

The Bigger Lesson: Resilience Builds the Brand

The biggest lesson has been learning how to stay steady when plans collapse. If starting again, Reece would avoid relying on single opportunities and instead focus earlier on building stronger foundations.

Planet Protector Box is a reminder that impact-driven businesses are marathons, not sprints. By staying adaptable, trusting the process and keeping the mission at the heart of every decision, Reece continues to build something designed to last - and to shape a better future, one small action at a time.

Next week I’ll be highlighting another awesome Start-Up, as well as sharing all the usuals including funding opportunities, Start-Up news, plus plenty of awesome tips, tricks and tools.

P.S. Connect with me on LinkedIn…