We&rsquo;re excited to be working with Beauhurst to produce a series of industry reports, examining UK companies that will shape the future of how we consume retail, media and food.
In the second of three reports, we focus on the Future Living industry that&rsquo;s transforming the lived experience: how we parent, educate, track our health, find mental wellbeing and even care for our pets.
The technological age has empowered us to create more harmony with the continuously moving parts of our lives. The Future Living sector is enhancing this, innovating everything from solutions to the most major healthcare challenges to creatively inventing ways to heighten our learning capacity.
From the rise of ParentTech and EdTech to Artificial Intelligence and the IoT (Internet of Things), consumers guide the Future Living sector by their increased desire for optimisation, convenience and enhancement of their lives.
The high-growth Future Living sector houses 1,661 active companies. London is a hotspot for activity in the sector (718 active companies), with Edinburgh (36), Manchester (30) and Leeds (30) also generating Future Living innovation. The industry has collectively raised &pound;4.8b of investment between 2011 and 2020, as well as &pound;246m of grant funding. The space is also home to some of the UK&rsquo;s most notable unicorns, including healthcare company Babylon.
This report will hone in on three sub-industries: HealthTech, EdTech, and ParentTech.
HealthTech is a rapidly growing sector, with 425 active high-growth companies predominantly based in London (205), which is fast establishing itself as a hotbed for HealthTech. Innovation focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of different health conditions. The use of AI in this space supports healthcare workers in making more informed decisions and, ultimately, providing more effective solutions.
The largest emerging sector in the Future Living sphere is EdTech. Over 500 active companies make up this ecosystem. With over half of them still in seed-stage, this is a space to watch. Three themes have materialised in EdTech: gamification, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence. Each of them creatively conjures ways to amplify the way we learn.
With over 150 high-growth companies in the UK, ParentTech refers to technology designed to ease the challenges of parenthood. It&rsquo;s also an industry notable for gender equality, with many women entrepreneurs innovating after experiencing motherhood challenges.
Huckletree is built on the motto that &ldquo;No Mind is an Island.&rdquo; We believe you can&rsquo;t change the world alone, which is why we&rsquo;re on a mission to help the most innovative companies, from startups right the way through to MNE, take leaps and do braver work together.
We&rsquo;re more committed than ever to creating the space and environment for teams to work, grow their ventures, collaborate and pioneer whatever comes next. Our Futures Hub in Huckletree White City is home to some of the UK&rsquo;s leading Future Living companies.
The campus, located within the iconic White City Place development, is part of a bold new chapter in the rich creative history of a neighbourhood that sits at the centre of West London&mdash;an area already brimming with high-growth Future Living companies. It&rsquo;s a dedicated haven for startups and global brands paving our future way of life&mdash;how we sleep, think, move, parent, and learn.

<h4>You can download the report <a href="https://hs.huckletree.com/future-living-report-download" rel="follow" style="color: #236fa1;">here</a>.</h4>
We hope you find it to be both engaging and insightful.

Future Insights: Future Living report 

Neurodivergence was coined in 1997 by Judy Singer, a sociologist and autistic woman. The term covers people whose brains function differently from what's considered "typical". Core types of neurodivergence are Autism Spectrum, ADHD, Dyslexia, and Dyspraxia. Neurodiverse people face a wealth of challenges daily, but one of the biggest challenges of all is the complete overlook of their extraordinary capacity for unique and highly complex skills.
UK stats suggest that 78% of neurodiverse adults are unemployed, making it the highest unemployment rate of any group in the UK, compared with 48% of disabled adults. But we're finding it hard to grasp why that is when neurodivergence unlocks a type of talent that you won't often find in a neurotypical person.
Most of us will be familiar with the benefits of greater diversity within a team, enhanced culture being one. Increased neurodiversity brings something a little more direct, though. Neurodiverse people are wired differently from their &ldquo;neurotypical&rdquo; counterparts, meaning they offer a fresh set of perspectives to your business's challenges and innovative thinking.

<h3>Neurodivergent talent slips through the grasp of business rigidity</h3>
Take ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) as an example. For the ADHD entrepreneur, their neurodivergent traits have become their greatest business strengths.
A study conducted by economists found some incredible insights on ADHD in the business realm, with benefits including an ability to act under unforeseen circumstances without falling into anxiety and the ability to hyperfocus on tasks they're particularly passionate about. The study's summary of ADHD was "entrepreneurs with ADHD embrace new experiences and demonstrate passion and persistence".
However, ADHD hasn't been coined the entrepreneur's superpower for no good reason. Many people with ADHD become founders, having not had the flexibility needed in employment. See, one prominent trait of ADHD is difficulty in self-regulating activity levels. So, peak energy times may fluctuate throughout the day, not fitting into the standard 9-5 schedule.
Innovation calls for talent from the margins. Imagine if these ADHD entrepreneurs were nurtured within employment? Not only would the individual and collective feeling of inclusion for neurodiverse people be significantly impacted, but the impact this set of individuals would have within a team (and to the broader world of work) would be profound.
Fortunately, the time has never been better to adapt the workplace. It's happening at scale across the globe, so if there was ever the time to create the flexibility that neurodiverse talent needs, it's now.

<h3>Adapting to complexity pays off</h3>
Neurodiversity is complex. What suits one type of neurodivergence might not suit another, and even two different people with the same type will need completely different things. The trick is in adapting your business for flexibility at scale but listening to the needs of the individual.
One of the first barriers to employment for a neurodiverse candidate is the interview process. Traditional interviews consider body language and social cues that can put a neurodiverse person at a disadvantage. To start stripping your company of recruitment processes that disfavour neurodiverse people is to unlearn everything you think you know about social etiquette. Which, of course, is no easy task.
An autistic person may struggle with the initial interview stage due to having different reactions to social cues. They're a lot more sensitive than neurotypical people and see the world from a unique perspective - meaning their response to the world will likely sit outside of what you might expect. However, with the proper support and understanding in an interview setting, you'll probably find that interviews with autistic people are some of the best interviews you'll ever undertake.
Autistic people often have a heightened interest in an element of a role they apply for. This unique passion fuels a level of concentration and focus rarely seen in neurotypicals. Autism also correlates with a critical approach to detail and accuracy - making them some of the best coders and programmers in the world.
<a href="https://hbr.org/2017/05/neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage" style="color: #236fa1;">Managers at SAP reported</a> that their neurodiversity programme was paying off in ways far beyond reputational enhancement - including productivity gains, quality improvement, boosts in innovative capabilities, and overall increases in team member engagement. When SAP launched their Autism at Work programme, they attracted Masters-level candidates in computer science, computational mathematics, engineering and anthropology.
&ldquo;Not surprisingly, when autistic people with those sorts of credentials do manage to get hired, many turn out to be capable, and some are really great.&rdquo; - Robert D. Austin&nbsp;and&nbsp;Gary P. Pisano for <a href="https://hbr.org/2017/05/neurodiversity-as-a-competitive-advantage" style="color: #236fa1;">Harvard Business Review.</a>


<h3>Activating a neurodiversity agenda</h3>
We're not telling you it's going to be easy, but we're telling you it will pay off. Below, we have set out some resources to help you embrace greater neurodiversity in your team.
The first and most crucial step in increasing neurodiversity is finding specialist support from an agency that fully understand and represent neurodiverse needs in employment. London-based <a href="https://exceptionalindividuals.com/" style="color: #236fa1;">Exceptional Individuals</a> can support you to navigate the complexities of neurodiverse recruitment.
<a href="https://www.universalmusic.com/">Universal Music</a> discovered few resources on neurodiversity in the creative industries when approaching their diversity objectives. So, they made one. Download their <a href="https://umusic.co.uk/Creative-Differences-Handbook.pdf" style="color: #236fa1;">Creative Differences handbook.</a>
If you're a member of Huckletree, you can tap into our DEI consultancy service - supporting you to achieve greater diversity across the board, from race and gender to disability and neurodiversity - ask your hub Membership Manager for more information.

<h3>Resources</h3>
Understanding Autism:
<a href="https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/" style="color: #236fa1;">Ambitious about Autism</a>
<a href="https://www.autism.org.uk/" style="color: #236fa1;">National Autistic Society</a>
Understanding ADHD:
<a href="https://adhduk.co.uk/" style="color: #236fa1;">ADHD UK</a>
<a href="https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-in-adults/">ADDitude - Adult ADHD: A Guide to Symptoms, Signs, and Treatments</a> (medically reviewed)
Understanding Dyslexia:
<a href="https://www.dyslexialondon.org/" style="color: #236fa1;">Dyslexia London</a>
Understanding Dyspraxia:
<a href="https://incluzy.com/dyspraxia-symptoms-in-adults/" style="color: #236fa1;">Incluzy - Dyspraxia symptoms in adults</a>

It's time to put neurodiversity on the DEI agenda.

A significant 15-20% of the global population is neurodiverse, and they're some of the most talented individuals out there. So why have we still not made enough space for neurodivergence in the workplace? 

Hailed as the smart way to lead us towards net-zero, carbon accounting works by calculating how much carbon is emitted into the atmosphere so companies can work out how to reduce, mitigate and remove as much as possible. Sounds simple enough, but is carbon accounting all it's cracked up to be? In this article, we explore some of the flaws behind the system and look at how the business and innovation community can be at the forefront of correcting the listing ship.
The Problems
Perhaps the biggest problem with carbon accounting is that it's self-regulated. Governments and regulatory bodies have been incredibly slow to create rules that must be adhered to and impose consequences if those standards aren't met. If a company gets its financial accounting wrong, it can expect hefty fines and even prison time for the company directors. With carbon accounting, companies get praised for simply trying, regardless of the outcome. Carbon accounting happens voluntarily and, as a result, is rife with inaccuracies, assumptions and guesstimates.
So, what tools are companies using to calculate their emissions for carbon accounting? There's no single unified system for carbon accounting, but the most widely used is the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol. The protocol splits emissions into three groups labelled as 'scopes'; Scope 1 covers direct emissions; Scope 2 covers indirect emissions from the generation of energy purchased; Scope 3 includes all other indirect emissions that occur in a company's value chain. You can probably see where we're going with this, but essentially companies can be pretty accurate with Scopes 1 and 2, but Scope 3 presents a real opportunity for getting it completely wrong. And companies do. Frequently.
The third issue with carbon accounting is that people often fudge the statistics with offsetting rather than removal. Companies often justify continued investment in and usage of fossil fuels by 'offsetting' their carbon. For instance, Mark Carney's $600bn Brookfield Asset Management portfolio has been described as carbon neutral despite its fossil fuel investment because investments in renewables offset them. So while carbon accounting sounds good, the reality is anything but. This attitude won't get us to net-zero, and until there is a weightier focus put on discontinuing emissions rather than offsetting them, we never will.
The Solutions
However, there is a reason for optimism, and technology and innovation are at the heart of it. In October 2021, Microsoft announced the launch of the Microsoft Cloud for Sustainability which aims to make carbon accounting easier for businesses. The tool addresses three core issues: unifying data from multiple sources and integrating it into one source of truth, providing reports so companies can properly analyse this data, and giving actionable recommendations to help businesses reduce their emissions. And, it's not only big businesses like Microsoft that are getting in on the act. UK startups like <a href="https://emitwise.com/" style="color: #3598db;">Emitwise</a> are taking it one step further and using artificial intelligence to enable companies to monitor, measure and ultimately report on their carbon footprints across all three Scopes. Another exciting startup to watch is <a href="https://www.circulor.com/">Circulor</a>, an organisation focusing on giving businesses traceability data for complex supply chains, enabling them to make more responsible decisions regarding sourcing and recycling products. Tech like this and the wave of exciting startups looking to tackle climate change at every level should give us all reason for hope.
The message is clear: we will never hit net-zero unless we can accurately measure carbon emissions. For that, we need better carbon accounting models and strict regulation. But with technology constantly evolving and businesses dedicating themselves to addressing these issues, we might just get there. So is carbon accounting all it's cracked up to be? No. But it certainly could be.

Is carbon accounting all it's cracked up to be?

"Net-zero increasingly involves highly questionable carbon accounting. As a result, the new politics swirling around net-zero targets is rapidly becoming a confusing and dangerous mix of pragmatism, self-delusion and weapons-grade greenwash." - Simon Lewis, professor of global change science at UCL.

Carbon Accounting

Our cities are defining the future of our planet. What happens in the city doesn't stay in the city, and we must address the impact that urbanisation creates on a global scale. It's time to pave a new, more sustainable direction for how we live, move, work, and play in the urban landscape.
We&rsquo;re theming 2022&rsquo;s Alpha Accelerator and Earthrise Sustainability Summit around Urban Futures for this very reason. The four pillars at the theme's core are Smart Cities, the Built Environment, Mobility and Transport, and Energy and Emissions. Here's why...
<blockquote>
<h4>Smart Cities</h4>
After decades of relentless growth, global cities now face a new phase of evolution. Technology and Covid-19 are changing the way we live and work - and London has emerged as one of the global talent hotspots for what our tomorrow city might look like. Here, talented minds come together to explore a better future for billions of urban citizens.

<h4>Built Environment</h4>
The built environment contributes to around 40% of the UK&rsquo;s total carbon footprint and is fundamental to fighting climate change. From construction technology and the digitisation of buildings to IoT and AI - these businesses are the key to creating environmental improvements and generating savings within our built environments.

<h4>Mobility and Transport</h4>
Transportation is currently the largest producer of energy-related CO₂ emissions.&nbsp;As we emerge from the pandemic armed with a better awareness of our daily routines, the lack of infrastructure often fails us. From the rise of micro-mobility companies to innovations in the EV landscape, these businesses are set to become transformative not just for consumers but also for the environment.

<h4>Energy and Emissions</h4>
The UK's renewable energy market is expected to register a CAGR of more than 9% during the forecast period of 2021-2026.&nbsp;Given the government&rsquo;s ambitious energy targets, we're now one of the worlds renewable market leaders working towards a greener future - and our potential within this vertical is both endless and hugely impactful.

</blockquote>
Are you innovating in these verticals? Or do you operate within these networks?
Applications for Alpha 2022: Urban Futures open on the 3rd January 2022. Register your interest now at <a href="https://www.huckletree.com/education/alpha" style="color: #236fa1;">https://www.huckletree.com/education/alpha</a>
Are you interested in sponsorship or collaboration on either the Alpha Accelerator or the Earthrise Summit? <a href="mailto:patrick@huckletree.com" style="color: #236fa1;">Get in contact with Huckletree Director of Programmes, Patrick Keogh.</a>

Urban Futures | The Pillars

Our cities are defining the future of our planet. What happens in the city doesn't stay in the city, and we must address the impact the urbanisation creates on a global scale. It's time to pave a new, more sustainable direction for how we live, move, work, and play in the urban landscape. 

Urban Futures: The Pillars

We know that the path to a more sustainable future begins in our cities. Today, we have the opportunity to look at cities through a new lens. We need to think differently about how we and future generations will live, move, work, and play. From building design, energy efficiency and carbon neutrality to infrastructure, urban agriculture, transportation and mobility, we want to meet the pioneers paving the future of urban living.
And with this emerges our theme for the <a href="https://www.huckletree.com/education/alpha" style="color: #236fa1;">Alpha Accelerator</a> and <a href="https://www.huckletree.com/education/sustainability-summit" style="color: #236fa1;">Earthrise Sustainability Summit</a> 2022:&nbsp;Urban Futures.
55% of the world's population are now living in urban areas. <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html" style="color: #236fa1;">The UN predicts</a> this number to rise to 68% by 2050. Urban innovation is paramount. We recognise the need to rethink the impact of urban existence and to rethink it fast. So, for 2022, we're elevating our mark in this sphere, making Urban Futures both the Alpha accelerator and Earthrise sustainability summit theme.
"Urbanisation is happening, and it's happening fast. We're choosing to focus Earthrise on Urban Futures in 2022, as a key place for unlocking a more sustainable future. What happens in the city doesn't stay in the city. We have to address that." - Patrick Keogh, Programmes Director.
And the impact doesn't end there. The Alpha Accelerator is a 12-week, pre-seed programme and is open only to teams with at least one founding member from an underrepresented group. The programme attracts a cohort of diverse founders each year, with the Urban Futures track inviting the ninth cohort.
"At Huckletree, we're committed to breaking down the barriers that underrepresented groups face when entering the entrepreneurial ecosystem. From gender and race to sexuality, education, and neurodivergence, Alpha supports a diverse cohort of entrepreneurs to access everything they need to supercharge their business."&nbsp;-&nbsp;Gabriela Hersham, CEO and Co-Founder
In 2019, Alpha was named by Crunchbase is one of the top 100 accelerators in the world. The fully pro-bono programme has seen eight cohorts and 28 alumni companies raise a combined &pound;15m+ in funding, create 200+ jobs, and go through 2 acquisitions.
The intensive programme assembles industry-leading mentors, serial entrepreneurs, and domain experts that lead the cohort through rigorous preparation for seed funding. Weekly workshops cover founder fundamentals including commercial and marketing strategy, hiring, leadership, and weekly 1-1s with an investor, plus group mentoring and dedicated support from the Huckletree team. Then, at the close of the 12-week programme, the cohort will pitch to 100+ investors at the Alpha investor expo.
"This is the only programme we would highly recommend to any early-stage team. A ton of valuable resources and contacts into an efficiently well-curated structure so that we could continue to scale our business" - Yang Liu, Founder &amp; CEO, Just Wears

"Alpha was the best accelerator programme we could have hoped for. The content, speakers, workshops, and network connections organised and facilitated by the team at Huckletree were game-changers for us. We highly, highly (highly) recommend the Alpha programme to any startups and aspiring entrepreneurs out there" Mary Liu &amp; Caroline Williams, Co-Founders, Junee
So, consider this an open call for underrepresented founders trailblazing a new approach for our Urban Future.
Applications open on January the 3rd. <a href="https://www.huckletree.com/education/alpha" style="color: #236fa1;">Register your interest for Alpha now</a>.
If you're not a founder but are passionate about discovering what the future landscape of our urban reality looks like, you can meet the Alpha Urban Futures cohort, along with a wider global intelligence network of exceptional speakers at the <a href="https://www.huckletree.com/education/sustainability-summit" style="color: #236fa1;">Earthrise sustainability summit in May</a>.
We're also seeking sponsors and partners to collaborate with on both the Alpha programme and the Earthrise Summit. <a href="mailto:patrick@huckletree.com" style="color: #236fa1;">Get in contact with Huckletree Director of Programming, Patrick Keogh</a>.

Alpha // Earthrise 2022 - Urban Futures 

Our workspaces are designed for the new world of work. Creative and modern, we curate each space around a sector or industry so that you’re working alongside the brightest talent, connecting with the right businesses and collaborating with curious minds relevant to you.

Themed Spaces

Push through career and business barriers by applying to one of Huckletree’s advanced educational courses, all designed to help recent founders, ‘one-day-soon’ founders and up-and-coming talent navigate the industry. 

Education for the new world

Inside Huckletree, you'll find a world made for the tech and innovation community. From advisory services and pitch clinics to impact reports and championing fairer representation at founder and VC level, we won't stop investing in, supporting and backing the thinkers and doers within our ecosystem.

A world of ideas and impact

Find your place, working alongside the most exciting community of companies, ideas and entrepreneurs leading in their industries.

The home of brave innovation

From daring disruptors to creative pioneers, discover some of the talented minds that make up our 3,000+ strong member community

Meet our members

TESTING

When we first opened our doors in 2014, our belief was (and still is) that it takes a village to build and scale your business. Since then we have successfully curated eco-systems from the ground up, supporting over 5,000 member business on their growth journey. 

Our belief is that you can't change the world alone.

Medium (500)

We’ve built a trusted and curated network of  mentors, talent, investors and experts, along with the right services to help our members grow. From CXO breakfasts, to one-to-one investor workshops, we actively help our members make the right connections to accelerate their growth.

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Memberships 

How Sustainability is Supercharging the Startup Scene

Is WFH The Real Relationship Resilience Test?

Pronouns, Gender & Why They Matter

Surviving the Temporary Death of the Cinema

The Startup That Grew By 500% in Lockdown

Read the headlines, business break-throughs and perspectives from the people inside Huckletree.