Community with a conscience: Ancoats members are in the business of doing good
Chloe ShearmanContent, Social & PR ManagerHuckletree6/20/2022
If you’ve read our recent blog on social value, you’ll know that making an impact is at the forefront of our minds. And we’re certainly not alone on this mission. We’re zooming in on some members from the Huckletree Ancoats community in the business of doing good.
Foodstuff
Foodstuff - kind of like Deliveroo, but with a conscience. They deliver only from independent “tried and tasted” restaurants and offer lower fees for their vendors, meaning more impact for smaller, local businesses. You can be confident that all riders are being paid fairly, as Foodstuff commits to the Living Wage. With all their riders on bikes, they also operate a zero-emission model.
Earlier this year, Foodstuff secured £1.1m in investment in a Seed Round led by Base Investments UK. Currently operating in Cambridge, Manchester, Oxford, Bath, Bristol and Edinburgh, they plan to use the cash to expand their operations to more cities and turbo-charge the development of their mobile app.
Watch this space!
The Joy Club
This one’s got Social Value at the very heart. Inspired by her Granny Jean’s joyful retirement experience, Hannah Thomson created The Joy Club after a decade spent in the tech industry. The Joy Club is an online activities club that inspires a joyful retirement. Curating online events and exciting content for people to connect every day of the week, they’re tackling one of the biggest challenges of retirement - loneliness. And with 9 million retirees signed up as members, they’re already making a huge impact.
£1.1m definitely seems to be the magic number, as The Joy Club also raised this amount in a round earlier this year. Among those backing The Joy Club are Google Maps co-founder Lars Rasmussen, Calm/Storm Ventures and Alma Angels.
Stand4 Socks
Who knew socks could make so much impact? With every pair of socks purchased, Stand4 Socks gives away one pair of thick, antibacterial socks to a homeless person. Socks are the most requested item at homeless shelters, as they are rarely donated. So far, they’ve given away over 223,603 socks. They’re also doing their bit for the planet by delivering all their socks in compostable mailers.
Stand 4 Socks have turned heads with their efforts to do good, with Stephen Fry commenting on the impact they’re making. They’ve recently launched “Stand for Ukraine”, a range supporting refugees fleeing war.
Vivify Venues
Vivify Venues are doubling down on local impact. They create an easy-to-use solution for communities to book local venues to come together and provide a revenue stream for underfunded schools. Now that’s impact. Vivify’s team give a damn about the schools and communities they represent, and the long-term investors that back them have the same mission.
Long-time believers in Vivify and multi-family investment office Arete Capital Partners backed Vivify for a second time earlier this year. After signing up more than 70 schools and supporting thousands of grassroots teams to book local facilities, Arete supported Vivify in an investment round that landed them £1m.
Huckletree Ancoats is an ecosystem curated around creative and consumer-led businesses. Are you doing something extraordinary in this space? Join us.
Chloe Shearman
Chloe has both a way with words and an appetite for knowledge. She joins Huckletree from a background in the innovation ecosystem with brands such as Plus X and Central Research Laboratory. Previously a self-confessed craft beer nerd, she worked in experiential marketing with drinks industry domineers BrewDog. At the weekend, you’ll find her exploring London with her dog Lillie and getting cosy with a book.
chloe@huckletree.comLinkedIn