We’re on a mission…

We’re on a mission to help solve some of society’s biggest problems – one neighbourhood at a time. All too often people give up or don’t even start because of the sheer scale of some of the challenges we face. If you do something amazing in one community, it gives you a great starting point to do it everywhere. That’s why we’re called Start with Local.

What’s on our local radar? Thriving healthier communities, the environment (built and natural), local media, economic resilience, and our general well-being – to name but a few.

We’ve just fully handed over a major national programme – Trees for Streets – to our co-venture charity. A project we created, co-founded and project managed.

What drives us?

• Empowering local communities
• Improving well-being
• Making the world a better place
• Demonstrating the power of local
• Being a little mischievous

So HOW do we go about doing this?

• Mixing together the right people – community, experts and partners
• Embracing tech and the sustainable approaches
• Being passionate, tenacious, fun/colourful, engaging, exciting, open-minded
• Being innovative – do things differently

We are a ‘local’ design and delivery agency

•  We identify problems facing communities, and deliver programmes that address these
•  We’re looking for projects that can succeed in one neighbourhood, and then be taken to scale by replicating  them in many neighbourhoods
• We work with local/central government charities/NGOs and companies

Who’s behind ‘Start With Local’?

Start with Local, founder, Simeon Linstead, has a background in product and service design, business development and marketing within financial services/fintech. Working at organisations as diverse at AXA, uSwitch.com, Interactive Investor and Channel 4 (education), holding various roles including: Head of Consumer Proposition; eCommerce Director; and Managing Director.

Over the past few years, he has become heavily involved in local community activities – working directly with schools, parks, local council, police, community groups, business and social media. So, he understands local from a very hands-on perspective.

A chance encounter with a tree enthusiast led Simeon to creating and co-founding the national programme – Trees for Streets. This initiative empowers residents to green-up their streets by sponsoring and looking after trees. It dissolves the barriers between local councils and communities. It’s also planted thousands of trees, raising significant funding. This embodies everything Simeon is trying to do through Start with Local.

Simeon Linstead, Founder and Managing Director

Join the team…

We’re always looking to build up our Advisory Panel to give us access to the thoughts and experiences of some brilliant minds. We’re speaking to people from a wide variety of backgrounds from tech to local government to the environment.

And we’re also building up a network of associates and partner organisations who can become increasingly involved in, what will become, a diverse portfolio of projects.

If this sounds like a good fit for you or your organisation, please do get in touch.