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.

So what’s on our radar? Community cohesion, health, environment, education, economic resilience, democracy, crime, how we care for the elderly and vulnerable, our general well-being – to name but a few. Read all about our new project – Trees for Streets – the new National Street Tree Sponsorship scheme.

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 can be commissioned by third-parties – government, corporations, and charities

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 commercial world
• Being passionate, tenacious, fun/colourful, engaging, exciting, open-minded
• Being innovative – do things differently

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.

He also runs a strategy consultancy helping financial services companies design and deliver products and services. He’s using this existing business to incubate and fund Start with Local, a social enterprise.

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

‘Seeing what we’ve been able to achieve in my local community, with very limited resources, has made it clear to me that setting up Start with Local has the potential to be a very powerful means to help local communities thrive, and creating wider social impact.’

Simeon Linstead, Founder and Managing Director

Join the team…

We’re in the process of establishing Start with Local. If you get it, if you can see the power of local to change the world, then we’d love to hear from you.

We’re looking to build up an 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.

We’re also building 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.