We build tech products for impact startups
A plug-in tech team – from strategy to code – that puts improvement first.
Improvement first
If you invest in tech that doesn’t improve your business, what’s the point?
To every technologist the answer is always more technology. They favour what they know ahead of what you need.
More technology ignores the first crucial step – “how will this improve my business?”.
A new mindset is needed. One that puts improvement first.
Who we are
Founded in 2004, our mission is to become the global centre of excellence for impact startups. We want to help you do good @ scale.
Previously, we built digital products for large impact-led organisations like BBC Children in Need and World Wildlife Fund.
Now we focus on impact startups - like VaccinationTrack and Flutterlab - who have achieved 100s of % growth while working with us.
Our unique method - The Tech Bootcamp™ - puts improvement before technology and measures it. It was included as a best practice in the 2019 Parliamentary Review.
We've built products for ourselves and others. And invested in tech startups. We know what life is like as a founder.
“We wouldn’t have had another record-breaking year without you. Fact”
BBC Children in Need
Why are developers such a pain in the neck?
Most founders tell us they suffer these problems with outsourced product development teams:
A tendency to overcomplicate and miss the point
Need spoon-feeding
Blame you if they don’t understand what you want
Don’t take responsibility for the outcomes
Don’t really listen
Our take is simple.
Developers can be difficult to work with for one reason alone. They’re not focused on you as a founder. Or the importance of improving your business.
They’re focused on doing things “properly” according to tech industry norms. We're focused on improving your business.
“I’d chosen an agency to build my product before I met The Tech Dept. But after the North Star Workshop, I immediately changed my mind. The Tech Dept support what I need, over what they want to sell me – this is unique”
Nohelia Rambal, GoodFind
“With previous developers if we don’t get the explanation right, they don’t get it right. So they build the wrong thing… The Tech Dept are a step change compared to other tech partners”
Clare Baldwin, VaccinationTrack
“Tech people bullshit about the topic endlessly, what you need is the facts. What’s good about The Tech Dept is they said it’s doable, deliverable and commercial”
Nick Munro, co-founder of Flutterlab
“As a middle-aged woman, who is a technophobe, I come across many tech guys who find it a hurdle to deal with me. They roll their eyes at me… but The Tech Dept are just a bunch of normal people”
Helen O’Donnell, CEO of Children’s University
Here’s how we can help your startup
We can be your tech team, or we can enhance your tech team.
Plug us in when you need us. Strategists, project managers, CTO, UX, full-stack development. Unplug us when you don’t (without HR headaches).
Think of us as a tech product development & strategic sparring partner in one.
Concept
A thousand ideas? We’ll help you find the right one. Then create a plan.
Test
Get your hands dirty with real customers before you commit a load of money.
Build
A digital product that scales so
you can create more and more impact.
Plug us in when you need us (and unplug us when you don't)
You plug in The Tech Dept to build your product or boost your team.
We run The Tech BootcampTM over and over in line with your vision.
At the right time we help you hire and handover to an internal team so you can build more value internally.
Get on The Tech Bootcamp™
We have a unique method that delivers our promise of business improvement. It’s award winning and super-simple. Click here to learn more.
