inCharge App Journey To Development
A year ago, I wondered if the inCharge App would ever get built. Having discovered an unmet need for person-centred, family-focused technology in self-directed support and shared family care in 2020, I plunged into entrepreneurship feet first. I worked hard and applied my skills, lived experience, and personality to understand the problem and build a network from scratch in the adult social care sector across the UK and Ireland. Over 3.5 years, I researched with many stakeholders and multiple perspectives. I prototyped and researched again with the help of others with tech experience — and I listened. Drawing on my experience as a parent carer and personal assistant employer, I now see that we were prototyping every day, hacking around the absence of technology to meet our needs in organising and managing support for my adult daughter through her personal health budget.
I had no background in technology, but I understood what the tech needed to do. After the initial plunge, I realised that progress would be much slower than I had thought — or wanted. Fortunately, I secured a part-time role with IMPACT, which allowed me to build my network and sector knowledge while working closely with people with lived experience. Engagement is a core strength of mine. I’ve been described as warmly assertive — or maybe it’s just honesty. I’m unafraid to say I don’t understand something, and equally unafraid to challenge perspectives that feel disconnected from real lives. That role enriched my personal and professional life immensely.
But back to last year — the App still hadn’t reached development stage. I felt that if it didn’t make it into the hands of real people in real-life situations, I’d never know if it could truly work. I couldn’t close the door just yet.
With that playing on my mind, and holding a secure, fulfilling role with IMPACT, I decided to take the plunge again — both feet! I knew that unless I created space for the App, I’d never have the time or creativity to take it further.
Around this time, I headed to London to meet Clenton Farquharson, Meredith Coote, and the inspiring colleagues from In Control Partnerships and Care City (I also bumped into Tricia Nicoll — small world!). I felt this might be the moment to give development a proper shot. Over the previous three years, I’d spoken to various developers and potential commercial partners, but none had felt right.
On the way to London, I travelled from Derry on the AirCoach and happened to bump into Leeann Monk Ozgul, who was also heading off for work. Though we hadn’t met in person, we followed each other online. I asked if it was okay to sit beside her — I know what it’s like to need to work on a bus. Somewhere between Derry and Belfast International, I showed her the Figma prototype of the inCharge App. She completely got it. She asked about the next steps, and I shared my challenge: finding a developer who shared my values, understood the care landscape and could work flexibly. Leeann gave me advice on how to find the right developer that would be the best fit for inCharge.
A few weeks later I met with Dan.
Dan saw my lived experience as an asset — something many others had appreciated but underestimated. They couldn’t see past my lack of tech and founder experience. But I’ve always approached projects with innovation and entrepreneurial energy. This was no different. It took me by surprise. My husband invested his bonus. We were building a product.
After 3.5 years of discovery, research, and design, we were moving into the early stages of software development. Nothing moves fast in social care! We were a team of two.
Over the past year, we have:
Built the infrastructure
Engaged a research designer to explore personal assistant pain points and workflows
Live tested the first version at SCIE Staff Away Day and again at Social Care Future People Power events
Iterated based on what we learned
Recruited families to test across four nations (shout out to any family-led teams who self-direct in Wales — we need you!)
Presented our PA research findings at the PA Workforce Summit in Sheffield
Then came the bugs. We hit single points of failure — more than once. The challenges of a small, fractional team were real. But our skills were growing: design research, UX/UI design, and commercial insight. More than a team of 2.
As the year ended, families were busy, and we were busy troubleshooting. We called it a day on testing, took stock, and regrouped. The bugs exposed our lack of systems and processes.
Over Christmas, we sourced key skills: quality assurance, product testing, and product ownership.
"Fractional" — a new term for me — but our fractional team was growing! Basically, very part-time team as we can afford them.
Rather than rushing back into testing, we focused on solving the issues that had caused us to postpone in the first place. The families' belief in the project — and the need for a solution — never wavered. I can’t thank them enough for their patience. We built meaningful, multi-nation relationships through honesty, occasional tears, and shared experiences of care and support.
The first quarter of 2025 was still a little bumpy, but securing a commitment from Sheffield City Council to pilot the App with 10 families was a real milestone. I got back into founder mode — applying for funding, joining the Founder Labs pre-accelerator, and winning the first-ever prize for inCharge at the NWRC Ideator 2025 competition.
Founder experts say "fail fast." That’s fine — if you can afford to fail. And I’ve failed at plenty of projects in the past. I’m not afraid of risk or failure. But at 50, with no tech solution meeting the real needs of self-directed, family-centred care, failure isn’t an option — not because I can’t risk it, but because families like mine still need this. After 4.5 years, over 25 funding applications, and mostly self-funded development, we’re finally on the cusp of delivering something transformational. And that’s worth everything.
