The Value of Design and Goodwill
As the launch of inCharge inches closer—it feels like forever, but we’re finally counting down the days—I’ve been reflecting on the people and the goodwill that have quietly powered this journey. I want to share one story that captures just how much difference kindness can make.
In 2022, Xwerx stepped in through their CSR programme and created a Figma prototype of the inCharge concept. I’ve said many times before that for nearly two years, it carried me, opened doors, shaped conversations, and helped others see what inCharge was really about.
What I’ve learned is that kindness travels further than we ever realise. The pro bono time and creativity that Sean Murphy and Sarah Kelliher at Xwerx shared with me didn’t just help me as a founder—it gave our community something real to hold onto. It meant families and other stakeholders could glimpse the future without being weighed down by crude experiments or confusing prototypes. It gave hope, and it built belief.
For me, as a non-techy founder and a mother of four who also cares, that design-led approach made all the difference. It helped me hold a complex problem in a way that didn’t overwhelm. In turn, it allowed families to stay with us through the early bugs and glitches because they could see the vision behind the product. While the contents have evolved over time, the design-led principles remain unchanged. Our relationship with Xwerx has thankfully grown into a commercial one.
I often hear differing views on design-led approaches. As a first-time founder, it’s the only approach I know. The process is honest, the assumptions interrogated, and the research findings validated with real people. That was certainly my experience, and the conversations continue to be honest. It was only much later down the road that I realised we had been prototyping solutions within our own family-led team all along—we just didn’t call them that. Life hacks! Who knew that was prototyping?
I was asked in a recent research interview how I’ve managed to get this far on such lean resources. The truth is simple: goodwill.
And the more I think about it, the more I believe goodwill isn’t just something we receive—it’s something we pass forward. It keeps things moving. It keeps us all going. So let’s keep it circulating—make goodwill our currency.
What’s Next?
All roads lead to Thursday 25th September at the Social Care Future People Powered Policy and Action Conference in Manchester . After years of building, listening, and testing, we'll officially launch inCharge to the world.
As we reach the beginning of this next chapter, we’d love you to join us:
Sign up to the app - put your family in charge through our early adopters programme.
Sponsor a Subscription - gift inCharge to a household that needs it most.
Co-design with us - people and their teams can inform our app accessibility and design.
Subscribe to our newsletter - receive news and updates from inCharge.
