Partnership Proposal

A major obstacle is the perception that return on investment and the creation of positive impact are incompatible. Data shows this is a myth.

Like Barclays, Unrest is committed to supporting impact founders in the forefront of innovation, and in channeling capital companies that are addressing the most pressing issues of our time.

During IIOH, we connect 100 high-growth impact founders with Europe’s most active VC funds giving founders the chance to gather high-quality feedback, build important relationships and take crucial first steps towards investment.

IMPACT INVESTING ACCOUNTS FOR LESS THAN 2.5% OF ASSETS UNDER MANAGEMENT IN EUROPE

IMPACT <> INVESTOR OFFICE HOURS
powered by Barclays

We see Impact Investor Office Hours (IIOH) as the ideal top- and mid-funnel initiative to educate founders on the benefits of banking with Barclays, while continuously delivering value to impact-driven entrepreneurs - with Barclays positioned as the driving force behind these efforts.

The investment for Impact <> Investor Office Hours (IIOH) is £95K per edition, with an estimated reach of 1,200 qualified founder leads across three editions. To maximize impact and ensure tangible results, we recommend a minimum commitment of three editions, allowing Barclays to build sustained brand visibility, deepen engagement with the founder community, and drive long-term value.

We will implement a tailored content strategy to raise awareness and provide early-stage founders with essential insights on banking, fundraising, and growth—ensuring Barclays is positioned as a trusted partner in their journey.

To maximize founder applications and brand exposure, we will also launch dedicated marketing and PR campaigns, driving engagement through online and offline activations.

IMPACT <> INVESTOR OFFICE HOURS #2
DELIVERABLES

1. Office Hours

Impact <> Investor Office Hours (IIOH) is a proven concept designed to support impact founders on their fundraising journey.

Following the success of our first edition—attracting 400 applications and participation from top tier VC funds—our goal is to support UK-based early-stage impact founders in achieving investment readiness. Whether they need strategic advice, investor feedback, or a platform to pitch their ventures, IIOH provides direct access to insights and connections that will accelerate their fundraising journey.

How we’ll support your goals

2. In-person Events

As part of the 2nd edition of Impact <> Investor Office Hours, we’re hosting a live pitching competition and networking event, where 10 IIOH finalists will have the chance to compete for a £10,000 award prize—bringing together top investors, founders, and industry leaders. We envision a Barclays-named award being an additional tool for high-visibility awareness.

Beyond this flagship event, we will co-create and deliver tailored in-person activations for Barclays, including workshops, surgeries, curated networking sessions, and more—providing direct, high-value engagement with the next generation of impact-driven founders.

3. Founder Education

At IIOH, our mission is to help founders build better businesses. Throughout the three-month promotion of IIOH, we deliver high-value, results-driven content that benefits both founders and our sponsors. Our approach ensures that sponsored content isn’t just promotional—it’s educational, actionable, and impactful.

So far, we’ve successfully engaged founders through targeted email campaigns, LinkedIn content, and interactive webinars, driving meaningful connections and tangible results for our partners.

IIOH #1 - NUMBERS

400

APPLICANTS

103

FINALISTS

52

VC FUNDS

195k

SOCIAL MEDIA IMPRESSIONS

SUPPORTED BY

IIOH #1 - SPONSOR RESULTS

1. Outperformed on Lead Target by 406%

For one of our sponsors, we exceeded conversion targets by 406%, thanks to a strategic approach tailored to founders' purchase journeys. This success was driven by three custom email flows designed to address the unique needs of different user segments. For new users, we crafted onboarding flows that highlighted the value of sponsor’s services, building trust and encouraging first-time conversions. For existing users, we focused on upselling by showcasing premium offerings and advanced features that aligned with their growth goals.

2. Conversion Targets Reached in One Single Email

We successfully reached one sponsor’s targets with a single, impactful email campaign. This campaign was strategically timed to maximise engagement and highlighted four key benefits and applications of their services for startup founders. By tailoring the message to address the specific needs and interests of the IIOH applicants, the email achieved exceptional resonance. The response was highly positive, reaching the lead target within just a few hours of release.

3. Hundreds of Custom Data Insights Unlocked

IIOH unlocked hundreds of valuable data points for our sponsors, offering deep insights into the startup ecosystem. Through the application process for IIOH, founders provided detailed responses on topics such as business stage, amounts raised to date, and more. Sponsors gained access to this rich data set, tailored to their specific package. Notably, our headline sponsor leveraged the opportunity to ask a series of custom questions to all 399 applicants, gathering precise insights into user behaviour, purchase patterns, and competitor dynamics.

EXAMPLE COMPANIES FROM IIOH#1

GRYD Energy

GRYD is enabling the rooftop revolution and bearing a new standard for solar in new-builds. Working with property developers, they fund, manage and optimise deployment of smart solar and battery systems onto new homes at zero cost to both developers and homeowners.

  • Concept

  • Raising Pre-seed.
    Closed a £1m round in December 2024.

  • To date, GRYD has secured over £500k pre-seed funding from Antler VC, SFC Capital, Oasthouse Ventures and industry-leading angels to scale the business.

    In March 2024, they deployed a full-scale 3-home pilot with a regional developer and delivered zero-cost smart solar systems for 3 new homes at a site in St. Ives, Cornwall.

    This project is the first of its kind in the UK where full-scale and optimally sized solar and battery storage systems have been deployed on newbuild homes with zero cost burden on the developer or homeowner.

    With the pilot, the average saving on electricity over the period was 14% compared to a traditional retailer. These savings were achieved with no software optimisation or influence on energy usage behaviour. Grid dependance is as low at 17%, meaning the home is getting up to 83% of their energy from the GRYD system, minimising how much they draw from the traditional grid.

    Finally, with the GRYD system delivering zero carbon electricity, the home has eliminated 167kg Co2e or 72% of its overall emissions compared to the same electricity use without GRYD.

    To date, GRYD have signed LOIs for 300 home deployments in 2024/25 and are already engaging in design activity with the first property developer on the first 52 home development in our commercially committed pipeline for deployment next year.

Planetsmart

Planet Smart is a biomaterials R&D company developing 100% biobased, biodegradable and microplastic-free parts for the hygiene industry. Their  first proprietary technology is a super-absorbent polymer, used in nappies, menstrual pads and adult diapers.

  • MVP/Pre-Revenue

  • Raising Seed
    $500k in equity financing from General Inception (Palo Alto, California) and $140k in grant funding from Innovate UK, Undaunted the Greenhouse accelerator and an Innovation Voucher.

  • Planet Smart has an industrial proof of concept with a menstrual pad manufacturer in the coming weeks and we have set up an IP strategy with GT Law to protect our technology.

Biofonic

Due to chemically and physically intensive industrial agricultural methods, the planet is losing its soil ecosystems at an alarming rate. Biofonic is unearthing new soil insights to accelerate sustainable land management through its below-ground acoustic soil sensors.

  • MVP/ Pre-Revenue

  • Raising Pre-seed
    £500k already committed

  • Biofonic have won a 450k grant from Innovate UK to advance their tech and trial it across England & Scotland through the end of 2025.

    They are participating in the Grantham Institute Greenhouse Accelerator and are a shortlisted finalist in the Terra Carta Design Lab global competition.

    They have also secured Riverford Organic Farms as a commercial trial partner, and are looking for funding to expand trials to several interested potential customers.

Vundahaus

Hard-to-insulate solid-wall homes are responsible for 5% of EU carbon emissions and 13% of UK households are living in fuel poverty.

VundaHaus is transforming existing houses into warm, healthy and energy efficient homes using automated design and prefabrication of external wall insulation kits.

  • MVP/Pre-Revenue

  • Raising Pre-seed.
    Secured £600,000

  • Vundahaus has recently completed their proof-of-concept installation in South Wales and secured funding for a customer pilot in South Yorkshire.

Sealeo

50% of vaccines are wasted globally every year, leading to the loss of 3 million lives and contributing over 1 million tons of CO2 emissions. Sealeo develops fully biodegradable materials for vaccines during last-mile transportation. Inspired by seal skin, their innovative multi-layered insulation keeps vaccines protected and cold, reducing its environmental impact and enhancing accessibility.

  • MVP/Pre-Revenue

  • Raising Pre-seed
    Secured £45,800 in grant funding

  • Since their inception in 2024, Sealeo have raised £45,800 in grant funding, joined the Greenhouse Accelerator programme and won WE Innovate - Imperial Enterprise Lab’s flagship competition for female-led start-ups in June 2024.

Ostara Technologies

Ostara's mission is to build a sustainable future by improving food supply chains for greater resilience, reliability and efficiency whilst minimising the environmental impact of farming practices worldwide. Its  farm software platform improves growing conditions through automating manual tasks and providing the grower with data for more efficient farm management.

  • Early Revenue

  • Raising Pre-seed
    £140,000 already committed.

  • Ostara secured their first international project in Bahrain worth £30k with a focus on extending growing seasons and reducing water wastage.

THE UNREST PODCAST

This year, we will launch the Unrest Video Podcast, a new initiative in collaboration with the award-winning Uncommon Creative Studios. Uncommon have a proven track record of creating compelling content that deeply resonates with audiences, from Benedict Cumberbatch's latest The Thing with Feathers, that recently launched at Sundance Film Festival, to Cannes-award-winning creative campaigns. Together with Uncommon we will be crafting a podcast - targeting an engaged audience of purpose-driven entrepreneurs and investors - that features in-depth conversations with influential figures in the impact sector, comparable in influence to The Diary of a CEO. 

Amplifying Barclays’ brand through media

The podcast constitutes an additional brand-building opportunity to extend Barclays’ reach beyond IIOH through high-value production, best-in-class media. As the main sponsor of the Unrest podcast, Barclays could cement its position as a champion of impact-driven entrepreneurship, aligning with the next generation of founders while gaining premium exposure across high-impact channels.

Unrest in 130 seconds

60

ALUMNI COMPANIES

3000+

IMPACT COMMUNITY

500+

INVESTOR NETWORK

Meet the Team


  • Co-Founder

    Pan has over 10 years of experience in strategy and operations roles within high-growth startups. Before joining Unrest, he led the Fund and Global Operations for Entrepreneur First, Europe's leading deep-tech accelerator and fund.

    As one of the two co-founders of Unrest, Pan is responsible for the process of selecting the UK's most ambitious impact founders to join the program and is also overseeing plans to raise Unrest's own VC fund.


  • Sourcing & Selection

    Liesa is a growth marketing strategist with a strong background in brand and design, having worked for global lifestyle brands such as Matchesfashion, Zara, and Bumble.

    Over the past decade, she has held senior marketing roles at startups and scale-ups across various sectors, including Dating, Greentech, and Fintech.

    At Unrest, Liesa is responsible for sourcing and selecting the most impactful startup founders to join Unrest's flagship accelerator program.


  • Co-Founder

    Orr brings over 10 years of senior consumer marketing leadership, with experience spanning from large FMCG giants like L'Oreal and Procter & Gamble to high-growth scaleups such as Little Moons (Series B) and Vertical Future (Series A).

    Orr also serves as an experienced Non-Executive Director (NED) on the boards of consumer startups, where he provides strategic guidance and oversight to help these companies navigate their growth journeys.

  • Associate Director

    Anas has over 20 years of experience helping businesses tackle complex strategic challenges, particularly in the financial services/fintech, manufacturing, and sports sectors.

    Since joining Unrest in January 2021, he has played a key role in building and delivering the program, as well as contributing to the sourcing and evaluation of cohort companies, investor outreach, and other strategic initiatives.