Some of the most important product ideas never get built because they can't afford the design help they need before they can afford anything at all. That's a problem worth fixing.
The Calmtech Incubator is a small programme of design time I make available to pre-funding and low-funding projects working in the space where technology serves people without demanding their attention, harms the planet less, and treats complexity as something to resolve rather than exploit.
What calmtech means here
Calm technology — the idea that good technology informs without overwhelming, acts in the periphery until you need it, and respects the limits of human attention — is a design principle, not a genre. It applies to biodesign tools, circular economy platforms, assistive products, environmental monitoring, community infrastructure, open hardware, and anywhere else where the goal is a genuinely better outcome rather than engagement maximisation.
If your idea lives somewhere in that space, this might be for you.
What I offer
A structured allocation of design time — typically 8–16 hours over 4–6 weeks — to help you think through and shape your product idea. This might include:
- Clarifying what you're actually building and for whom
- Early UX strategy and product framing
- User research planning and synthesis
- Prototyping key interactions or flows
- Identifying the riskiest assumptions before you build
- Preparing to talk to investors, accelerators, or early users
This is advisory and collaborative, not a full design engagement. The goal is to help you get to the point where you can take the next step — whatever that is.
Who this is for
The incubator is primarily for product and service ideas in the calm technology space — but the territory is deliberately broad. If your work sits at the intersection of technology and any of the following, it's worth a conversation:
- Early-stage product founders — pre-funding or low-funding, with a real problem and a sense of the solution
- Artists and creative practitioners — developing technology-led work that needs design thinking, interaction design, or product framing
- Biotech and life sciences startups — especially those working with living systems, bio-materials, or environmental data where experience design is often undervalued until it's too late
- Community impact groups and social enterprises — organisations with a genuine community need and limited resources, where thoughtful design could meaningfully shift what's possible
For artists, community groups, and impact-aligned organisations, the engagement looks different — less structured product sprint, more collaborative exploration. I won't overpromise what that looks like in advance, but if the work is value-aligned and genuinely interesting, there are usually ways to find a start.
The first step
A 30-minute introductory call — no commitment, no preparation required. Just a conversation about what you're working on and whether there's a useful fit. If there isn't, I'll say so and point you somewhere better if I can.
Reach out via email or LinkedIn and suggest a time that works:
How to apply — incubator programme
If you're applying for the structured incubator programme specifically, send a short note — a paragraph or two — describing what you're working on, who it's for, and where you're stuck. No deck required. No NDA needed at this stage. I read everything and respond to everything that fits.
I take on a small number of incubator projects at a time, so there may be a wait. The best applications are specific about the problem, honest about the stage, and clear about why it matters.