1. What is your company in 2–5 words?
AI-powered neuro-inclusive climate education.
2. Why is now the time for your company to exist?
Governments globally are mandating statutory climate education, yet 60 % of teachers feel entirely unprepared to deliver it. Simultaneously, standard environmental curricula rely on fear-based narratives and text-dense formats that trigger eco-paralysis in the 15 to 20 % of the student population who are neurodivergent. We exist right now because millions of diverse minds are being excluded from the green transition. By using AI as an accessibility bridge, we help schools automate compliance while equipping the next generation to actually solve these ecological crises.
3. What do you love about your team, and why are you the ones to solve this problem?
I love that we operate on the principle of proximate leadership. As an autistic founder with over 13 years of senior educational leadership experience, and a BSc in Biochemistry from Imperial College London, I understand the limitations caused by the neurotypical default in education. We do not just build for neurodivergent learners; we co-design with them. Our team features a dynamic youth board of neurodivergent contributors who actively shape our AI interfaces. We authentically bridge lived experience, pedagogical rigour, and EdTech innovation.
4. If you weren’t building your startup, what would you be doing?
I’d be painting endlessly or on the ground advocating for systemic disability justice within global environmental frameworks like the UN COP summits.
5. At the moment, how do you measure success? What are your metrics?
We measure success through a triple-yield framework spanning social equity, education, and environmental action. Environmentally, we measure the physical outputs generated by our students, such as the square footage of school allotments built and the volume of local biodiversity mapped, proving that our digital tools successfully drive real-world kinesthetic action.
6. In a few sentences, what do you offer to whom?
We offer a neuro-inclusive, AI-powered educational ecosystem to schools and Multi-Academy Trusts, helping them inspire the next generation of climate advocates while raising Special Educational Needs attainment. For enterprise companies, we offer tiered Corporate Social Responsibility sponsorship packages (www.healearth.co/ csr), allowing them to fund our neuroinclusive offerings and curriculum in marginalised areas and schools. This provides corporate ESG directors with highly verifiable, localised social and environmental impact data while providing underfunded schools with premium EdTech at zero cost.
7. What’s most exciting about your traction to date?
The most exciting validation is seeing our MVP actively transforming classrooms. We have successfully deployed our AI ecosystem across school pilots, actively reaching approximately 170 diverse students, while organically distributing over 150 units of our accessible Sustainable Storytelling books globally. Beyond revenue, achieving official status as a UK Accredited CPD Provider and completing the UN Climate Technology Centre and Network Incubator has proven that leading institutions recognise the urgent need for neuro-inclusive climate technology.
In a recent evaluation of our ecosystem, European Commission experts noted about Heal Earth: “The innovation aligns directly with EU Green Deal priorities, UNESCO climate-education mandates, and the growing neuroinclusion agenda.” “The platform directly advances SDGs 4, 10, and 13, enabling equitable climate literacy, educator empowerment, and measurable emissions reductions through behavioural change.”
8. Where do you think your growth will be next year?
Next year, our growth will be driven by the official launch of our centralised AI SaaS administrative dashboard and our high-engagement student application. We plan to convert our current pilots and rapidly scale to our target of 250 active schools, establishing significant recurring revenue. Geographically, while the UK remains our primary launch market due to urgent statutory climate mandates, we anticipate strong foundational growth globally as we expand our corporate sponsorship model.
9. Tell us about your first paying customer and revenue expectations over the next year.
Our earliest revenue came organically through direct-to-consumer and B2B sales of our accessible children books. This proved that parents and educators were in need for climate resources that did not trigger eco-anxiety, and subtly build life skills in cognitively diverse children.
10. What’s your biggest threat?
The climate crisis, everything is changing so rapidly we really need to think about if the Earth will be able to exist and sustain at the current capacity. This is why we are working around the clock with the ethos of Heal Earth, we really are saving the planet!
This startup founder interview template is based on HackerNoon Founder & CEO David Smooke’s ten questions for startup founders.
