Collaborative Future

What Collaborative Future does

Collaborative Future was a not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) registered in the United Kingdom, founded in 2019 and headquartered in Nottingham, with a core team of one to ten people led by founder Tess Cooper alongside facilitator Ray Cooper and community advocates Prisca Munzemba and Sonia Tyrna. The organisation delivered a portfolio of human-centered services rather than any proprietary technology product, centred on a Work Placement Programme that connected young people facing barriers to employment with freelancers and small businesses through paid placements, mentoring, training, and coaching. Between 2019 and 2024 it ran four cohorts of this programme, placing 32 young people and engaging 35 freelancers and small businesses, while also offering bespoke inclusive recruitment consulting, DEI training and coaching, public-speaking engagements, and community events in Nottingham, London, Birmingham, and Derby.

The commercial model combined grant funding (the entity received an initial grant in 2019 that seeded operations) with professional-services revenue from bespoke consulting, workshops, and coaching engagements, complemented by a freemium top-of-funnel asset in the form of a Free Recruitment Guide documenting inclusive hiring methodology. Customers spanned micro-businesses and freelancers through to occasional enterprise engagements (e.g., Torchbox). Go-to-market was community-led and relationship-driven, leveraging content marketing, community events, and a public-speaking presence at conferences such as Patterns for Change, Women in Tech Nottingham, Canvas Conference, Agile in the Ether, and Mind the Product. The organisation announced its closure in April 2024 after five years of operation, with no venture or private-equity backing recorded and revenue figures not publicly disclosed.

Name

Collaborative Future

Legal name

Collaborative Future

Website

https://collaborativefuture.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Collaborative Future was a UK not-for-profit CIC (2019–2024) that ran paid work-placement programmes, inclusive recruitment consulting, and DEI training for young people, small businesses, and organisations across Nottingham, London, Birmingham, and Derby.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

DEI Consulting and Inclusive Recruitment Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (6243)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce & Career Transition Noncredit Programs (EDAAAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Career Coaching, Mentoring & Placement Support Services (EDAAAKAO), Digital Workplace & Collaboration Consulting (BPAHAEAH)

Keywords

• Inclusive recruitment consulting
• Work placement programmes
• Diversity equity inclusion
• Community interest company
• Talent development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Nottingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Programme Delivery Grants: The organization received grant funding to deliver work placement programmes for young people. Their pilot programme and ongoing operations were supported by grant funding as a not-for-profit CIC.
2. Training and Consulting Services: Offered bespoke training workshops, coaching sessions, and consultancy services to organizations seeking to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion practices. Services included workshops on inclusive recruitment, workplace wellbeing, and systemic change.
3. Work Placement Programme Sponsorship: Organizations could sponsor or participate in work placement programmes that connected young people with small businesses and freelancers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Collaborative Future operated a Work Placement Programme that paid young people to undertake meaningful work with freelancers and small businesses, supported by mentoring, training, and coaching. Alongside this, it delivered bespoke Inclusive Recruitment Consulting and Training to organizations seeking to redesign hiring practices and embed diversity, equity, and inclusion. A Free Recruitment Guide and Community Events extended its reach digitally and in-person.

Product overview

Collaborative Future was a not-for-profit community interest company (CIC) offering a portfolio of services focused on creating more inclusive and equitable workplaces. The core offering centered on a Work Placement Programme that connected young people with small businesses, complemented by Inclusive Recruitment Consulting and a Free Recruitment Guide that shared their hiring methodology. Additional services included Training and Coaching on diversity, equity, and inclusion, Public Speaking engagements, and Community Events for young people. All services were delivered with a focus on supporting individuals from underrepresented backgrounds and helping organizations build more equitable practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Work Placement Programme A paid work placement initiative that connected young people with freelancers and small businesses, providing meaningful employment alongside mentoring, training, and coaching.
• Inclusive Recruitment Consulting

Quantifiable outcome

• 32 young people provided with meaningful paid work across 4 programmes (2019-2024)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• William Joseph DesignminorOthersWilliam Joseph Design provided ongoing hosting support for the Collaborative Future website. They also worked with Collaborative Future on inclusive hiring practices, including supporting the Tech Lead recruitment process with mentoring components.
• Woodgate ConsultingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmy Woodgate, Director of Woodgate Consulting, participated in work placement programme and subsequently hired a full-time employee through the programme. The partnership demonstrated mutual benefit of the work placement model.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Rare Recruitment: UK diversity and inclusion recruitment specialist focused on improving hiring outcomes for underrepresented groups. Comparable to Collaborative Future's inclusive recruitment process redesign and CV-less hiring methodology.
• Inclusive Employers: UK membership organisation providing DEI consultancy, training and resources to employers. Directly comparable to Collaborative Future's DEI training and inclusive recruitment consulting offering in the same UK market.
• Timewise: UK consultancy promoting flexible working and inclusive recruitment practices. Shares the same UK focus on reshaping how organisations hire and engage talent, particularly for underrepresented candidates.
• UpRising: UK charity developing leadership and employability skills for young people from underrepresented backgrounds. Overlaps with Collaborative Future's youth-focused training, mentoring and community events.

Broad incumbents

• Catch22: UK social business delivering employability, education and inclusion programmes, including youth-focused services. Comparable in mission and beneficiary profile to Collaborative Future's young-persons work placement activity.
• The Prince's Trust: Large UK youth employment charity running programmes to help young people into education, training and work. Comparable to Collaborative Future's youth work placement programme but at significantly greater scale and brand recognition.
• Generation You Employed: Global nonprofit operating employment programmes that train and place people into careers, with a focus on those facing barriers to work. Comparable in programme design to Collaborative Future's work placement model but operating at global scale.

Others

• Social Enterprise UK: UK membership body representing social enterprises and CICs. Comparable as the sector umbrella to which Collaborative Future belonged, relevant for benchmarking and ecosystem context rather than direct service competition.
• B Lab UK: UK arm of the B Corp movement certifying purpose-driven businesses. Adjacent rather than competitive: relevant ecosystem reference for CIC/values-led organisations like Collaborative Future.

Emerging players

• ClearView Research: Specialist UK diversity research and recruitment insights firm serving employers seeking to benchmark inclusive hiring. Comparable emerging specialist with overlapping DEI/recruitment focus though narrower research orientation.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/collab_future
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/collaborative-future
• Instagraminstagram.com/collaborativefuture
• Facebookfacebook.com/Collaborativefuture

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Collaborative Future