Name: Clare Sutcliffe
Position: Chief Strategy Officer
Company: KOOS.io
Website: https://koos.io/
About Clare Sutcliffe and KOOS.io
I’m CSO at KOOS.io, a startup that helps companies make the customers, suppliers, or partners who contribute to their success co-owners of the company via virtual shares, so that contributors are meaningfully motivated and rewarded.
My career started in 2012 when I co-founded Code Club, a global network of volunteer-led after-school coding clubs for children. I believe that every child should have the opportunity to learn to code, an essential skill in our increasingly digital world. Before this, my career was focused on design and user experience, working with agencies like Albion London and Pixelgroup, where I learned all about creating engaging digital experiences.
Starting Code Club was both exhilarating and challenging. One of the earliest hurdles was the sheer scale of what we were trying to achieve – making coding accessible to children everywhere. Convincing schools to adopt our program, recruiting volunteers, and securing funding were some of the main challenges we had to face. But with perseverance and the support of the tech community, including companies like Arm and Google, it was successful. By 2014, Code Club had gone global, with over 13,000 volunteers teaching coding to 180,000 children weekly in after-school clubs across 160 countries. I believe this expansion was a testament to the power of community and the resonance of our mission.
After the merger of Code Club with the Raspberry Pi Foundation in 2015, I took on the role of Executive Director of Communities and Outreach, broadening my impact to encompass all programs of the foundation. In 2015, I also received an MBE for services to technology education. This period was marked by the development of an online learning platform and the initiation of a volunteer translation movement, furthering our reach and accessibility.
Leaving the Raspberry Pi Foundation in 2018, I continued to champion community-driven initiatives, co-founding She Wins, a community of women learning to negotiate successfully and authentically, with clients like Deloitte, Spotify and Sky. I also served as Chair of Trustees at the Beam Foundation. I then built and led a team of over 25 community practitioners at Multiverse, whilst the apprentice community grew from 1000 to 10,000 in two years.
In 2023, I joined KOOS.io, a legal and technological solution for rewarding and motivating contributors by giving them a stake in the business via virtual shares, as Chief Strategy Officer. This year, my plans include scaling KOOS.io’s impact, and exploring new ways to integrate community engagement strategies into tech startups, enhancing their growth and resilience in a tricky funding environment.
In addition to my community consultancy I am an active angel investor specifically investing in community-driven companies. I mentor the talented founders at Zinc VC, hold a NED role at Unibeez, co-host community pros of London and am currently creating Bunch – a podcast about building brand communities.
Each challenge I’ve had to overcome has been an incredible learning opportunity, reinforcing my belief in the importance of community, diversity, and ethical leadership in tech.
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