One of the most rewarding parts of the UnSchool community is the variety of entrepreneurial approaches and creative initiatives that we learn about from the people who join us on programs.
Milosz Falinski joined us for our online Masterclass in the Disruptive Design Method in February earlier this year and shared his work around using tech for good. We caught up with him recently to find out more about his initiatives and the ways that the live online masterclass has helped him further his changemaking career.
Milosz Falinkski
Can you give us an introduction to yourself and your work?
Thanks for having me! I’m Milosz Falinski, I run Luminous - a startup consultancy through which I work with mission-led tech entrepreneurs on achieving product-market fit. Last year I started Digital for Good, a UK-based volunteering community that connects tech professionals with charities. We have over 400 members and a bunch of active volunteering projects. I started my career out as a designer.
What motivates you to do the work that you do?
I was always heavily involved with tech startups, and after having my business acquired at 28, I realised just how uninteresting more success and money is. I was also really uncomfortable with where we’re going with technology. For the last year, I’ve been out searching for answers to many of these questions and despite all the negativity and fear surrounding us today, I believe that both business and technology have a key role to play in solving the world's biggest challenges. We just have to rethink how we apply them as the tools that they are to the problems we’re facing.
Co-organising the volunteer hackathon for LGBT Youth Scotland. Photo by Jane Griffin
How did you find out about the UnSchool, and what motivated you to come?
A friend mentioned the great work that Leyla is doing, and about a year later, I saw the online Disruptive Design Masterclass and just signed up. I saw it as a perfect opportunity to expand my understanding of the innovation process and learn the tools that allow us to steer it to create positive change.
What was your experience at the UnSchool like?
It was an incredible experience to work alongside and learn from really smart people from very different backgrounds and disciplines, all with a common goal. Leyla made sure that the content was full of value and engaging, and I’ve rewatched it and referred to it many many times since.
What was the main take away you had from coming to the UnSchool?
I came to the UnSchool pretty confident that I know all I need about the design process and may learn a few tricks, but the Masterclass provided hundreds of insights, big and small, into my process and has shaped how I work with clients and even what my plans are for the future. I developed a much deeper understanding of innovation. Seeing how Leyla and others are applying these tools outside my familiar digital context gave me a fresh outsider perspective on how I work.
There were also many tools we rarely ever use in the tech world - like systems thinking and life-cycle assessment - that I started experimenting with, resulting in great success.
Tell us more about your initiative(s), and how is it all going?
Through Luminous, I am working with mission-led tech companies, basically helping them build the right product or service before they try to scale it. Together, we are shaping their vision and proposition to the point where a key group of customers really loves them. The mission-led element is key to the equation - only authentically-motivated founders are ready to do what it takes to build really great companies. I’m also lucky to be involved with fascinating and rewarding work with my clients - from redefining vibrancy and belonging post-Covid, through building ecosystems for purpose-driven entrepreneurs, to disrupting the music creation process. The current pandemic has put focus on and accentuated many of the feelings and motivations that were
My other initiative is Digital for Good, a community through which we connect people in technology with charities, founded at the beginning of last year. Since the beginning of 2020, we have run project cohorts where we form teams of volunteers to work with a specific charity on their top tech-related challenges. Covid had an impact on how we convene and collaborate, as we were primarily an in-person community all about building trust and relationships between tech and charity sectors. We’re still learning how to bring the full weight of that debate over to the digital context.
Our Digital for Good volunteers ideating with YoungScot on their new chatbot. Photo by Steve Lloyd
How did the UnSchool help you start/evolve it?
Going through the Disruptive Design Masterclass has set in motion processes that expanded my vision for both the community and the consultancy. Gaining the depth of experiential understanding of the disruption process gave me an insight into how I could expand and grow my impact across both and has me set up and excited me for the future I’m building!
How have you amplified this change you do in the world?
I have more questions than answers about this myself! How can I help more entrepreneurs build the right thing and build an impactful sustainable business? How can we impact more charities and help more tech professionals contribute through volunteering? There’s only so much one person can do and I’m constantly mindful of this. I am always looking for ways to partner with and involve more people in my work.
Getting ready for a joint event with Product Tank. Photo by Andrea Blackie
How can people engage with, support, or follow your work?
You can follow what I’m doing on miloszfalinski.com and our community on digitalforgood.uk.
Any other thoughts you want to share?
Every year, the world’s smartest and most trusted voices keep saying we live in an unprecedented and scary time. I used to submit to this narrative, but the more people passionate about change I meet, the more of an optimist I become.
I believe it’s on us, the changemakers, to redefine this narrative around our future, from all the evil and injustice we need to eradicate, towards what we need to build. We live in an exciting time that will see us shaping the future of humanity for better, not for worse. And we have all the resources and people we need to build a world that works for everyone.
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If you want to join our next online Masterclass, you can still apply now for the November program.
