Pivotal Act

Co-founding and growing a tech venture to support 18 nonprofits

Role

Co-Founder &

Staff Product Designer

Timeline

2018-2020

2015-2018

Industry

Custom Software

Nonprofits

Product

iOS, Android, & Web

Apps, Enterprise software

18 Nonprofits

27 Staff members

8 Countries

Overview

Launching and validating a new social impact model

In 2017, my colleague and I pitched a bold idea to the CEO of Pivotal Labs/VMware: a new business offering dedicated to helping nonprofits design and build responsible, sustainable technology.

While Pivotal Labs had deep expertise helping Fortune 500 companies modernize legacy systems, we launched Pivotal Act to fill that gap—adapting Pivotal’s software practices for social-impact organisations.

I co-founded the initiative, set the strategy, built the financial model, and co-directed the global portfolio which generated $660K revenue in the first year, exceeding cost-neutral goals. Operating and expanded into US, UK, Canada, and Singapore offices.

Client journney map of the in clinic experience

Problem

Ensuring products are sustainable by nonprofits

Nonprofits face a lot of similar challenges with legacy systems as those of large enterprises. However, an additional challenge is limited or overstretched technical staff and difficulty maintaining bespoke software after external teams leave.

In my lessons-learned blog, I shared that our challenge was to ensure that anything we built didn’t become software that collected dust after the engagement ended. That meant more than delivering software, we had to design long-term sustainability into every part of the process.

I led our overall strategy and vision and ensure we were setting up partnerships where we could upskill a team and the software would be maintained or would be low maintenance.

Covid-19 app launched in months with Carina

Developed an app during Covid for front-line health workers needing childcare.

a person looking at the computer screen with a striped shirt

Care leaver app built with Social Finance

Created a web app for social workers and young people to navigate foster care.

4 people lookinng a systems map infront of them

Cash aid dashboard with Save the Children

Co-designed a tool to help NGOs deliver cash aid in emergency responses.

“Pivotal Act is about lifting up their partners and building competence and technological capabilities that weren’t there before.”

Save The Children

two people talking in a therapist office with light comingn down from the far left

service journey maps of the different clinical services

Result

Established a global portfolio of top nonprofits

Although Pivotal Act was later rebranded as VMware Tanzu Act, the mission and portfolio continue to expand globally.

What began as a hypothesis—that modern software practices could meaningfully scale social impact—became a global program with durable outcomes for nonprofits and the communities they serve.