GoodShip* wins Prolific North Tech Start-up of the Year. And we're only just getting started.

When we started GoodShip* just over two years ago, it wasn't about building another technology business, another creative agency or another consultancy. It was about creating something that could bring together the things I believe in most: creativity, technology, education and community, all working together to create purpose and positive impact.

Last night, at the Prolific North Tech Awards 2026 in Manchester, GoodShip* was named Tech Start-up of the Year for businesses with fewer than five employees.

And while winning an award is a brilliant feeling, this one means something a little different.

It's recognition of a mission, a way of working and the belief that you can build a successful business by putting people, purpose and impact at the heart of everything you do.

It's also a reminder of why we started in the first place.

Building something that matters

GoodShip* was born from a belief that we could do business differently. That we could use our experience, our connections and our collective imagination to make a positive difference to the people and organisations around us.

We wanted to work with people who shared our values. Businesses, charities, educators, communities and individuals who wanted to challenge convention, explore new ideas and create things that genuinely make a difference.

That could mean helping an organisation rethink its future, supporting a charity with a challenge, creating a digital product, building a community, inspiring a young person or bringing people together who might otherwise never cross paths.

It could mean finding ways to reduce environmental impact, challenge waste and think more responsibly about what we create and consume.

The common thread was never going to be a particular service or a particular technology. It was always going to be what we could achieve together and the positive impact that could come from it.

I'm a big believer in technology, and particularly the opportunities that AI is opening up. But I'm also tired of the doom and gloom that so often dominates conversations about the future.

Yes, we need to understand the risks, ask difficult questions and use these tools responsibly. But we also need to recognise the incredible opportunities that exist when we put powerful technology into the hands of people with imagination, curiosity and the confidence to try something new.

Technology shouldn't just be about making things faster, cheaper or more efficient. It should be about helping people do things they never thought possible.

And that's where bravery comes into it.

Building confidence, creating opportunity and inspiring bravery

One of the things I'm proudest of over the last two years is the impact we're starting to see through our AI Activator programme.

What began as an idea about combining emerging technology, creative thinking and real-world challenges has become something much bigger.

We're helping students and people from different backgrounds build confidence, discover new skills, work with businesses and charities, and realise that they have something valuable to contribute.

We're seeing people who might not consider themselves creative building incredible ideas. People who have never written a line of code creating working prototypes. People who are nervous about standing up in front of a room finding the confidence to present their thinking.

And we're seeing businesses look at talent differently.

For me, that's where the real magic happens.

It's also why conversations around young people who are not in education, employment or training matter so much. We spend too much time defining people by what they're not doing, rather than recognising their potential and helping them discover what they could do.

My good friend and fellow shipmate Leon McCowan has been challenging this thinking, turning the conversation from NEETs towards LEETs and a more positive, opportunity-led approach.

It's exactly the kind of shift in thinking we need.

Because sometimes the biggest barrier to opportunity isn't somebody's ability. It's their confidence, their connections or simply the fact that nobody has given them the chance to show what they're capable of.

If we can help change that, even for one person, we're doing something worthwhile.

And if we can find ways to grow that impact across communities, education and industry, imagine what becomes possible.

When somebody else tells your story

One of the most meaningful moments of last night actually came after the award.

George Greenwood, from fellow finalist Greenwood Online, shared a post on LinkedIn.

We'd never met before. We weren't part of the same business networks or community. We were two businesses competing for the same award.

And George wrote:

We didn't win. GoodShip took the Startup of the Year prize at the Prolific North Northern Tech Awards last night, and to be honestly, fair enough. Look at what they do. Combining consultancy, creativity, digital tech, community and experiential learning to create real positive impacts. It's hard to argue with that.

That genuinely meant a lot.

Because those few sentences captured something we've been trying to communicate since the beginning.

We spend so much of our time telling our stories through our website, LinkedIn, events, conversations and the communities we create. Sometimes you're never quite sure how far those messages travel or whether people really understand what you're trying to achieve.

Then somebody you've never met, outside your immediate circles, describes what you do and why it matters.

And you realise the message is getting through.

This award wasn't just recognition from within Liverpool City Region, where so much of our work has been concentrated. It was recognition from across the North, from people looking at businesses, innovation and technology on a much bigger stage.

That's an important moment for us.

Not because we need everybody to understand exactly what GoodShip* does, but because we want people to understand why we do it.

The journey behind the award

There's a very personal side to all of this too.

The last few years have involved some enormous changes in my life.

The closure of Mashbo, a business that had been such a significant part of my working life, was a difficult chapter to close. Alongside that came the loss of my mum and one of my closest friends, Mike, and everything that grief and change bring with them.

There were times when it would have been easier to step away, take the safer option or simply not start again.

But sometimes you have to find the bravery to do something different, even when you're not entirely sure where it's going to take you.

GoodShip* became an opportunity to take everything I'd learnt over three decades of working in creativity, digital technology, business and community building, and shape something that reflected the things that really mattered to me.

It wasn't about recreating what I'd done before.

It was about taking the experience, the relationships, the mistakes, the lessons and the belief that business can be a force for good, and putting them to work in a new way.

And importantly, doing it with people who shared that belief.

So standing in Manchester last night, collecting that award, was a bit of personal validation too.

A reminder that change, however difficult, can lead to something meaningful. That you don't always have to abandon your principles to build a business. And that having the guts to start again can sometimes be the most important decision you make.

A small tech startup with an army behind it

The category we won was Tech Start-up of the Year for businesses with fewer than five employees.

And yes, we're a small team.

But the reality is that GoodShip* has an army behind it.

An army of people across Liverpool City Region and beyond who have supported us, encouraged us, challenged us, collaborated with us and helped us create the things we've been able to deliver.

Our crew, our clients, our partners, our friends, our families and the incredible community of people who give their time, expertise, energy and belief to the things we're trying to achieve.

We've been given opportunities to stand on stages, host conversations, bring people together, experiment with new ideas and work with organisations that share our ambitions.

We've had people open doors, make introductions, share our stories and put their trust in us.

And we've had brilliant support from organisations helping us turn that purpose into a stronger, more sustainable business. In particular, a huge thank you to Jamie, Alex and the team at RTC North for the guidance, encouragement and support they've given us as we've looked at the next stages of our growth.

Because purpose alone doesn't pay the bills.

We have to build a commercially successful business if we're going to create more opportunities, support more people, deliver bigger projects and make a greater difference.

And that's very much the mission now.

I also know we can be a little bit renegade sometimes. A little bit stubborn about the things we believe in and the way we want to work.

That's never about being difficult or causing offence.

It's about knowing what we stand for, recognising the value of the people around us and understanding that the relationships we build are just as important as the projects we deliver.

As we grow, we need to protect that. Not every opportunity will be right for us, and that's fine. The people and organisations we bring close to GoodShip* need to share the values that got us here in the first place.

Because growth without purpose isn't the kind of growth we're interested in.

Two years of play. Now it's time to grow.

At our second anniversary in September, we celebrated Two Years of Play.

Two years of experimenting, asking questions, building relationships, challenging assumptions, trying things out and occasionally causing a little bit of good trouble.

We've learnt an incredible amount. We've made mistakes, discovered opportunities we never expected and built something that feels very different from what we first imagined.

And now we're looking at what comes next.

I've often talked about my Red Bull philosophy.

Ask somebody what Red Bull is and they'll probably tell you it's an energy drink, or perhaps a Formula One team.

But the way I see it, Red Bull is really in the business of marketing excitement. The drink is just one part of a much bigger story.

And that's how I think about GoodShip*.

Yes, we're a consultancy. We create digital products. We work with AI and emerging technologies. We deliver education programmes, build communities, create campaigns and bring people together through events.

But none of those things individually defines us.

We're GoodShip, and we're here to create purpose and positive impact.*

How we do that will continue to evolve.

Sometimes people tell me they don't really know exactly what GoodShip* does, but they know we're doing good things.

And you know what? I quite like that.

Because I would rather we were recognised for the difference we make than simply the services we sell.

Now the ambition is to grow that difference. To make what we're doing bigger, stronger and more accessible. To bring more people into the mission, create more opportunities and build a business that can deliver positive social, economic and environmental impact at a much greater scale.

Not just in Liverpool City Region, but wherever we find people who share that ambition.

This award belongs to all of us

So this is a massive thank you.

To everybody who's helped us through the transition, the change and the challenges. To those who believed in the idea before we had much to show for it. To those who've trusted us with their projects, their people, their organisations and their communities.

To everyone who's encouraged us, opened a door, offered advice, shared an opportunity, celebrated a win or picked us up when things didn't quite go to plan.

And to the GoodShip* crew, whose creativity, commitment and belief continue to shape what we're becoming.

Thank you to Prolific North, the judges and everyone involved in bringing the Northern tech community together and recognising businesses that are trying to make a difference.

Winning Tech Start-up of the Year is something we'll remember for a very long time.

But the thing that excites me most isn't looking back at what we've achieved.

It's looking forward to what we're capable of creating next.

We've spent two years playing, experimenting and finding our way. Now it's time to take what we've learnt, build on the foundations and create an even bigger positive wake.

The mission has only just started.

And if you believe, like we do, that creativity, technology, education and community can make the world a better place, there's room on this ship for you.

Let's get on with doing the good ship* that makes a difference.

Thank you, everybody.