“ As the founder of Interactual, I feel the traditional trio of Mission, Vision, and Values should be inverted and driven by a crucial fourth element: Purpose. Purpose shapes our Values, which inform our Vision, which ultimately guides our Mission. What began as a one-person consultancy built on that belief has grown into a team that shares the same purpose, and it now underpins everything we do as a company. ”
Ben May - Founder and MD
Our Purpose
At Interactual, we care about the world our children are inheriting. The challenges we face go beyond climate change and plastic pollution. We are seeing wealth concentration, digital serfdom, and a society increasingly under siege. All of this is happening while we remain fixated on economic ‘growth’ on a planet with finite resources.
When we talk about the purpose of business, many prioritise financial profit. While financial sustainability is essential, we believe it should not be the primary goal. Instead, the fundamental purpose of business should be to foster social cohesion—providing meaningful employment that contributes to local communities and promoting peaceful international trade.
How we try to make a difference:
We recognize there is only so much we can do directly to tackle these global issues. However, we try to make small but significant contributions through the way we do business:
Direct employment: Fulfilment comes from being part of a team that works toward shared goals.
Nurturing talent: Encouraging our team to adopt a shared purpose of making the world a better place.
Helping small businesses: Innovating to solve small parts of big problems. We want businesses that improve the planet to thrive.
Localising production: Encouraging clients to bring production closer to home and strengthen local economies.
Our Values
While it’s inspiring to have a larger purpose, we need guiding principles that inform how we work daily:
Working with "rockstars" and "superheroes": Whether clients, external specialists, or homegrown talent, it is always easier (and more fun) to collaborate with the best in the business.
Client trust: Our team is committed to clients' goals, even if it means asking tough questions that aren’t always in our immediate interest.
Integrity & Respect: We cultivate a culture of honesty and transparency with clients, suppliers, and within our own team.
Agility: We have developed an agile approach to hardware development that allows us to move further, faster, and with less risk.
Meaningful work: Projects don’t need to save the planet directly, but we politely decline anything that conflicts with our core purpose.
Joy & Passion: Work should be fulfilling and fun—for everyone. We make sure our team has what they need to succeed.
Our Vision for Innovation
Interactual was set up not just to create physical products, but to mitigate risk in the new product development process. Along the way, Interactual has gained deep knowledge of NPD strategy, from user research to funding and business structure.
Our vision for Interactual is to become the go-to partner for physical verification, offering not only verification services but also helping customers create strategies that reduce risk and increase the likelihood of successful, meaningful innovations.
Our Mission
Our mission is simple: to help viable, purpose-driven innovations succeed commercially. We also aim to uncover potential challenges early on, giving clients the opportunity to pivot. All of this while ensuring that new products have a positive impact on both the planet and society.