GoodShip* and Citizen First LCR

The Collaboration: GoodShip* and Citizen First LCR

The Collaboration between GoodShip* and Public Life (the lead organisation for Citizen First LCR) was designed to bridge a critical gap. Public Life’s vision was to find and empower "hidden entrepreneurs" local citizens whose business ideas were born from their deep, personal experience with health and social challenges in the Liverpool City Region. 

They addressed the financial barrier by paying these founders a Real Living Wage salary. GoodShip* was then brought in to provide the necessary technical and strategic support to accelerate these founders, taking their profound personal passion and translating it into a clear, scalable, and fundable business model, ensuring the ventures could deliver meaningful social impact while remaining economically viable.

GoodShip's Support: The AI-Driven Workbook Methodology

GoodShip's intervention centred on a dynamic AI-driven workbook methodology. This approach was critical because it intentionally circumvented the need for founders to have traditional business qualifications, instead allowing them to use their intuition and lived experience directly.

Building the Structured Business Overview

The initial phase focused on moving from raw passion to structured strategy. GoodShip* used generative AI to quickly help founders structure their ideas into professional business propositions. Founders would input their raw concept and target problem, and GoodShip* used AI tools integrated into the workbook to act as a strategic assistant. 

The AI would ask the kind of probing questions that professional consultants ask about the market, competitors, value chain, and funding models. The direct output was a structured Business Overview, complete with clear customer segments and early financial thoughts, turning vague concepts into tangible strategic documents far faster than traditional methods.

Uncovering and Articulating the Founder's "Why!"

This was arguably the most impactful aspect of the support, focusing on the human element that makes the cohort unique. The AI was used in an "empathetic interview" mode. GoodShip* designed specific prompts to help founders articulate the personal story behind their venture the crucial "Why!" without losing its emotional authenticity. This process helped founders reframe their past challenges (e.g., navigating complex care systems) into their unique competitive advantage and core mission statement. The AI then assisted in polishing these raw accounts into compelling, accessible narratives, ensuring their personal conviction resonated powerfully with partners and investors.

Defining the Social Impact Story

The final layer connected the personal mission directly to regional change. The workbook guided the founders to use AI to formally map their business activities to measurable social outcomes. This helped them articulate their Social Impact Story and Theory of Change, defining precisely how their specific service would reduce health inequalities, improve community wellbeing, and potentially save public sector money in the Liverpool City Region.

Programme Impact

GoodShip's tailored support accelerated the cohort's journey significantly. Founders, who often lacked formal business credentials, gained immediate access to professional structuring and language, which significantly boosted their confidence and credibility. The use of AI drastically reduced the time required to move from initial concept to a structured business case, ensuring the founders maximised their year of supported salary. Ultimately, the process ensured the final ventures were not just commercial enterprises, but deeply rooted, community-led solutions, fulfilling Public Life's core vision of creating systemic change from the ground up.