We had the good fortune of connecting with Nicole Dery and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Nicole, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

My co-founder and I started Allelo because we’ve seen, first hand, what the power of outstanding experience design can do. We know that companies with high design maturity see cost savings, revenue gains, and brand and market position improvements as a result of their design efforts. We’ve helped a broad range of companies capture these kinds of benefits. In doing so, we’ve also seen what a singular focus on maximizing short-term shareholder value can do- externalize waste, marginalize communities, and reduce resilience. We’ve always been force multipliers and we want to continue to be, just for different forces.

Business can be and is a force for good. B Corps, climate tech companies and many others are proving that every day. We want to help them further differentiate themselves and enhance their outcomes with great design. We’ve been around long enough to understand that “good” is subjective. Right now, many people are re-evaluating their own definitions of what good is, rethinking their own senses of purpose and meaning. This moment provides a tremendous opportunity to drive change. Timing matters. The time is now.

Allelo is founded on the idea that the design thinking process needs a refresh.

There are lots of great designers and firms talking about and working towards responsible design. What we haven’t seen yet is a rigorous, systematic, repeatable approach to embedding an impact orientation and measurement into the human-centered design process. That’s our goal – to create a new industry standard that enables designers everywhere to design for positive social and environmental impact.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Allelo is a public benefit corporation that provides front-end custom user experience digital design services to climate tech and other impact-oriented companies. Allelo is an enabler, an amplifier. We’re helping our clients reap the benefits of excellent design to expand their positive social and environmental impacts and grow their businesses.

We take a bespoke approach with each client to help them rigorously embed an impact lens into the digital product design development cycles. In the process, we are co-creating a new model of human-centered design. What sets us apart is our incredible talent and their commitment to our mission – using the power of design to create a more regenerative, equitable economy. We are super excited about the influx of investment into impact-oriented innovation the Infrastructure Investment Act approved and what it will mean for our collective future.

We are still a new company and have many things to learn. We’ve faced many challenges and will no doubt face many more! The way we’ve managed to address them so far is by embracing them and treating them like design prompts – something to address creatively and with humility.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Philly, which is one of the greatest cities in the country. There are way too many to list, but some of my favorites include: -Checking out the murals in each section of the city. It can be done on a formal tour, but it’s much more fun to create a DIY tour and stop in each neighborhood for a drink or snack along the way.
-Hiking in the Wissahickon and exploring Fairmount Park. Philly is a surprisingly verdant city.
-Taking in a concert at the Met, the Fillmore, or World Cafe Live.
-Dinner at Vernick, Royal Sushi & Izakaya, and brunch at Johnny Brendas
-Exploring the weirdness at the Mutter museum

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh my goodness, I would be nowhere without the love, support, and encouragement of so many others. To name a few, I’m eternally grateful to Founders Network for the way they welcomed and respected my entry into entrepreneurship, Sam Litvin and Maia Dery for their coaching and support, Sam Hawkins and Kyle Cook for their contributions, and Michael Paolisso for his mentorship.

Website: www.allelodesign.com

Other: Our social channels will be live in spring of 2023.

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