I’ve always been drawn towards solving complex social challenges. From studying Ethics at the Sorbonne (Paris IV) to Social Innovation at the London School of Economics (LSE) and working on impact projects across Europe and Asia, I’ve spent the last decade understanding how real change works and what models support it.

Over time, I realised that doing good isn’t an idealist trade-off: it’s a competitive advantage. Companies that care about people and the planet outperform in the long run: they attract talent, adapt to change, and keep innovating.

In 2018, I co-founded ila Generation, a startup creating safer work environments through training. With ila, I’ve learned what it really takes to build impact-driven ventures. For me this included:

pivoting during a pandemic
building a MVP
validating assumptions
not validating assumptions and having to iterate
raising pre-seed
working with a tight budget for big projects
making good and bad hires
managing global teams
partnering with key stakeholders
being the product head for our award-winning tech product: ALLY the app turning local venues into safe spaces
Trying to stay sane in the midst of it all

Hi, I’m Julie
and I believe impact is part of (great) business!

Lume comes from the latin word lumen which means “light” and “clarity”.

After a decade in the impact space, I’ve learned that while good intentions are important, systemic change requires more.
The most impactful social innovations share 3 key elements:

a data-driven strategy
a strong organisational culture
clear evaluation checkpoints to support iteration from day one

That’s what Lume is about: making sure founders and teams have the clarity and creativity they need to grow their impact sustainably.

Why say “impact”?

Why not use terms like “CSR,” “ESG,” “charity,” or “philanthropy”?

Because impact goes beyond these approaches.

“Philanthropy” involves helping “the poor”, typically through money, and “charity” refers to help given freely to those in need (based on definitions from the Cambridge dictionary).

➡️ While both are crucial in times of crisis, they focus on quick fixes, often driven by funding and shaped by the giver, leaving beneficiaries as passive recipient.

CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) are compliance-focused, with CSR emphasising company obligations and ESG focusing on investor concerns.

➡️ Both are important but often miss social and environmental aspects not yet regulated, leaving many blindspots with transformative potential for people and organisations.

“Impact” takes a long term approach to social and environmental work, aiming for measurable results that contribute to broader societal goals over time.

It relies on two key principles:

1) a systemic approach to social issues that informs strategy and justifies actions

2) a preference for human-centered design, drawing insights directly from those most affected by the issues we work on.

Many professionals in both companies and nonprofits use this approach, and because it transcends traditional ideas of promoting social good, it holds greater potential for triggering change.

My Approach

I’m here to challenge you and to be ambitious with you.
Combining academic rigour with entrepreneurial know-how, I help unlock your team’s creativity and drive operational excellence.
Success is 90% about people.

Great offerings come from reliable insights from your target groups.

Strong teams are built through empathetic leadership.

I help you align with your stakeholders’ needs, strengths, and motivations.
Impact is not about idealism, nor does it happen overnight. It’s built through consistent and realistic steps. It’s careful strategic planning paired with organisational intelligence and - most importantly - it happens when matching your priorities, capacities, and challenges.

Building custom teams for each project: meet my collaborators

Tanaka Mhishi

Impact Evaluation · Facilitation · Team Culture · Partnerships
Tanaka is a researcher and facilitator with over ten years experience in and around the areas of social impact.
With a background that involves blending creative methods, qualitative research and strong facilitation skills, Tanaka specialises in helping organisations build sustainable relationships with new audiences and co-create impact metrics that capture the needs of a wide variety of stakeholders.
Vanessa Brown

Impact Strategy & Evaluation · Entrepreneurship
Vanessa Brown is a consultant, enterprise educator, and PhD researcher specialising in inclusive entrepreneurship and ecosystem development.
Her work bridges research and practice, using insights from monitoring and evaluation to inform programme design and deliver actionable outcomes for founders, funders, and policy stakeholders.
Farah Bogani

Impact Evaluation · Monitoring · Team Culture
Farah (she/her) has over ten years experience in human rights advocacy, policy development, strategy, research, and compliance with international and regional human rights law and mechanisms. She is specialised in environmental rights, artificial intelligence, democratic governance, and freedom of expression. Her impact is measured through systems thinking and a rights-based approach that brings a lens of equity, inclusion, and justice to her work.
Neharika Dembla

Impact Strategy · Team Culture · Entrepreneurship
Neharika is a strategist specialising in social impact, equity, and organisational innovation.
She has advised FTSE 500 clients on EDI strategy and employee engagement, developing global toolkits, leading inclusive campaigns, and shaping internal communications for workforces exceeding 300,000 employees.
She’s also a successful entrepreneur who co-founded several social ventures.