Founding CEO

Founding CEO at Mission Studio

PixelPatrol - redefining digital safety for families.

Apply here by February 20th!

Founding CEO role overview

Mission Studio is Nesta’s mission-led venture studio, built to turn bold, validated ideas into venture-backable, impact-driven companies. When we develop a concept with real potential, we partner with an exceptional founding CEO to co-build it with us and lead the business into the future. As a Mission Studio founder, you’ll receive a living stipend during our intensive 6-month build, plus funding to create an MVP and test it with real customers. You’ll work shoulder-to-shoulder with experienced builders, designers, technologists, and founders - and finish with the opportunity to pitch for £200k in pre-seed funding to spin out your venture.

About PixelPatrol - our latest concept

PixelPatrol is a modern “parental control software” designed to reduce parents’ mental burden and empower kids’ digital literacy, resilience, and long-term independence. Parents lack the time, up-to-date knowledge, and mental bandwidth to manage constantly evolving risks and fragmented, non-standard controls across devices.

PixelPatrol solves these friction points by shifting digital safety from ‘restrictive’ controls and ‘invasive’ monitoring to positive collaboration and skill-building between the parent and child.

Whereas current solutions embody an authoritative parenting style – high in demands but low in responsiveness – PixelPatrol embraces an authoritarian style, which combines clear expectations with emotional support. Authoritative, or “positive,” parenting has been shown to lead to more positive social and emotional outcomes for children (learn more here).

For parents;

• Unified platform that consolidates all family devices into one dashboard.
• Joint onboarding (“The Pact”) supports cooperative rule-setting, while dynamic screen time focuses on quality, not minutes.
• Peer-powered recommendations provide evidence-backed defaults that adapt to family values.
• AI settings adapt to rapidly changing threats and your child’s development

For children;

• A child-facing app builds self-regulation through
• Gamified nudges that reward positive behaviour
• Digital literacy micro-lessons that
• supportive “guide” that encourages help-seeking and trust

In its most ambitious form, PixelPatrol could evolve into the trusted operating layer for family digital life - influencing device settings, content norms, digital literacy across generations.

Who We’re Looking For

For the PixelPatrol founding CEO, we’re looking for someone who:

• D2C whiz - you have built and scaled D2C tech products from idea to a substantial user-base (bonus points for child facing products), and are well versed in viral loop engineering and multi channel marketing (from high-intent SEO to organic community building to influencer partnerships)
• Product-led validation - Relentless focus on pinpointing the smallest valuable experience that builds user trust and begins to change behaviour, that users are willing to pay for, before building anything bigger
• Technical & analytical literacy - You’ve worked with product analytics tools (like Mixpanel or Amplitude) to support agile development and data-driven decision making
• Commercial acumen - Must prioritise quickly validating the business model and go-to-market strategy to de-risk viability before scaling.
• Test & learn mindset – thrives in fast-paced, uncertain environments: rapidly testing assumptions and pivoting as required
• Scrappiness and resourcefulness – takes initiative and is proactively able to get things done with low resources when needed
• Inspirational leadership – exceptional at rallying teams to achieve shared goals in an inclusive environment
• Skilled storytelling - effective at communicating with diverse audiences and stakeholders

At Mission Studio, we work with talented people who want to build ambitious, impactful ventures. You don’t need prior founder experience - just relevant skills, domain insight, and the drive to build a business in this space. If you care deeply about the problem and have the grit to bring a venture to life, we want to hear from you.

The founder package we offer

• A de-risked concept with initial inroads into relevant customer and partner networks
• A living stipend of ~£4k per month for up to 6 months whilst you build with us
• 25k of additional funds to support the build and launch of the company
• Dedicated, hands-on operational support from a passionate team specialising in venture design and building, product development, fundraising, tech, and strategic partnerships
• Access to Nesta’s mission-relevant internal and external networks
• The opportunity at the end of 6 months to pitch for an additional £200K investment and establish the venture as an independent company - and receive a majority equity stake in the new company

How we build with founders

During the 6 month build, Mission Studio deploys a lean venture building approach - focused on fast, disciplined experimentation and learning. Every effort is purposeful, aimed at validating assumptions within the venture hypothesis and uncovering signals of scalable growth.

The studio and founders work together in a repeat rhythm of test and learn sprints, all supported by a clear lean venture building methodology, practical tools and a smooth operational backbone that gives every concept the best chance of success.

Making an application

To apply for this role, please submit your application before 8pm on February 20th 2026.

Interviews will be held on a rolling basis, but will likely take place from w/c Feb 23rd.

We want our startups to represent the diversity of the people and communities they serve. This means that when we are recruiting, we actively seek to reach a diverse pool of candidates. It also means that we are happy to consider any reasonable adjustments that potential employees may need to in order to be successful. See our EDI commitments for more information.

PixelPatrol is part of Mission Studio

Mission Studio is dedicated to creating, launching and scaling startups that address some of the UK’s biggest social challenges. From achieving net zero to tackling obesity to striving for equal outcomes for children born into disadvantage, we’re not just building great businesses, we’re designing impactful solutions for a better future.

Backed by a world-class venture design and building process, dedicated capital, experienced operators providing hands-on support, as well as Nesta’s ecosystem of experts, research and partnerships, we partner with founders to build incredible companies.

Mission Studio is led by Kenny Ewan (ex-Founder of Wefarm, the world's largest farming network, reaching 5 million users and raising over $35mn in VC investment). Kenny and the wider team bring decades of startup experience to support you on your journey, doing whatever it takes to help you and your venture succeed.