What is impact?
- rs1499
- May 2
- 4 min read
When you're building a company in learning and the future of work, you're not just creating a product; you’re aiming to make a difference. That difference is what we call impact. But “impact” is one of those words that gets thrown around a lot. What does it really mean, and how should you think about it as a founder?
This article breaks down what impact means in practical terms, especially for early-stage startups trying to solve meaningful problems.
Impact = change that matters
At its core, impact is the unique value your product adds to people's lives - benefits they wouldn't experience if your product didn't exist. Impact is about creating meaningful change, not just activity. It’s not simply about how many users signed up or how many hours people spent on your platform. It’s about what changed in their lives because they used your product.
A few common forms of impact:
Outcomes improvement → Did learners actually learn more? Did jobseekers get placed in better jobs?
Time savings → Did teachers or managers save time they can now spend on higher-value work?
Cost reduction → Did your solution reduce costs for schools, learners, or employers?
Increased access or equity → Are you reaching people who were previously excluded or underserved?
Behavioural or mindset shifts → Did people make better decisions, build confidence, or change their habits?
These are all valid and powerful forms of impact. What matters is picking the ones that align with your mission and your users’ needs.
Social impact vs. commercial impact
Not all startups aim for the same kind of impact, but in education and work, two types of impact often blend:
Social impact = Broad societal or educational benefits (e.g. improved literacy, reduced unemployment, more equitable access)
Commercial impact = Tangible business outcomes (e.g. increased productivity, reduced churn, higher ROI for training)
Great startups often create both. For example, a skills assessment tool that improves hiring decisions (commercial impact) and reduces bias (social impact).
Outputs vs outcomes: don’t confuse the two
One of the most common traps? Confusing outputs with outcomes.
Output | Outcome |
1,000 learners enrolled | 800 improved reading comprehension |
10,000 jobseekers trained | 4,000 got jobs within 6 months |
100 companies onboarded 100 completed quizzes or lessons | 75 reported improved employee morale 20% increase in children’s learning outcomes |
Outputs are the things you did. They are the data you can measure through your platform.
Outcomes are the changes that happened because of what you did. They are the data that are measured outside of your platform.
Brighteye Mentor and Co-founder at Newsela, shared her perspective:
“Indeed, startups often boast their outputs because they have easy access to those numbers. Determining outcomes requires talking to your users–and that's a great thing. Most startups don't spend enough time engaged with their users. By having a cohort of users who agree to work with you on measuring your product's effects, you'll not only gain outcome data, but you'll also get authentic feedback that will likely inform your product roadmap.”
Founders often celebrate outputs (because they’re easy to measure and also signal likely commercial success, at least for the short-term) but forget that partners and customers care far more about outcomes, particularly if they are choosing between similar solutions and seeking long-term value.
Impact = hypothesis + evidence
When you're early-stage, you don’t need perfect data. You need a clear impact hypothesis and a plan to validate it.
Example hypothesis: “If students use our adaptive math app for 15 minutes a day, they’ll improve test scores by 10% in one term.”
This gives you something to test, measure, and improve. It’s how you evolve from “we think this works” to “we have evidence that it works.”
To really test your hypothesis, it's possible to work with qualified researchers to boost the credibility (and importantly, reliability) of your claims. The relevance of this suggestion will vary depending on your product focus, target customers and the value you want to deliver customers.
If working with researchers, they can help you build the right data infrastructure and integrate valid quizzes or assessments into your product – these will be tools that are trustworthy and proven to track progress towards your intended impact. They will also be able to help you organise your data collection, including identifying and managing possible external sources.
Researchers can also support you by reviewing relevant studies, identifying what’s already been validated in your product’s focus area, and recommending the best measures to assess progress. This may actually save you time in the long-run as you won’t be validating associations that are already proven. Though this process does require some focus, it is often worth investing early because embedding the right testing during development is far easier and cost-effective than retrofitting after scaling.
The extra bonus? By working with qualified researchers, you can produce a research-aligned report that may qualify your product for relevant certification, recognised by industry. This can provide a differentiator for your company against competitors that do not have such certification.
Why This Matters Now
Founders often put off thinking about impact until they’re forced to, by investors, grant applications, or large buyers. That’s a mistake.
Designing for impact early makes everything stronger:
Your product gets better, because it’s grounded in real needs and outcomes
Your pitch gets clearer, because you can show real value
Your team stays aligned and motivated, because they can see the difference they’re making
And when the time comes to scale, you’re not just growing a user base - you’re growing your impact on the world.
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