ACS has three innovation labs in Australia – Harbour City Labs in Sydney, River City Labs in Brisbane, and Bay City Labs in Melbourne.

‘A Look in the Labs’ is an Information Age series profiling the high-growth startups based in our labs – what they do, their ambitions, and the advantages they’ve gained being based at the ACS Innovation Labs.

This week, we speak with Rachel Whitworth, founder and CEO of Hello Good World.

Business Hello Good World

Established 2021

CEO Rachel Whitworth

Based at River City Labs, Brisbane

Online at Website


What does your business/product do and how does it help people/other businesses?

Hello Good World connects consumers to purchases that make a positive social or environmental impact. We validate and rate ethical, sustainable and cause-driven businesses on a scale to increase trust between small business that are choosing to do better with consumer need.

How did the idea for your business come about?

After devoting my marketing business to the social enterprise and positive impact sector, I noticed it was suffering from a lack of resources. The general consumer has huge amounts of ethical greenwashing from large brands noticing a 'trend' and it takes hours of dedication and research to uncover those that are doing business better.

I set myself a task to look at new ways other than as a service provider that I could continue to help the community.

Was being an entrepreneur always one of your life’s goals and what have you learned about being an entrepreneur?

Yes. As a child I was always drawing innovative products ideas and setting up shops, banks, post offices... you name it!

What I have learnt is that it's just not nearly as linear as I expected. There are so many things to do but there are many ways to get to the destination... so not to get too caught up in planning or thinking – the doing is what gets you there.

What has been the biggest challenge and the biggest milestone for your business so far?

Our biggest challenge so far is the same as these small businesses - resources. As a startup we want to do it all, but a combination of time and funds slow the process down.

Our biggest milestone was definitely getting over 20 brands signed up and ready for our RCL pitch night.

The whole activate+ program was an incredibly valuable experience to increase our knowledge of the tech startup world and getting investment-ready.

Where would you like your business to be in two years?

We would love to be on our way to becoming a household brand not just in Australia but also in Europe. We’d like to fully establish our jobs-focused social enterprise by having a fulfilment centre, while also creating a better customer experience.

What is the best business or life advice you’ve ever been given?

It's hard to pinpoint just one, but one mentor always used to ask me, "What can you do to make this even better?"

I know that business has the power to change the world so I'm constantly asking myself, "What can I do to increase my positive impact?" and it's this that has created the true dedication to my work.

What made you decide to move into the ACS Innovation Labs and how has it assisted your business?

We were laser-focused on getting onto the RCL pre-accelerator program.

Llew Jury was actually a judge at the Startup Weekend where Hello Good World began. You could tell that he just understood our mission and could see the business potential too.

When we realised that he was the mentor at the River City Labs program we just had to apply!

For more information on the ACS Innovation Labs, visit the websites of Harbour City Labs in Sydney, River City Labs in Brisbane, and Bay City Labs in Melbourne. If you're interested in joining successful Australian businesses in the ACS Innovation Labs, email scale@acs.org.au