Superbloom

This page is written and maintained by the Superbloom team. It contains all the information you need to plan and book the coaching sessions you get as part of your funding period at Prototype Fund. If you still have questions, contact the Superbloom coaching team (Alicja Peszkowska, Victory Brown) at coaching@superbloom.design.

You have been selected for funding because you are good at what you do. But no one, not one person, and also not an interdisciplinary team of four, can be an expert in every single aspect of building and running a tech project. During the funding period at Prototype Fund, you get to pick the brain(s) of experts in a field where you could use support.

How many hours of coaching do you get? ⏱️

• In the regular funding period, you may book up to 4 hours of coaching support with Superbloom.
• In the Second Stage (if you are a part of it), coachings are mandatory for each project. Superbloom is one of the coaching partners for the Second Stage.

How to book? 📌

1. First, think about what you would like help with. If it helps, you can check out the list of topics below 👇
2. Write us an email at coaching@superbloom.design. If you have looked at our coach profiles and already have an idea who you’d like to work with, let us know. If you aren’t sure, just ask us to match you with the appropriate coach(es).
3. Please let us know about:
   • Your preferred languages (all of our coaches speak English, many speak German, but not all)
   • Accessibility needs
   • Any time constraints (e.g., you are going on vacation for two weeks)
   • Whether you would like to meet in person in Berlin or remotely
   • Your preferred online meeting platform (Jitsi, Signal, Whereby, Wire, GMeet, Zoom, or something else?)
   • If you’d like a private session. We are onboarding new coaches, which means your coach may be accompanied by a colleague who is listening and learning.  If that is not ok with you, just say so!
4. We will be in touch with you within two working days. Once you have booked, you will receive an email confirmation, and the appointment details will be added to your calendar.
5. You can book each session with a different coach depending on your needs. However, we strongly recommend you consider working with a coach for more than 1 one-hour session.

Who is Superbloom? 🌸

Superbloom, formerly called Simply Secure, was founded in 2014 as a US 501c3 nonprofit to help build usable secure communications tools and make it possible for everyone to have access to security and privacy.

Superbloom leverages design as a transformative practice to shift power in the tech ecosystem. We view design as an opportunity to intervene and center people and their needs. We collaborate closely with others in the space to grow the community focused on shaping our collective online future. Our vision is a world where everyone has the knowledge, network, and digital tools needed to enrich their lives.

What matters for you is that Superbloom supports Prototype Fund teams through individual coaching and direct support in the design of software projects, especially in the areas of design, user experience (UX), strategy, community, and project management. Superbloom and the Prototype Fund have been working together since 2017.

Topics 🎯

Coaches can help you with the following topics:

• Branding
• Governance
• Interface design
• Team dynamics
• Illustration + visual design
• Workflows
• User research
• Documentation
• Information architecture
• Licensing
• Writing + communication
• Fundraising + sustainability
• Accessibility
• Narratives + framing
• Conference presentations
• Community dynamics

Don't see the topic you need help with on the list? Don't worry, and reach out to us anyway. We will help you find someone who will support you.

Can I prepare my application for the Second Stage with Superbloom? 🔮

Good question! The coaching sessions with Superbloom can NOT be used to prepare your application for the Second Stage (written or pitch).

Of course, it is perfectly fine to discuss how to make your projects more sustainable during the coaching sessions. This is how we define the boundary between “application preparation” and “steps toward sustainability”. What you can't use the coaching sessions for:

• Support with the preparation of the strategy, content or for the writing of your written application for the Second Stage,
• Support with the preparation of the strategy, content or for the writing of your pitch for the Second Stage,
• Any other questions related to working directly on the application.

Sprechstunden 💬

Superbloom also hosts “Sprechstunde” sessions during each round, each with a set topic. One or two coaches with expertise in the topic area are invited to give a short presentation, and afterward, the coaches answer questions from you.

During this round, AMAs will take place on the last Thursday of almost every month, starting in June 2026, from 3:00-4:00 PM CEST. The topics were determined post-kick-off through a survey.

• 25 June 2026, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm CEST: User testing
• 27 August 2026, 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm CEST: Narratives and Framing
• 24 September, 3:30 – 4:30 pm CEST: Fundraising and Sustainability
• 29 October, 3:30 – 4:30 pm CEST: Communication

Prepare for your session 📚

Prepare for your session:

• Strongly recommended: write to your coach(es) in advance with some info about what you’d like to discuss, and include a link to your work in progress if possible. This helps them prepare to help you.
• Check you’ve received a calendar invite with a booking link
• Enter the call five minutes early to cover off any potential tech glitches

Please bring the following to your session:

• A list of questions, goals, challenges, or blocks
• Any demos, mock-ups, or sketches you may have

Confidentiality 💭

We want you to be able to speak honestly in coaching sessions about struggles you are having, without fear that it will hurt your reputation with the Prototype Fund or the wider community.

Within the Superbloom coaching program: we discuss details about the coaching sessions so that other coaches you work with are caught up. All coaches have access to all session notes left by other coaches. This makes handoffs smooth and efficient, so you don’t have to repeat yourself with new coaches. You can opt out of this by letting your coach know that you would prefer them to keep your session confidential, even from Superbloom.

Example: “Blackbox is having a really hard time managing its community’s expectations around AI.”

With the Prototype Fund team: we discuss the topics we talk about, but not the exact details.

Example: “We did a coaching with Blackbox about the community’s expectations about AI.”

When talking to people outside our coaching program: we may mention the teams we coached, which coaches worked together, and the topics they worked on in very general terms. We won’t publish which teams worked with which coaches. However, coaches may mention teams they have worked with.

Example: “Our coaches Bart and Lisa did an interesting coaching session about community-building the other day, and we learned X and Y.”

Example: “Oh, I know Blackbox! I did coaching with them through the Prototype Fund.”

Feedback ♻️

We really welcome your feedback. We truly do.

It’s important for us to understand how we’re doing. Feedback motivates coaches to continue contributing their time and expertise. It helps us evaluate our work against our mission and impact goals. It also helps us improve the program's logistics.

After each coaching session, we’ll send you a very short survey (just 5 questions!). We’d really appreciate it if you could take a minute to fill it out.

And if surveys aren't your thing, or you’d prefer to share feedback another way, please feel free to email us directly coaching@superbloom.design. We’d love to hear your thoughts, delights, frustrations, and suggestions.