Daring voices: Zeezy Izenman
Welcome to Daring Voices, our series spotlighting the founders in the Daring Capital community. In each edition, we sit down with a founder to hear their journey in their own words: from their origin story, to the challenges they’ve faced, and the lessons they’ve learned along the way.
This week, we talk to Zeezy Izenman, founder of Motion.
What problem is your business solving, and what inspired you to tackle it?
Motion is solving two core problems in social care. First, care home residents are often isolated, inactive and lacking the meaningful connection and stimulation they need. Second, care providers struggle to communicate the quality of care they’re delivering – both to families and prospective residents.
I founded Motion because I care deeply about tackling inequality, especially health inequality. During school and university, I spent time volunteering in care homes. I met incredible residents and staff, and saw first-hand how structural gaps affected their quality of life. That experience made me want to be part of a solution and to build something that truly centred the people receiving care.
Why does solving this problem matter to you personally?
Because this isn’t just about operations or systems, it’s about people. I’ve always been driven by a desire to reduce inequality and the social care sector is one where the impact of doing so is deeply human. The residents I met while volunteering shaped the path I’m on. Many had lived rich, meaningful lives and deserved care that reflected their individuality, their history and their dignity. Motion is about bringing that vision to life: care that’s personal, connected and celebrated.
Why is now the right time to solve this problem?
The social care sector is undergoing huge changes. There’s pressure from all sides – government, regulators, families – and increasing momentum for innovation and improvement. At the same time, many care providers are adopting digital tools for the first time. This opens the door for solutions like Motion to not only improve care outcomes, but also ensure that the resident remains at the centre of their care. With the right tools, we can deliver more person-centred care and make the quality of that care more visible than ever before.
How does your solution stand out from existing alternatives?
Motion offers a dual approach. We provide care homes with engaging, wellbeing-focused activities for residents and we share those moments with families through real-time updates and communication tools.
What sets us apart is the visibility we create: families get genuine peace of mind and care homes can demonstrate the quality of life they’re providing. That transparency is powerful, not just for current families but for prospective ones too. It’s something traditional care platforms simply don’t offer.
What does success look like to you, not just financially but in terms of impact?
Success is about making a lasting difference. We want to play a key role in reshaping the social care sector: improving the day-to-day experiences of residents, helping families feel connected and supporting staff to do what they do best. Financial success enables scale, but impact is our driving force. In five years, I’d love for Motion to be a recognised name in UK care - across both adult and youth services - and for us to begin bringing our model to other countries where person-centred care is needed.
Have you ever had to choose between your mission and making a profit? What happened?
Luckily, no. Motion has always been rooted in the mission to improve lives. That mission is entirely aligned with how we operate and how we generate revenue. We’ve never had to sacrifice values to build the business. If anything, our commitment to the end user – the resident – is what’s made us successful. Care homes and families trust us because they see that our priorities are in the right place.
What has been your biggest challenge so far, and how did you get through it?
One of the biggest challenges has been the learning curve. I started Motion at university – studying philosophy, with no business background – so I was learning everything in real-time. It’s been both steep and constant. I’ve had to learn and unlearn quickly, often while still running the business day-to-day. But I’ve embraced that. Being young and not having preconceptions has been a strength in many ways. It has helped us stay flexible and open to feedback.
What achievement are you most proud of to date?
The sustained impact. One story that always sticks with me is Edith, a care home resident in Sheffield. I met her during the pandemic when we were still delivering activities via livestream. We built a great relationship and her care home is now one of our partners. She still takes part in our activities every week. Stories like Edith’s – and the feedback we get from her family and carers – are what keeps me going. It’s a reminder that real people are benefitting from what we’ve built and that our product has heart as well as function.
What is your long-term vision for the business and the change you want to create?
We want to reshape the perception and experience of social care. That means putting the resident at the centre of everything: their interests, their voice, their humanity. Long-term, we see Motion growing across the UK and eventually internationally. But we want to grow well, keeping the quality and integrity of our impact front and centre. Whether we’re supporting older adults or young people, in rural Yorkshire or across the Atlantic, our mission stays the same: make care more personal, more visible and more human.
What challenges have you faced raising investment, and how have you navigated them?
Fundraising has been a journey in itself. I didn’t come from a business or financial background and I didn’t grow up around entrepreneurship. I was figuring it all out as I went - learning the language, understanding how the process works and getting comfortable with the rhythm of it. Working with Daring Capital has made a huge difference. The support, coaching and connections have helped me navigate the landscape far more effectively than I could have done alone.
What advice would you give to other underrepresented founders just starting their fundraising journey?
Start earlier than you think. If you think you’ll need capital in 12 months, start building relationships now. Fundraising takes longer than most people expect, especially if you’re looking for the right investors and not just any capital. Also, focus on building genuine relationships. I first spoke to Jem at Daring Capital almost two years before they invested. At that time, we weren’t ready, but the relationship evolved over time. Investors want to see growth, consistency and conviction. So, start the conversation and keep showing up.
What do you think needs to change about the fundraising ecosystem?
There’s still too much reliance on “who you know.” I was fortunate to have time. I didn’t have a mortgage, family or other major responsibilities, so I could dedicate time to learning, networking and building relationships. But that’s not the case for everyone. The system often feels exclusive and, if you don’t already know the right people, it’s hard to break in. That’s why programmes like Daring Capital are so important - they’re actively changing that narrative and opening up access to underrepresented founders.
We need more of that: more diverse investors, more transparency and more pathways into investment that don’t depend on privilege or pre-existing networks.
If you’d like to find out more about Motion, you can visit their website.
A big thank you to Zeezy for sharing his journey. You can catch the next in the Daring Voices series next week.
Jem
and the team at Daring Capital