About Us - Portal

Inspired by a life-changing experience.

It's no secret that natural surroundings have a huge impact on how we think, feel and act.

For our Founder, Nick, it took a period of burnout and depression followed by a life-changing camping trip in the wilds of New Zealand to truly open his eyes to the profound impact our surroundings can have.

“There was something about spending my days in incredible natural surroundings, and then drifting off and waking up in the midst of nature that not only gave me the best sleep of my life, but finally made me feel back to my best self.

It was on the long flight home, unable to sleep in the cramped seats that I wondered...…

Was it possible to take this experience back home with me?

What if we could bottle up the essence of these great surroundings and make them accessible from anywhere?”

The idea behind Portal was born.

The Problem.

A disconnected world.

It's truly remarkable the positive impact simple exposure to nature can have on our health and wellbeing.

However, for the majority of the world's population our exposure to this remarkable power of nature reduces every day.

On average 90% of our time is now spent indoors. 70% of us will soon live in cities. And the beautiful rhythms, cycles, patterns, fractals, and experiences that have been shown to nourish and enrich us have slowly disappeared from our built environments - and with it our daily lives.

And this slow creep, this slow physical separation from nature over the centuries has reflected in our cultures. In our values. In our perceptions. In our minds.

Most of us no longer see nature as a source of life-sustaining wisdom and wellbeing as our ancestors once did. Something to be revered. Cherished. A source of inspiration and imitation. A part of our individual and cultural identity.

It's now so often seen as something to be exploited. Overcome. Separate from us. In service to us.

And it's this terrible mistake and disconnect that is helping to fuel the major crises of our time - climate, biodiversity, mental health.

We're learning the hard way that we're not above nature. We haven't conquered or overcome it. In fact by destroying it, we've simply been destroying ourselves.

But we don't believe all is lost. We don't believe the narrative that our future has to be one of decline, destruction, and ruin.

We believe there are real reasons for hope and that crisis ultimately forces change.

Our Mission.

To inspire the world to reconnect with nature.

At its heart, our work is about reconnection -
To the wild world beyond our walls.
To the wisdom that lives in rhythm, silence, and beauty.
To something deeper within ourselves.
Because when we reconnect with nature, we remember who we are.
We remember what matters.
We find our way home.
And from here, something begins.
A quiet revolution.
One of feeling. Of imagination. Of hope.
One where awe replaces apathy,
and beauty stirs us to act.
The time is now. Join us.

Our Guiding Principles.

Inspired and guided by nature.

Get Out There

Nature's for exploring. We learn best through experience, so getting out there, seeing things for ourselves & speaking directly to customers seems a great place to start.
Trailblaze

We believe independence helps us to take our own path. We're excited to have found our own niche in surroundings, and hope it's somewhere we can truly flourish.
Work With What We've Got

We're bootstrapped, so it's easy to want more. But we're better focusing on what we've got and uncover how we can leverage that best. We seek the multi-wins.
Be a Craftsman

True craftmanship requires passion, attention to detail, and mastery – but it also takes time. Forgive us if things take a little longer, but we want them to be just right.
Focus on Sustainability

It's a marathon not a sprint! Finding the right balance between short and long term is so important for us. We seek relationships that grow with us.
Do The Right Thing

We believe the right thing is best in the long term, but it's not always the easiest route to take. We'll try to remember that.

Our Team.

Portal is a small, independent team of creators.

We've a shared passion for nature and the outdoors, and love creating “tech-for-good” that can positively impact people's lives.

Formed as a close-knit team of brothers and best friends, we're proud of our family origins and values.

We're based in London, but work remotely from across the UK.

Founder

Nick Daniels

Big Bro Nick dreamt up Portal returning from an amazing honeymoon camping around New Zealand. Apparently being immersed in nature does wonders for your stress levels and sleep, and even inspires great ideas. Who knew?

Nick's our Founder, and drives our product design, development and content production.
Co-Founder

Tim Daniels

Little Bro Tim is another travel and outdoor enthusiast. Camping in Chile didn't give him any world beating ideas, but it did provide the clarity of thought that Nick was well worth joining in his quest to bring Portal to life.

Tim's our Co-Founder, and takes on the commercial and marketing side of the business.
Tech

Andy Kent

Andy's a true environmentalist and connoisseur of nature. When he's not cycling or exploring the countryside with his family, he's probably listening to a podcast or reading a book that's connected to our natural world.

Andy heads up all our tech efforts, and despite loving nature, he doesn't have much tolerance for bugs...
ops

Stu Chan

Stu's an all round talented guy who we pinched from Sydney, but he's no stranger to the team - as he was Nick's Best Man! He loves people as much as the planet – he's probably already helped you solve a problem or gratefully received your feedback.

Stu runs the ops side of things, and works in tandem with Tim on marketing & strategy.
Scientific Advisor

Dr Alex Smalley

Alex is a researcher and broadcaster focused on understanding the links between digital forms of nature and wellbeing. Based at the University of Exeter, he holds a PhD in environmental psychology and most recently launched a collaborative audio series with the BBC and Audible – an extension of his research into Virtual Nature. Living close to the beach in Cornwall, UK, Alex is an outdoor enthusiast and passionate about his work feeding directly into evidence-based therapeutic interventions.

Alex's expert academic knowledge helps shape our approach and keeps us aligned with the very latest scientific developments.
Inspiration

You

That's right – you're part of our team too.

It's your amazing feedback that keeps us going, inspiring us with your incredible stories.

It's your kindness in paying for Portal that enables us to invest in more content, bring Portal to more devices and constantly improve the product.

We don't collect any analytics or collect any data. It's you that guides us.

Friends of Portal.

atmoky are one of the world's leading Spatial Audio software providers.

We're partnered with atmoky to implement dynamically rendered Spatial Audio - the same format that's often used for VR.

Read more
Nanoleaf are true innovators in smart lighting, with tech that is intuitively designed, people focused and looks fabulous.

We regularly collaborate to introduce our respective customers to each other's perfectly aligned products.
Medical Protection Society (MPS) is the world's leading member owner not-for-profit organisation for doctors, dentists and healthcare workers.

We harness the knowledge & expertise of MPS to help Portal best support the wellbeing of medical & dental professionals.
Apple's App Store is home to the world's most life changing, innovative and amazing app experiences.

Since before Portal launched, we've worked with Apple's global experts to improve our UX and design, and support their editorial teams in bringing Portal to new customers.
National Trust & National Trust for Scotland preserve & manage some of the most beautiful natural surroundings and heritage in the UK.

We work closely to uncover amazing sites for Portal to capture, and share with the world.
Signify, (owners of Philips Hue) are world leaders in lighting, with a huge diversity of indoor and outdoor smart lighting products.

As one of their “Apps We Like', Signify introduce Portal to their customers, helping them receive more value from their smart lighting.