Kids Speech Labs A Winner
26th June 2018
Kids Speech Labs, led by co-founders Shona D’Arcy and Céline de Looze, has won €10,000 in the annual Ireland Funds Business Plan Competition in partnership with NDRC, which took place at the University of Limerick this week.
The team is currently developing a suite of products, enabling parents to track their children’s speech development, through Artificial Intelligence (AI) enabled speech and language games.
The €10,000 prize fund will allow Kids Speech Labs to attract new staff and to scale their business idea.
“Winning The Ireland Funds Business Plan Competition has given us the validation that we needed”, said Shona D’Arcy. “We are now in a position to develop this product further and to bring it to the next level. This competition was hugely beneficial and the invaluable advice and guidance that we received from The Ireland Funds and the NDRC has given us both the courage and confidence to keep going”, she said.
Now in its seventh year, the Business Plan Competition seeks to nurture creativity and hone entrepreneurial skills among Irish-based pre-seed entrepreneurs. Over the past six weeks, ten teams on the Island of Ireland have had an opportunity to validate their business ideas, explore market opportunity and determine a business model. Along the way they have been mentored by industry domain leaders, worked closely with other entrepreneurs and the expert team at the NDRC.
(Pictured: L-R Winners of the Ireland Funds Business Plan Competition Dr Shona D’Arcy and Dr Céline de Looze with competition Founder Bill McKiernan)
