Glasgow edtech firm behind student presentation app nets six-figure growth funding

A Glasgow-based education technology specialist has secured £450,000 of funding after a year of strong growth supporting students with disabilities.

Estendio was founded by its chief executive Chris Hughes who experienced the challenge of presentation anxiety first hand as a dyslexic student in university.

Thanks to the six-figure investment, the venture is ready to expand its reach to support more students with disabilities via its presentation support app – Present Pal.

The funding comes from key partners including Scottish Enterprise and a handful of private investors. It follows a period of rapid growth for the firm, supporting an additional 3,000 students across the UK this year alone.

Estendio leadership team - Cara Hunt, Chris Hughes CEO, Euan Colley.

Estendio – founded with an initial investment of £50,000 in 2015 – has seen company revenue triple and the team expand from four to 17 during the pandemic, against a backdrop of a highly disrupted global education market. It is looking to create 15 further roles.

Hughes said 93 per cent of university students needed to present as part of their university courses. However, this disproportionately impacts the 300,000 UK students with disabilities, with 86 per cent admitting that they struggle with presenting.

“After working so hard to get into university, skipping this key skill wasn’t an option for me, so I made a solution for myself,” he said. “I’m incredibly proud that today this tool now supports thousands of presenters in gaining the same experiences and opportunities as their peers.

“I am hugely proud to secure this funding. The drive and determination of my board and leadership team over the last year has been monumental in what has been a hugely successful year.”

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