Ballycumber woman wins Investment Pitch award at UCC
Ballycumber native and former Moate CS student Niamh Murray recently won the prestigious Investment Pitch award at a start-up programme showcase at University College Cork.
Niamh is the co-founder of the app ForgetMeNot which is a personalised digital memory book for people living with dementia. She said that she was surprised to win the award. “I was up against a lot of other very interesting and very beneficial businesses who are also on the IGNITE programme.”
Niamh had the opportunity to share her story story about caring for her loved ones living with dementia and the important role sensory prompts played in their care.
The Spring 2023 IGNITE Awards & Showcase event took place in The Hub, UCC on Thursday, April 27.
The UCC graduate said she had to present her business plan to an awards panel at the Ignite showcase. Niamh explained: “I had to get up in front of about 200 people there on the night and pitched our business for 90 seconds from an investment point of view. I was delighted to be awarded the Investment Pitch award.”
Niamh continued: “It was a great kind of boost of confidence as well. It was hard to get it all in in 90 seconds so that's kind of a art in itself.”
She added that it was great to get to practice her own pitch and to be able to share her story in front of a lot of important people from organisations such as Enterprise Ireland and the Local Enterprise Office.
Speaking about the IGNITE programme, Niamh stated: “It really supports your innovation whether you've an idea or even if you don't have your idea validated it will really help you put a focus on it. I think one of the main tahes I've had from it is to get to collaborate with other entrepreneurs. It's fantastic to be sitting in a room with so many like-minded people and be able to bounce things off.”
The former Moate Community School student launched the app ForgetMeNot with her business partner Amy Boyden in September 2022 which is based on community care for the families and carers of people living with dementia. Niamh said: “It's available on Google Play for android phones and we're looking to develop it for iPhones in the coming months. We're working with some of the leading dementia organisations in the promotion of our app which is fantastic.”
ForgetMeNot provides an easy way for families and carers to practice reminiscent therapy which incorporates using moments of the past and sensory prompts to create conversation in the present.
“Reminiscent therapy is actually proven to benefit people with dementia in reducing agitation and stimulating their brain activity. It's a lovely activity for your family to do to keep their memories alive.”
The idea for the app came from Niamh's own personal experiences as both her grandmothers have lived with dementia. “I think from caring for them and being able to converse with them I found sensory prompts like photos and music such a beneficial way to speak to them. It's just about unlocking the correct memories in their brain.”
Her main goal is to roll out the app nationally and to put a huge drive on sales and community care in Ireland. “We want to try to roll it out in community care within the UK as well.”
Niamh also holds a degree in Law and Business from UCC. She previously published a book called 'The Full Irish Christmas' when she was twelve years old to raise funds for Temple Street Children's Hospital. She also reached the national final of the Institute Enterprise Awards with her business, 'Once Upon a Rhyme'.
ForgetMeNot is a mobile application which acts as a personalised and bespoke digital memory book for people living with dementia. The app aims to aid communication between loved ones, carers and those living with dementia through the use of reminiscence therapy. It features three main tools: photos, music and voice recordings.
IGNITE is a comprehensive incubation programme for founders of businesses working full-time on their start-up run by UCC. It includes essential workshops, mentoring, funding and workspace.