A BUSINESS student has raised £160,000 to finance a tech startup that enables families and carers to store memories and interact with loved ones in care.
Cameron Graham, 21, from Strathclyde University, designed Storii, a web-based platform, to collate photos and videos from a host of sites, including Facebook.
He came up with the idea while recovering from kidney failure. Graham said: “I was in hospital for a short stay, and there was a gentleman with dementia on the same ward. I watched him light up when his daughter would visit and show him photographs, and he would suddenly remember previously-forgotten events and memories.
“But when visiting hour was over, he would retreat back into himself. I decided I wanted to do something to help people stimulate their precious memories at any time, day or night.”
Storii can be used in care homes or by home carers, and allows users to add their own content, as well as giving loved ones access to upload family snaps and videos.
The technology also allows carers to better understand the people in their care with the stories of their lives, as well as enabling them to upload pictures of care home activities for families to see.
Graham, who is in the final year of his economics and finance degree, began coding while still at high school and now leads a team of eight.
He said: “Storii was based at Strathclyde’s Enterprise Hub for the first six months, and we have received brilliant support and advice from the Entrepreneurial Network and partners,” he said.
“The beta version of the platform is being tested by a number of care homes around Glasgow, and we’re looking forward to releasing an iPad and iPhone app in summer this year.”
Storii won private investment alongside a £100,000 Scottish Enterprise Smart Award in January.
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