Examfly founder and CEO Deirdre Lyons. Image: Dogpatch Labs
Founded by Dee Lyons in 2020, the start-up with AI at its core is using animation and gamification to aid trainees of Big Four firms in passing their exams with ease.
It’s always fascinating to hear what founders did for a living before becoming entrepreneurs. For Dee Lyons, founder of our latest Start-up of the Week, she was a part-time lecturer at the Irish Tax Institute.
With a background in law, Lyons has worked in various roles in tax consultancy and wealth management at big firms such as PwC and Davy.
But she was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug while teaching, when she saw first hand the difficulties faced by tax and accounting trainees in their professional exams and studying.
“This, combined with a keen interest in both learning theories and technology, was the genesis of Examfly,” Lyons tells me.
Making difficult exams fun
Originally from Limerick, Lyons founded Examfly in 2020. The Dublin-based software start-up provides online exam prep and skills training for professional services firms, starting in the domains of tax and accounting.
The company’s current market consists of big tax and accounting firms across Ireland and the UK, from Deloitte and EY to Grant Thornton and Vialto Partners. Most recently, it struck as two-year deal with PwC in the UK.
“These organisations onboard a high number of trainees and students every year, who are required to undergo extensive training and sit professional exams as part of their career development and specialisation,” Lyons explains.
The large volume and complexity of the information that is examined, according to her, results in huge costs and time investment for the firms.
“[Our] founding hypothesis is that it’s possible to significantly improve learning outcomes in difficult, highly technical subjects through a mixture of creative technology and proven learning theories.
“The first wave of online learning simply took the existing learning model and transferred it online. Examfly is working to push the frontier on what’s possible in terms of speed, efficacy and enjoyment of online learning journeys.”
What this looks like in practice is a learning model that is “optimised” for skill acquisition – using animation, interactive testing tools, rich data analysis and gamification. The idea is to make it faster and more fun to pass difficult exams.
At the heart of this learning model is a generative AI engine that allows Examfly to produce high quality learning materials at scale.
Off to a flying start
Earlier this month, the start-up announced that it has secured €1.5m in seed funding backed by, among others, Scale Ireland chair Brian Caulfield.
Lyons said at the time that the funding – which will help Examfly double its workforce from five to 10 this year – was timely because it came after a challenging year for businesses.
“This latest investment reflects the strong confidence our investors have in our product. They see our success and share our ambition,” she said.
“We have a strong and talented team with plans to add more people this year. Working together, we look forward to developing the platform and service offering and growing our customer base in the UK and beyond.”
Examfly has also been making some important appointments this year. Jamie Good, for example, who is a technical architect and software developer, joined the company as chief technology officer earlier this year.
Good, who is leading development of the platform’s interactive gaming features and generative engine, brings experience from Hostelworld and Paddy Power Betfair.
Other key members include learning technologist and customer success manager Aisling Killilea and animation production head Kyle O’Neil.
“Examfly’s unique combination of domain expertise, deep technology skills, learning expertise and creative design set it apart in the online learning environment,” Lyons says.
“This mixture of technical and creative proficiency will be central to creating a category-defining platform in the future.”
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