11
STARTUP
STORIES
Notes
from
Founders:
Firefly
Bringing
education
into
the
21
st
century
'The internet was taking off everywhere
but in schools'
I was 15 years old when I realized how
ridiculous it was that I had to go into
school in the holidays to hand in work or
ask questions. It seemed like the internet
was taking off in every aspect of life, apart
from in education. This was back in 2009,
and only the really geeky teachers were
able to help students to take advantage
of technology. My friend Joe and I decided
that if the school couldn't make it easier
for teachers and students to collate and
share resources online, then we would.
Education is one of the world's most vital and transformative
industries, yet it is often slow to embrace new technologies.
Firefly aims to change that, by equipping students, teachers
and parents with the digital resources they need – from
homework systems to collaboration tools. In 2016, Firefly
secured £4.5 million ($5.25 million) in funding – it was the
most successful Series A funding round the UK edtech space
had ever seen. The company now has teams in the UK,
Singapore and Australia.
Frustrated
by
having
to
go
into
school
during
the
holidays
to
hand
in
work,
GCSE
student
Simon
Hay
and
his
friend
Joe
Mathewson
created
one
of
the
UK's
first
school
intranets.
This
was
back
in
2009.
The
friends
kept
working
on
their
ideas
and
built
a
tech
company
in
their
spare
time.
They
named
it
'Firefly',
after
Joe's
bike.
Simon
lives
in
London
with
his
partner
and
their
one-year
old
son.
Simon
Hay
Founder
of
Firefly
