Little Journey

Big news! We're thrilled to announce our £6M Series A investment round! Led by Par Equity, and joined by Mercia Ventures, British Business Bank North of England (Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund I), Octopus Ventures, Calm/Storm, Conduit Connect, and our angel investors. This funding is a huge milestone in our mission to change the future of paediatric care through personalised preparation and psychological support for families. This investment enables us to scale our global operations and continue innovating our platform to support even more children, families, clinical trials, and hospitals ✨ A massive thank you to our investors, partners, and the families who inspire us daily. Together, we’re building a brighter, healthier future for children across the globe. Learn more about what's next for Little Journey Read the full press release in the comments 📖 #SeriesA #Paediatrics #Pediatric #HealthTech #Innovation

We’ve launched a new library of free downloadable resources to support children through healthcare experiences! - Created with our clinical psychologists (Dr Vicky Queralt & Dr Megan Hofmann) and health play specialist (Nitisha Majithia) - Designed for easy at-home (or in office) printing - Suitable for healthcare professionals, educators, parents, and caregivers to share with children From visit planners and bravery certificates to a ‘Guess the emotion’ game, these play-led materials are packed with helpful information and engaging activities for for children visiting the hospital soon. We believe in the power of play and preparation to help ease worries and boost readiness, and our materials aim to provide support every step of the way—before, during, and after your visit. 🌟 Download your free copies here: https://lnkd.in/eUW4v6V5 #PlayForAll #LearningThroughPlay #Preparation #Paediatrics

“When your child isn't verbal, not only are you their advocate, you are also their voice.” Episode 8 of our video podcast ‘Spotlight Sessions’ is out now 🎙️ This week we’re joined by Lizzy, an amazing mum to her 12 year-old daughter. Lizzy delves into her daughter’s diagnoses, and the numerous appointments and procedures she has to endure as a result of that. In this episode, we discuss: • How Lizzy prepares her daughter for healthcare appointments • The importance of working alongside your medical team • How Lizzy worked to improve her daughter’s experience having blood draws, after having to be previously restrained A big thank you to Lizzy for letting us shine a light on your story 🌟  To watch the full episode or read the summary click here - https://lnkd.in/envxiXXp Listen on Spotify – https://lnkd.in/eH-Cu-jc #Autism #PaediatricSurgery #Podcast

Little Journey partnered with a global pharmaceutical company to tailor our support solution for children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) participating in gene therapy research. Our newest case study is out now, ‘Preparing and supporting children undergoing gene therapy’ 🔎 Read about the background, the challenges and our solution here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eR4d6Ezu #GeneTherapy #ClinicalTrials #DMD #CaseStudy

Meet Tom Rush, Product Manager at Little Journey and one of our accessibility champions! 👋 Tom is a former primary school teacher and tutor, with a background in user research. He recently sat down and shared how his experiences in schools sparked a lasting interest in accessibility and inclusion. Watch for more on how Tom has applied his learnings from making adaptations to improve educational outcomes to building accessible healthcare solutions at Little Journey 🌟 #Accessibility #Neurodivergence #TechForGood

Last week Sophie Copley and Leanne Godfrey attended the Yorkshire Post Health and Life Sciences Business Breakfast. It was an amazing opportunity to engage with industry experts, share insights, and explore the latest trends and innovations shaping the future of our industry! 🌟 Key takeaways: - The power of partnerships—sometimes it’s better (and faster!) to collaborate than build everything yourself. Inspired by EMIS and John McCormack in the first panel. - Understanding hospitals’ needs is essential, and value-based procurement should guide how we design and deliver impactful solutions. Inspired by Varaidzo (Vee) Mapunde from NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) - There are so many exciting opportunities and support in Yorkshire for businesses in the sector, including helping businesses expand overseas! Little Journey is grateful to be invited to these events and other support in the north. Thank you to Nexus Leeds for the invite, it was a wonderful morning. #LifeSciences #Networking #BusinessBreakfast

Meet Joshua Elliff, Design Lead at Little Journey and one of our accessibility champions! 👋 Josh has over 10 years experience supporting businesses to become more user-friendly and accessible. He recently helped to set up the Accessibility Centre of Excellence at Little Journey. Watch for more on how Josh’s own experiences as a dyslexic person contributed to his passion for accessible and inclusive design.🌟 #Accessibility #AccessibilityAct #TechForGood

Little Journey’s Matty Smith, Dr Megan Hofmann and Anya Zeitlin will be attending RAREfest (Cambridge Rare Disease Network (CamRARE)) 2024! 🌟 We’re excited to return to RAREfest; a rare disease-inspired festival with interactive exhibits, talks, film and art showcasing ground-breaking science, visionary technology and pioneering organisations, improving lives and bringing hope to those affected by rare conditions. If you see our stand, make sure to come and say hello! Get involved with our interactive activity, collect a play pack, or learn about Little Journey! 👋 #RAREfest #RareDisease #TechForGood

Last Friday, we had the privilege of attending the Nexus Leeds 5 Year Anniversary Dinner. Five years ago, Little Journey was still an MVP. So it was an evening to reflect on the incredible innovation, collaboration, and growth across West Yorkshire—and within our own journey as a business! A highlight for us was seeing our co-founder, Sophie Copley, take the stage during the fireside chat hosted by the brilliant Naga Munchetty, alongside the equally brilliant Kamran Rashid and Eve Roodhouse. Huge congratulations to Nexus for fostering such a dynamic community over the past five years—we’re proud to be part of the journey and can’t wait to see what’s next! #Collaboration #Innovation #LeedsTech #HealthTech

It’s launch day! New accessibility features are now live in the Little Journey app 🎉 We’re committed to supporting all children to better health. Thanks to grant funding from SBRI Healthcare (the Small Business Research Initiative), our team have made crucial accessibility changes to enhance families’ app experience, so more children and caregivers can benefit from our preparation and psychological support resources. Here are some the key changes: - New home screen navigation - Video scan bars and transcripts - Assistive technology support - Text sizing support Read more about the changes we have made and why: https://lnkd.in/e3aWcBcS 🌟 Alt Text: Image 1 - A heading that says ‘New accessibility features’. Below is a phone screen showing the Little Journey app surrounded by characters dressed in work gear. At the bottom there is text that says ‘Read more’, with a small arrow pointing right next to it. Image 2 - A heading that says ‘1. Improved Home Screen and navigation’. Below are two smartphones showing a before and after of the new Little Journey app home screen with clearer navigation. Image 3 -  A heading that says ‘2. Scan bar and transcripts added to tours and video content’. Underneath is a phone screen playing a video, with a Little Journey character pointing at the scan bar. In the middle of the screen are two letters with an audio symbol and a speech bubble above. To the side of this is a character looking up and smiling. Image 4 - A heading that says ‘3. Full support for assistive technologies’. Alongside this is a gold bubble that says ‘Including screen readers and keyboard navigation’. Next to this Image 5 - A heading that says ‘4. Dynamic text’. Alongside this is a pink bubble that says ‘Text size automatically adjusts to your device settings’. Next to this is a phone screen showing an information article with a large text size. There is a character on the left pointing at the phone and smiling. #Accessibility #TechForGood #AppUpdate