Brighton graduate's new business encouraging mindfulness for children

香蕉直播 graduate Liam Murphy is set to launch a new business to help children practice mindfulness, aided by a programme for entrepreneurs.

20 October 2021

Liam graduated in 2019 with Product Design with Professional Experience BSc(Hons), and recently reached the semi-final of the , competing against over 80 other students from around the UK – part of an initiative by which has provided over £2.5m of funding each year for a decade to support entrepreneurship at 85 UK university partners.

Now in its final stages of development for an early 2022 launch, Liam's business is called , and its USP is “mindfulness made fun”. It works by pairing a mobile phone with two bespoke remotes, which allow a child to engage in screen-free interactive mind-body activities. The system also offers weekly growth reports and activity reminders to encourage engagement.

Stix mindfulness

Stix aims to encourage children to practice mindfulness techniques by drawing on their curiosity, along with game elements such as stars, badges, and different levels to attain. Studies show that mindfulness training improves children's overall mental well-being, and can reduce anxiety, depression and stress after just a few sessions. It can also boost test scores, improve family relationships, and make for better sleep.

Stix addresses an alarming rise in mental health stresses among young people. An estimated one in six children and young people in the UK now have a diagnosable mental health condition, and many continue to have these problems into adulthood. Half of those with lifetime mental health problems first experience symptoms by the age of 14. One in 10 boys ages 5-19 with mental health condition are excluded in some form from school.

Speaking after his Santander X Awards experience, Liam said: “After graduating I knew I wanted to develop Stix into a business, but had no idea where to start. I was lucky enough to get a place on an accelerator programme, where they help develop your idea into a startup. From there, opportunities to grow kept appearing, from working with business mentors to meeting with clinicians.

“I had no idea how relevant my Product Design degree would be for the development of my startup. Design thinking has been involved at every step of the journey, from concept development to creating marketing plans. I still go back to my old notes!”