Meet the People Behind Present Pal

Empowering students, built from lived experience.

Present Pal isn’t just an app. It’s the result of real challenges, real students, and a team that truly gets it.

Group photo of the Estendio team, the people behind the award winning presentation anxiety support app Present Pal.
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Where it all started…

In 2014, our founder Chris was studying business at the University of Strathclyde - and like many students with dyslexia, he found presentations a real challenge. When he realised his final degree would be heavily based on spoken assessments, the anxiety kicked in.

After speaking with the university’s disability service, it became clear: there was no accessible tool out there to support presentation anxiety, especially for students with learning differences.

So Chris decided to build one.

What started as a student project became Present Pal - a tool designed to help disabled and neurodivergent students feel confident, in control, and heard.

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Where we are now!

Since launching Present Pal in 2018, we’ve supported tens of thousands of learners and presenters across the UK and North America.

And while it began as a one-person mission, we’re now a team of 30 - designers, developers, educators, and advocates - all working together to make learning more inclusive.

At Estendio, we believe the best tools are built from lived experience. That’s why we work closely with the students who use our tools to design features that actually support the way they learn, speak, and thrive.

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Tools Built from Lived Experience

From day one, we’ve worked directly with disabled and neurodivergent students to co-design features that actually work. Whether it’s creating smart prompts for when your mind goes blank or helping you rehearse without the pressure, every part of Present Pal exists because a student needed it.

We believe assistive tech should feel empowering, not complicated. And we’re here to build tools that help you show what you’re capable of - on your terms.

Young woman with cornrows, dressed in a red floral top and brown pants, sitting in a wheelchair, looking at her phone. There are online learning interface elements floating around her, showing a psychology class and study notes.

Want to know more about the team?

Present Pal is made by Estendio - a disability-led edtech company based in Glasgow. We’re proud to be a team of designers, developers, educators and advocates working together to create accessible tools with real impact.

Learn the full Estendio team and learn more about our mission.

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