Saïda Florexil
Verizon’s Director of Local Engagement, State & Local Government Affairs, Merdochey LaFrance, sat down with Saïda Florexil, founder of Imanyco, a company that created a real-time transcription technology called Comunify that assists deaf and hard-of-hearing people during in-person group conversations. Their conversation touches on Imanyco’s participation in Verizon’s Forward for Good Accelerator.
Verizon’s Forward for Good Accelerator is part of Citizen Verizon, their business plan for economic, environmental, and social advancement to help move the world forward for all. Verizon is on a mission to leave the world better than we found it by accelerating emerging solutions using 5G, MEC, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, & Extended Reality.
The current cohort’s focus is on Disability Innovation. Working with the disability community, Verizon is unlocking more than access, but advancing new technology to unlock opportunity for everyone. Verizon is working with startups who “authentically integrate people with disabilities into executive leadership roles, and have validated their solutions within the disability community” which is why Imanyco was a perfect fit for the current cohort as they work to support the deaf and hard of hearing community.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26% or 61 million Americans live with with a disability. Just to be clear, that’s 1 in 4 people. Additionally, 5.9 percent of people with a disability are deaf or have serious difficulty hearing and the percentage of people living with disabilities is higher in the south.
As a deaf person herself, Saida understands what’s it’s like to not be able to fully be a part of a group conversation. Although she reads lips and body language very well, this is only helpful when communicating with a single person. Once in a group setting you can’t pay attention to multiple people, distinguish who is saying what and when, and often miss the majority of the conversation.
Comunify aims to be the most convenient live transcription app for the deaf and hard of hearing community that quickly and reliably identifies multiple speakers in a group conversation to allow each person to be better engaged and involved when others are speaking to them.
“While working with Verizon we were able to launch a testing program for our app and collect feedback from a diverse group of people. Verizon helped us to improve our product quality in terms of functionality, accessibility, and user experience and also helped us solidify a growth strategy,” said Saida. “As a company and as an entrepreneur, receiving support from a company such as Verizon opens up new opportunities.”
Check out the full conversation here to learn more about Verizon’s Forward for Good Accelerator and Communify by Imanyco.