Getting to know…

Deirdre Lyons, CEO & Founder of Examfly

December 20, 2023

Examfly Founder, Deirdre Lyons (Tax 2007-2013), has studied, worked in and lectured in tax for over ten years. During this time, she saw many students struggle and fail exams, even diligent and hardworking ones.

This experience convinced her that there could be a better way to learn complex topics and acquire challenging skills. The solution would involve a combination of creativity, proven learning techniques and technology. Thus, the idea for Examfly was born. Examfly is an education technology start-up that aims to improve the learning model for tax and accounting exams and continuous professional development. Working with subject matter experts, software developers, animators and game designers, Examfly creates a learning experience optimised for skill acquisition and reinforcement.

Tell us a bit about your current role and your career journey that led you from PwC to setting up Examfly.

My current role in Examfly is the CEO/Founder, which boils down to ultimately steering the company in the right direction. My role is filled with decision-making, strategy, brainstorms with my team and—most importantly—building our strategy for growth. Working in a start-up, you get to wear many hats and also figure out that some hats are more comfortable than others! It is a very interesting journey filled with lots of ups and downs, yet it really is important to enjoy the journey of it all too.

Prior to beginning the Examfly journey, I had previously worked as a tax consultant in PwC and also lectured in tax. While lecturing, I found that very intelligent students were struggling with their exams. This posed a problem for me that I wanted to solve. It took many long walks and coffees wandering around the Phoenix Park teasing out this idea of how to make skill acquisition of these complex topics easier. Many long days of planning, reading and research led to an idea to be created. Backed by great supporters including Dublin BIC (now Furthr) and Enterprise Ireland, the idea turned into a company named Examfly.

We look forward to progressing the company further by securing our first international sales, expanding our team and developing our product to be at the cutting edge of technology.

Did your time studying for professional exams shape your career? Have you any advice for those going through exams right now?

My main advice is to start early. Even 20-30 minutes of study a day in the months before Christmas will allow you to understand the main technical language even easier as your study schedule progresses.

“Technology is at the centre of Examfly. We incorporated concepts such as educational psychology, gamification and data analytics when designing Examfly.”

Deirdre Lyons

How important is technology and innovation in your role?

As we want Examfly to be at the cutting edge of technology in education, it is very important for me and the team.

We are very fortunate to have a fantastic Head of Engineering as part of our team. Eugen is very busy creating our own proprietary platform that will enable us to incorporate our ambitious technical plan. Technology is at the centre of Examfly. We incorporated concepts such as educational psychology, gamification and data analytics when designing Examfly. The platform engages learners using animated videos and visual learning tools such as decision trees, mind-maps and customised flashcards for revision.

We have a strong technical vision and are very excited for the next 24 months to see it come to life.

What did you learn during your time at PwC that you still keep with you today?

I really enjoyed my time at PwC and made terrific life-long friends there too. Most importantly, I learnt that a thorough thought process will allow for great decision-making. I also learnt to not shy away from asking for advice and to question if you are not sure of a matter.

Reflecting on your professional achievements so far, what makes you most proud?

There is a lot to be proud of and I feel very fortunate to have had this opportunity in life, to see an idea I had grow into an actual company. After each exam cycle, we gather the feedback from our students and what makes me most proud to hear is that students have found our platform to be “enjoyable”, “amazing” . It is this feedback that makes me most proud. We want to learn as much as possible from our customers. That will allow us to improve the sophistication of our platform, introduce new modules and, hopefully, open doors to faster expansion into international markets.

What do you value most about the alumni network?

Leaving PwC was a very hard decision for me, but it is great to have an opportunity to continue that connection with PwC via the Alumni Network. It is great to be updated by the different news, events and opportunities to reach out to other alumni. Thanks for all the work you do with this, great to be part of it!

What’s next for you?

I have lots of plans for the business, but most importantly it would be progressing Examfly further and reaching the milestones that we have set out. I’m very excited as to what is to come, keep an eye out on Examfly – we have great things planned.