Tech entrepreneur Danny Manu is predicting his business that makes language translation earbuds could be a unicorn within five years.
The 28-year-old founder of Manchester-based Mymanu says the wireless CLIK earbuds will give the user the ability to translate 37 languages in real-time.
Explaining how the technology works he told BusinessCloud: “Imagine speaking to someone in French and in real time it is translated into German or another chosen language through their ear.
“It literally breaks down barriers.”
CLIK will be launched in a few months but has already received orders totalling $132,000 on the Indiegogo platform.
Manu said: “I think Mymanu can be a $100million turnover business in two years and a unicorn within five, with a valuation in excess of $1billion.
“I want to have 100 staff in three years and we have a number of other products in the pipeline.”
CLIK uses the latest Bluetooth technology, as well as performing all the regular functions of earbuds – playing music, and picking up incoming calls from a connected smartphone.
Users connect their CLIKs to an app using Bluetooth, before sharing a unique passcode with the person they want to talk to.
It’s even possible to link up to conference calls, making the system ideal for business use.
Manu believes it can also play a role in the healthcare sector and the military.
Manu unveiled it, and the Mymanu brand he has created, at the TNW Conference in Amsterdam earlier this year and Mymanu was named one of Europe’s 20 best start-ups by the impressed gathering.
He’s preparing to fly to Shenzen in China, to see first-hand the production facility where his CLIKs will be created.
He also plans to open an office in the USA, where he believes the majority of his sales will be made.
He is looking to produce and sell 700,000 a year at £280 a time.
“The market is out there,” he says. “We’re now set for production and we’re looking to launch on the market in February.”