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Dr Kimberley O’Brien represented Quirky Kid at iAccelerate@Sydney, sharing how a child psychology clinic had grown into an organisation working across clinical services, publishing, research and emerging digital mental health.
The Circular Quay event brought businesses from the University of Wollongong’s iAccelerate community into Sydney for networking and discussion with business and innovation leaders.
For Quirky Kid, the event provided an opportunity to explain a growth story that was becoming increasingly unusual in psychology: clinical expertise was being translated into published resources, structured programs, university collaboration and technology-enabled support.
From psychology practice to a broader platform
Dr O’Brien discussed Quirky Kid’s development from an early child psychology practice into a company with clinics in Sydney and Wollongong, an educational publishing arm and an expanding range of programs for children, families and schools.
She also introduced emerging technology-based work and the organisation’s growing relationship with the University of Wollongong.
Part of the iAccelerate growth journey
Quirky Kid had joined UOW’s iAccelerate program in 2016, gaining access to mentoring, founder education and a university-backed innovation community.
Later that year, Quirky Kid was named Panel Choice runner-up at the iAccelerate Pitch Grand Final. The University of Wollongong’s official event report independently records that result.
iAccelerate gave Quirky Kid a structure for thinking about how psychology expertise, intellectual property and digital services could reach more people without relying solely on additional consulting rooms.
Innovation linked with research
The Sydney event also gave Dr O’Brien an opportunity to discuss Quirky Kid’s developing university research pathway. The University of Wollongong later independently evaluated The Best of Friends® through a formal collaboration with Quirky Kid.
That combination of business development and research became an important part of Quirky Kid’s growth story. Later milestones included government capability-building support and the development of BriteChild® as a dedicated digital psychology service.
The iAccelerate@Sydney appearance is therefore best understood not simply as a networking event, but as a moment when Quirky Kid was publicly articulating how psychology, publishing, evidence and technology could work together within one organisation.
