"It all started back when the article about aIDEAS first appeared in the News, and then winning the award, it has just taken off from there and we could not have had such a good year if none of that had happened."
Dr Martin Sabry, founder of aIDEAS, the solution-provider to enable the disabled, spent much of 2007 refining his business model and feels he now has it just right.
Since the publicity he received, many people have contacted him, wanting to get involved with aIDEAS.
He has, therefore, split the operation in two, turning one half into a charitable trust, while the operating side of the business remains commercial.
The idea is the inventors with clever ideas will be able to tap into the expertise Martin is gathering around him to ensure that good ideas, which might otherwise struggle to see the light of day, get every chance of reaching the market.
The experts give their time and expertise free of charge, but they have a stake in the operating company and could strike gold.
Martin gives an example of the type of project he and the other experts - mostly PhDs with engineering skills, but folk with business acumen, too - get involved in: "We've been working on a mobile Braille project. It's on a roller and you can input anything, online, for portable reading."
The idea was introduced to Martin by Barclays, who had been approached by the inventors.
aIDEAS is also working with the Institute for Manufacturing, and Martin says the university is very interested in how aIDEAS can help to get more ideas out of the labs: "not least because we can develop them with very little risk."
Martin says he is getting ideas from all quarters: "Yesterday I was talking to a taxi driver, who turned out to be a mechanical engineer with a really good idea. He wants to join aIDEAS."
The company is all about making the most of the latest technological innovations to create an all-inclusive society, and much of the work involves software development to simplify everyday operations like online shopping.