Simon Cowell picks wearable tech glove as F Factor winner

Simon Cowell and a panel of high-profile judges have chosen a glove which has the ability to help millions of Parkinson’s sufferers as the winner of the F Factor start-up competition.

Sponsored by TalkTalk and Founders Forum, the F Factor sought to find the best, original technology ideas from young entrepreneurs aged between 14 and 25.

Gyroglove founders – 24 year-olds Paul de Paniesse Passis and Tiarvando Lasiman – were awarded the £10,000 prize amount for their wearable tech device which alleviates hand tremors and stabilises the hand without the need for invasive surgery.

Alongside Cowell, the judging panel included TalkTalk founder and chairman Sir Charles Dunstone, Baroness Martha Lane-Fox; the co-founder of Lastminute.com, and Peter Gabriel, with businesses judged at a live pitching event attended by the founders of Skype, Google, Evernote, Uber and LinkedIn.

Cowell commented: “All the ideas were really smart and it was great to be a part of this competition. How these young people think of this stuff I just don’t know? Gyroglove really impressed me as it actually has the potential to be a medical breakthrough.”

TalkTalk’s Dunstone added:

“There were so many brilliant ideas in this competition and we could have given the prize to any of the finalists. However, we recognised that the £10,000 we are offering has the potential to most transform and develop this idea, in terms of making the device smaller and getting it to the people who need it the most. That’s why the prize went to Gyroglove.”