cube fun

a fun, educational resource that keeps kids actively engaged

Ballymena business named Rising Star at Northern Ireland Finals of the StartUp Awards National Series

Ballymena-based startup Cubefun has been named as the Rising Star at the Northern Ireland Final of the StartUp Awards National Series.

The StartUp Awards National Series debuted this year to highlight the dynamic startup scene across the country that skyrocketed during the pandemic, and has been rolled out in nine UK nations and regions, supported nationally by BT, Clearco, Moblox, Fearless Adventures and with regional support from Moja Group.

Caitrin Kincaid is a local mum who created a kids activity cube to get her young kids moving more indoors during the lockdown of 2020.

She launched the product onto the UK market in August 2021 and is stocked in local retailers, has her own website and has just added her products on to Amazon Marketplace.

The final was held at the Ulster Museum in Belfast and saw fourteen different awards given out to new businesses in categories such as global startup of the year, creative startup of the year and young entrepreneur of the year.

The awards were judged by a panel of prominent local judges, including Dave Linton, of Madlug, Dr Roisin Molloy of Trimedika and Audrey Osbourne of TechStart Ventures. The Judging Panel had this to say about Cubefun,

"This is a lovely, simple idea to get kids on the move again with lots of potential around tailoring and supporting additional needs. Figuring out how to scale production and marketing will be key to future success. It's very impressive to take on this challenge and develop it during lockdown. The passion is obvious to see and the commitment shown to upskilling around marketing and business development is very commendable and inspiring - a great role model for start-ups."

Originally formed as the Wales StartUp Awards in 2016, the StartUp Awards National Series has joined forces with the Great British Entrepreneur Awards to take the celebration of newly formed businesses nationwide. Creator of the awards Professor Dylan Jones-Evans OBE said the inaugural event had recognised the amazing entrepreneurial talent that exists across Northern Ireland.

“We’re so proud of the amazing reception the first year of the StartUp Awards National Series has had across all the nations and regions of the UK. We have heard exceptional stories of dedication and passion from founders of new Northern Ireland firms, and it was an honour to showcase these local entrepreneurial heroes in Belfast last night. With record numbers of new businesses being created in Northern Ireland, there is no better time to celebrate the achievements of these amazing businesses that are creating employment and wealth in their local communities.

StartUp awards national series
StartUp awards national series

“A huge congratulations to all the category winners and especially to the team at Scanmatrix that, like many others, started and traded during the Covid pandemic and through resilience, innovation, and sheer hard work, have succeeded and thrived during the most difficult economic circumstances. They, and many of the other winners, are going to have a major impact on their sector in years to come and we look forward to seeing what’s next for these amazing entrepreneurs and their businesses.”

Tara Pollock, Director of Corporate Affairs, Enterprise at BT said: “It has been a pleasure to be a judge for the StartUp Awards National Series and see the incredible work that startups have been doing across areas such as B2B, professional services and future innovation.

“At BT, we are committed to championing the cause of small businesses and startups because we recognise the creativity and value they bring to our economy. I’d like to say a huge congratulations to all the winners on their achievements and wish them well for the future.”

StartUp Awards national series

explore our different themes

Our six fun themes....

Space

space
movement cube

Mythical

mythical
movement cube

Farm

farm animal
movement cube

Animal Game

Jungle

jungle animals gross motor cube

Educational Game

Garden

a garden workout
for kids

Animal Game

Exercise

Kid Friendly
exercise game

kids therapy

one

throw your cube

Educational Game

two

read the action

kids occupational therapy

three

copy the action

Educational Game

Buy with Confidence

Read the Reviews here

Lucinda King
Lucinda King
2023-01-21
I absolutely love CubeFun! I think its such a fantastic idea, fun for all the family and I love it was created by an Irish woman! 🇮🇪 I gift them out when I can, cos I think all families should have a cube from CubeFun. 😃 I eagerly await the adult version! 😆
Lynsey McCabe
Lynsey McCabe
2022-12-08
We have bought all of these cubes, the animals, exercise and Christmas ones! We absolutely adore them! We use them in our Montessori school and also in our early intervention play sessions so they are great in groups or individually 🥰
manisha morgan
manisha morgan
2022-12-01
I bought this cube for my friends daughter for her birthday. She absolutely loves it. It’s a great way to keep young kids active and entertained. I would recommend My 11 year old loves it as well 😊 Thank you. Caitrin
Margaret. “Mags”
Margaret. “Mags”
2022-03-14
These cubes have to have been, and are, the best addition to teaching English as a foreign language to kiddies. The vocabulary taught and learned using them is incredible, we are talking 3 to 10 year olds. Great for fun parties too, be it Adults or children. I would highly recommend them. Great initiative Caitrin.
Louise Adams
Louise Adams
2022-03-07
Cubefun is a fantastic toy that I highly recommend. My kids have so much fun playing Cubefun together and they just love it to when the grown-ups join in and play too! Having practised as a Children’s Occupational Therapist I love to see new engaging toys that will benefit all areas of child development. CubeFun does just that and is perfect for both individual and group therapy sessions. An essential for every Paediatric Allied Health Professionals toolkit!
Julie-Ann Hall
Julie-Ann Hall
2022-02-07
My kids love the exercise cube! It keeps them active on rainy days. All 3 play with it together and are aged from 2-8. Every home should have one!
Sunflower squad
Sunflower squad
2022-02-03
I bought this lovely little cube a few months ago. In my role providing intervention support to parents of autistic children, using the cube has been a great way of gaining attention and building relationships especially with non verbal children. The cube is bright and colourful, I bought the farm animal one. We use it at the start of sessions to create engagement and practice our gross motor skills (sometimes with siblings and Mum/Dad) joining in. Would highly recommend to parents as a way of building and sustaining attention, developing turn taking skills and also to have fun and just be silly 😊
The Babbling Book Club
The Babbling Book Club
2022-01-30
These cubes are fantasti fun and there is so much learninghapoening too. As a speech and language therapist I have made cubes like these out of cardboard boxes in the past because they are wonderful for supporting attention, movement breaks, following directions, understanding action words, improving vocabulary and lots more. No more making cubes for me! Caitrin has come along with a brilliant product for all kiddies to enjoy and have the craic at the same time! Highly recommend!
Grace
Grace
2022-06-24
CubeFun Jungle Theme Soft Plush Kids Activity Toy Game / Learning & Exercise Cube, Orange, Green, Yellow, 15cm x 15cm x 15cm: Fantastic gift for Children! I have now purchased 3 of these cubes. My kids absolutely love them. It is a great game for parties and encouraging kids to play outside and keep active. I also run childrens classes and use these at the beginning of each class as an Ice breaker and to encourage movement. Always a massive hit! A great unique gift idea
Laura Flynn
Laura Flynn
2022-05-15
CubeFun Jungle Theme Soft Plush Kids Activity Toy Game / Learning & Exercise Cube, Orange, Green, Yellow, 15cm x 15cm x 15cm: Great fun for all the family, young and old!!!! Got the full range for my little girl who absolutely loves to play. Perfect size for little ones to throw and catch and they just can't help themselves because they are so colourful and so soft to touch.Have used them at family get togethers and even my bigger teenages join in the fun too! Highly recommend this product and they would be great for kids who have sensory needs too.
Olivia
Olivia
2022-04-28
CubeFun Jungle Theme Soft Plush Kids Activity Toy Game / Learning & Exercise Cube, Orange, Green, Yellow, 15cm x 15cm x 15cm: Absolutely FANTASTIC! I purchased two of these for my childcare business and all the littles LOVE the cubes!The children (2-12) think the cubes are absolutely fantastic and I couldn’t agree more 🥰.The cubes are bright and lightweight so we often take them out and about and on more than one occasion we have taken it to the park and lots of other families have joined in with the fun!Highly highly recommend.. educational, No screens and encourages children and adults to be active!
Kerrie
Kerrie
2022-04-12
CubeFun Jungle Theme Soft Plush Kids Activity Toy Game / Learning & Exercise Cube, Orange, Green, Yellow, 15cm x 15cm x 15cm: Worth every penny! My little one absolutely loves this and it's fun for them to be entertained on their own and for the family to get involved. So easy to get the little one off a screen and doing some exercises without feeling like they're exercising! Endless fun, and even made for a few laughs at a barbeque with someone family visiting!