Eureka moment
My sister has MS and experiences instability and pain with her walking sticks.
The lightbulb moment was when I thought to use bellows, made by plastic bottle
technology, to provide 360° articulation and shock absorbency so that when
fitted to the bottom of her stick, it would ensure that the tread is always in
full contact with the ground whilst simultaneously absorbing the shock that
causes pain and RSI. Her problem and my invention led me to launch Flexyfoot.
Financing
Seed capital came from some private investors for proof of concept and this
funded prototypes and patient trials at the Runnymede Hospital in Chertsey and
covered the cost of the IP. The second funding round including a patient from the
Runnymede trials; he loved the product so much he became a significant
investor!
For our latest round we have used the Seedrs crowd funding website to generate income and we have attracted 100 investors within a week and we have exceeded our target.
Regrets
It has taken longer than we originally planned to get to where we are now. But
we have built an internationally recognised brand and a product range that is
patented in most of our major markets. Our latest deal to sell to China has
really made the journey worthwhile.
What would you have changed?
I would have taken on more administration and sales resources sooner to free me up to focus on the overall strategy. That's easy to say with hindsight!
