Shark Tank man’s bag idea
Daniel’s design for a device to clean colostomy bags has caught the attention of the Shark Tank judges
DOCTORS predicted he wouldn’t live beyond the age of seven. He was born with cystic fibrosis and the odds were stacked against him. But not only did he defy the odds, he proved no obstacle is too big when you have enough compassion and positivity.
Daniel van der Spuy (35) recently made it onto Shark Tank – the M-Net reality show where wannabe entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a panel of “sharks” in the hope of securing money for their dream – with an innovative design that makes the cleaning of colostomy bags easy and quick. The drive behind his creation was the humiliation he suffered in hospital after having a colostomy (an operation in which the colon is shortened to remove a damaged part and the cut end diverted to an opening in the abdominal wall). For nine years the father of two has suffered from Crohn’s disease, which is characterised by abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fatigue and weight loss.
In 2012 half a metre of Daniel’s large intestine was removed and he woke up in the intensive care unit of a private hospital in Bloemfontein in severe pain. He could barely move and noticed the colostomy bag at his side was full.
Daniel called a nurse and asked her to clean the bag. “She told me she doesn’t know how to but I could see she was disgusted,” Daniel tell us in the lounge of his home in Fichardt Park, Bloemfontein.
“I don’t think I could even describe how I felt. It was so humiliating.”
That year was one of the five consecutive years – 2009 to 2013 – Daniel spent his wedding anniversary in hospital. He and his wife, Lizaan (38), have been married for nine years and have two sons, Melt (7) and Melan (5).
The embarrassment he felt because of that colostomy bag stayed with him. “Your pride is gone,” he says. “I’ve never again asked someone to help me. But cleaning the bag by yourself isn’t easy.
“Some simply empty it into the toilet, after which the bag needs to be rinsed five or six times. Then the bag’s wet when you attach it to your body again. Some people rush between the sink and the toilet with theirs, while others rinse the bag in the toilet – but that takes about five or six flushes.”
While in hospital Daniel, a plumber by trade, had already started thinking there must be an easier way to clean the bag. A day after he was discharged he started building his first attempt at a cleaning apparatus.
In his garage, where Daniel has his workshop, he shows us how the equipment works. “The first one was heavy and ugly,” he says, pointing out some of the early models he built. “It’s been changed about seven times.”
It’s made mostly from stainless steel and stands on a pedestal, to which a bendable plumber’s pipe is attached. This pipe screws onto a toilet’s water connection and is attached to a baseplate, which goes over the top opening of the bag. The bag is then cleaned as water runs into and through it as it’s emptied into the toilet.
Like so many great ideas it’s wonderfully simple – and Daniel can say from experience that it’s changed his life. And he wants to change the lives of other people too.
DANIEL patented his design and one night last year decided to make a video about his creation and send it to Shark Tank. About three weeks later the show’s producers got in touch and invited Daniel and his nephew and former business partner, Adriaan van der Spuy, to appear on the show.
Although all of the five sharks on the panel showed an interest in Daniel’s idea, former Vodacom executive and business strategist Romeo Kumalo was most impressed with the design and they’re in frequent contact, he says.
Shortly after appearing on the show Daniel quit his job at a plumbing company to work on his patent full-time and he also registered his business, LC Infinity Innovations. Thanks to his patent, Daniel and Adriaan were invited to a business conference in San Francisco run by Startup Grind, an international entrepreneur community with branches around the world. It was an amazing experience, he says, and he made plenty of contacts.
Even though his new business isn’t showing a big profit yet, it’s doing well. “The Lord just opens doors for me,” Daniel says. That’s why he’s called his design the Lazarus ostomy pouch cleaning kit.
“Lazarus was raised from the dead and to me everything that’s happened is like I’ve been raised from the dead too.”
He had a windfall about two weeks ago while he and a friend were at a restaurant in Alberton, Gauteng. Daniel told the owner about his patent and the man suggested Daniel give away 100 units for free as a way of marketing the device.
But there was a snag – Daniel didn’t have the money to do this. The restaurant owner, who wants to remain anonymous, then asked Daniel to write down his bank details on a piece of paper and 10 minutes later R329 000 – enough for 100 units – was deposited into Daniel’s account. The only condition stipulated by the benefactor was that recipients had to get the units for free and that Daniel would send him a few photos of the people who receive them.
“He also has some patents to his name and I think he knows it’s not easy to get funding,” Daniel says.
SO FAR the feedback Daniel’s received has been positive. Twenty of the 100 patients chosen to get a device have received theirs. Two devices have also been installed for demonstration purposes at hospitals in Bloemfontein.
Apart from making it easier to wash the bag, Daniel’s design also cuts cleaning time down from between four and five minutes to just 15 seconds. The device can be kept next to the toilet and on average saves colostomy patients up to 25 percent on bags because they don’t need to be replaced as often thanks to more efficient cleaning.
Daniel hopes nurses will be trained to use the device so they can show patients undergoing a colostomy or ileostomy – when the small intestine or part thereof is removed – how to operate it.
Creating awareness of what colostomy patients go through is important to him, Daniel says. “I don’t think doctors necessarily understand what it feels like. Spiritually, you lose something.”
People facing the prospect of a permanent colostomy should get in touch with patients already living with the condition, he says, as knowledge and support are vital.
He feels he’s made a significant contribution to with his device – and can hopefully spare many people the humiliation he went through.
‘I don’t think I could even describe how I felt. It was humiliating’