Andy bounces back with a dream Dragons deal
A BUSINESSMAN recently made redundant has bounced back to land a deal for his invention on TV’s Dragons’ Den.
Richard Brook, of Dewsbury, invented a plastic casing which protects electrical sockets – and sold 50,000 in his spare time.
But after being made redundant from his job as an estimator for a national repair and maintenance company Richard decided to go for it with his product, Sockitz.
Richard appeared on the BBC2 show on Sunday night – and came out with the “dream team” backing of two dragons, Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis.
A delighted Richard said: “It was the most stressful thing I have ever done but it was a great experience. It still hasn’t sunk in yet.”
The simple product is used in home improvements and renovations and slots over a socket to protect it from damage during painting or plastering.
During major refurbishment projects it means the power doesn’t have to be switched on and off, cutting down on return visits from electricians, saving time and money.
Richard, 47, recorded the show in May and two hours of intense scrutiny from five business titans was boiled down to just 20 minutes of TV
Viewers watched as a nervous Richard – shaking at one point as he wielded a screwdriver – pitched for £100,000 for a 30% stake in his business. While all the dragons praised his invention most were frightened off by the £100k price tag.
Peter Jones declared it a “great business” for Richard but said £100k was too much while Sara Davies liked the product and said she would “hire Richard tomorrow” but she questioned why he hadn’t gone for it sooner.
She said: “I worry you have fumbled along for 10 years and the thing that’s brought you here today is the fact you were made redundant. This has been forced to become your job, it’s not that you thought the opportunity was great enough to take that risk.”
Theo, who discovered he shared a passion with Richard for racing classic cars, described the product as “ingenious” and said it was “amazing you have put it together in your spare time.”
Theo then offered to share the investment with “queen of DIY” Deborah, an expert in the field.
Deborah said she and retail magnate Theo would be a “dream team” and the duo offered the whole amount but wanted 25% each, dropping to 20% when their investment was repaid.
Confident Richard didn’t bother negotiating and said: “I have no doubt I could pay that back within two years. I’m in!”
Former Dewsbury Celtic RL player Richard told the Examiner of lot was missed out on the show and some was a bit misleading.
He said he came up with the idea for Sockitz 10 years ago but had a “day job” and sold the product online with no advertising or promotion.
Sara’s comments about his redundancy were a bit harsh as he had opted for voluntary redundancy and had the backing of his wife to go for it with Sockitz.
“When I applied for the show in February I wasn’t going to be made redundant but when I got through the audition stage voluntary redundancy came up and my wife agreed I should dedicate 12 months to it and if it didn’t work out I could always get another job.”
Richard also has five patents and more products on the pipeline but that wasn’t mentioned in the final cut either.
He revealed that one of the dragons, Tej Lalvani, had declared him
. self out but when he discovered Richard had more products he wanted to get back in, but that is against den rules.
Another key fact not mentioned was that Sockitz is manufactured in Mytholmroyd – and packed by inmates at New Hall women’s prison in Flockton.
“I’m proud it’s made in Yorkshire and it will stay that way,” said Richard. “I want quality. I’m not moving production to China just to make a bit more money.
“I am not motivated by money, it’s more about helping people. I want to get this out there. I’m not a salesman and that’s why I needed the dragons’ help.”