‘Always trust your gut instinct!’
Natalie Ellis, 50, from Leigh-onsea, Essex, had her light-bulb moment on a hot car journey with a thirsty pet
‘Waiting in my car at traffic lights on a hot summer’s day, I tried to give some water to my dog Shizza, who was sitting in the passenger seat. Just as I poured some into the palm of my hand for her, the lights changed, and the water spilled everywhere. Patting myself down, I thought that there must be some way to keep a dog’s thirst quenched while on the road. I did some research and soon found out that there wasn’t.
I was working selling pet products to supermarkets, but had never created anything myself. I set about making a prototype, which involved a lot of trial and error. I bought a dog bowl, and then used anything I had lying around the house to adapt it. Each time I finished,
I’d fill it with water and take it out in the car to test. All my friends told me
I was crazy, but I knew this could be something so many people would love.
When my handmade prototype was finally ready, I took it to a trade show, where people were fascinated by the concept. I received a £20,000 investment and was able to get my bowl, the Road Refresher, properly made to my design in a factory. There’s a plastic layer in the middle of the bowl with small holes in it, which allow a certain amount of water through at a time.
After setting up a website, orders for the £9.99 bowls began to come in. My ambition, however, was to take Road Refreshers to America, so I applied to the BBC’S Dragons’ Den. I felt confident presenting my product to the investors because I was so sure of it, so when they turned me away, saying the US would be the “graveyard of my business”, I was devastated. But in fact, it turned out to be a good thing for me in the long run.
LAND OF OPPORTUNITY
I’ve always loved an adventure, so I brushed myself down and booked a flight to Chicago and a stand at the city’s huge pet trade show. I also targeted specific buyers by phone and turned up on their doorsteps with my dog bowls!
In just a few months, Road Refresher became the fastest-selling dog bowl on Amazon, and I’d turned over £1 million. I even found out that there was an order for President Obama’s Portuguese water dog, so I made a special one that looked like the White House. When I received an email from his staff thanking me, it was the most surreal moment of my life.
Twelve years on from my original idea, my range of doggy products includes cooling coats (from £20.99) and noisereducing kennels. I now have a dog called Piggy, who enjoys all the products I’ve made. I’m proof that you should always trust your instinct.’ • prestigepets.co.uk