Screen Machine entrepreneur: "I'm not giving up"
By Kate Pritchard, published 2 years ago in Leadership.
On Monday’s episode of Dragons’ Den, entrepreneur Richard Mire was told his Screen Machine product was a “ridiculously stupid, crazy idea”. But despite the Dragons’ venomous attack, Mire hasn’t been put off.
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“I’d just come back from a buying trip in the Far East, saw the Screen Machine, believed in it and wanted to take it to market,” says Mire, who applied for the show in February this year.
The Screen Machine connects to any TV, DVD player or games console in your house, and allows you to control when and for how long your children spend in front of the screen by inserting reusable tokens. Mire was after a £150k investment in return for a 15 per cent stake in the business.
The Dragons hated it. “I just tell my children to switch the bloody TV off. That works just fine,” commented an irritated Duncan Bannatyne.
They were also annoyed by the fact that Mire already runs a successful toy business – RDM Creations which makes £300k a year on sales of £750k.
“They made a point of showing they don’t like people who have other businesses,” says Mire. “All the figures and details of potential markets for the Screen Machine were discussed on the Den – but those bits were edited out.”
Did he feel that Bannatyne’s scathing comments (“I’m not going to wish you luck in your business. In fact, I hope it fails”) were justified? “If there was going to be a problem with one of the Dragons, I always knew it would be with him,” says Mire. “You might remember the iTeddy on a former episode of the show? He hated that too. As with the Screen Machine, he couldn’t imagine giving that product to his children – but I don’t think that necessarily means that every family in the UK is the same.
“I still reckon there’s a huge market for the Screen Machine in this country. Since the airing, we’ve had confirmation of trial shows with two of the leading UK shopping channels. We’ve also had discussions with a major electronics distributor and a big holiday park, which is interested in putting the Screen Machine in each of its chalets.”
Mire says over 1,000 customers have registered their contact details on his website for updates as soon as the new stock lands in the UK.
“I’m estimating we’ll sell between 40-50,000 units in a year,” he says. “Each one will retail at £29.99 and the margins are around 55 per cent.”
So what next for the tenacious businessman? "I’m going to grow the business slowly, without external investment," he says. "I‘m not bitter that the Dragons didn't believe in the product; I’m an entrepreneur and I’ll learn from this experience."
However, he does take a pop at the editing of the show. “They’ve got a format where every week they have one person who succeeds, one person who misses out because they already have a business and one person who fails because they messed up their figures. The focus is definitely on the reaction of the Dragons, rather than the potential of the business."
6 comments.
Fuchsia 2 years ago.
I would desperately like to get one of these- any news on if they'll be on sale any time soon???
Stephen Donovan 2 years ago.
Dragons Den was interesting in its first series but now its just an ego trip for the Dragons and a car crash ratings puller for the BBC. The programme graphically demonstrates all the bad qualities that can come with money and shows that the one thing you cannot buy is class. Even more disappointing is that with all the important issues in business, Real Business chooses to lead its email bulletin every week with something about the programme.
Alan Saywell 2 years ago.
The final quote from Richard suggests that he understands completely the shows format and approach. It’s a shame he didn’t adapt his presentation to take his own observations into account! It’s hard for me to comment on what he should have done differently because I can’t see what’s on the cutting room floor, but I will anyway! If you know in advance that the Dragon’s have strong views on businessmen that prefer to seek external investment for new products, rather than fund them from their own funds, then you need to deal with this in advance. For example maybe a statement from Richard at the start of his pitch saying that he was aware of this, but he did not feel that he could bring the product to market quickly enough on his own and with their help he could. If he then added that whatever they were prepared to invest he would match and they would own the business 60/40 then he may have done a deal. The argument would then have been about the comparative value of Richard’s time and the Dragon’s time/contacts, rather than the pointless lambasting that he took.
Steve 2 years ago.
Sorry everyone but I tend to agree with Duncan that its just as easy to say "switch off the TV" surprisingly it does work so why should I pay £30 for it to be timed. That said I must say that by Duncan saying "he hopes the business fails" is grossly unfair. This guy obviously believes in his product and good luck to him. Hope the product does well but not one for me!
Julie Parker 1 year ago.
I think it is an absolutely brilliant idea; my kids are older and tent to turn tv on quietly when 've gone to bed - sory duncan i dont have a 24 hour nanny! Also a great incentive for good behaviour - e.g. you can have x amount of tokens for the week but you have to earn more. I want one!
ingie 1 year ago.
i think this is a fantastic idea.. i would love one.. i can't believe anyone with kids would not want one.. any news of this coming to the shelves i would love to hear about it