Rising Star: Kay Russell
Aug 27 2009
Light relief: Kay Russell with her cooling bandages and spray
Kay Russell emerged from the Dragons’ Den with £100,000 and the backing of Deborah Meaden, having won the fiery entrepreneur over with her reusable cooling bandages Physicool.
How did you get the idea?
I came across a similar product in America, and thought that cooling bandages would be really useful for horses with injuries. When I later discovered that owners were using the product on themselves, I decided to design a type specifically for people.
Was it hard to set-up?
As I was already running another company when we launched the product, the start-up costs weren’t too high because I was able to use some of my existing resources. But I did put £10,000s of my own money to help develop it.
What was it like being on Dragons’ Den?
I was very scared. Peter Jones was the most intimidating. Deborah was hard but fair. When she made her offer of 30 per cent for the business I bit her hand off. It all went by so fast, I was just grateful to get out alive!
Why did you decide to go on the show?
It seemed like a great opportunity to get some serious exposure, expert help and cash. Yes it’s hard giving up some of the ownership, but if you want to succeed in business, you have to do what’s best for the product.
Where next?
We’ve just won a contract with Boots, and have attracted interest from players in Europe. I want to use the money to move the business forward and develop more products.
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