17 Apr 2018
Alumnus bags deal with Firebox.com after success on Channel 4 show
Loughborough alumnus Simon Lyons has bagged a deal with online retailer Firebox.com after appearing on Channel 4 last night (Monday) with his innovative product Mobu: The World’s Most Versatile Cable Clip.
The 2013 Product Design Engineering graduate and former member of Loughborough’s graduate commercialisation hub The Studio made his on-screen debut on the first episode of Buy It Now.
The show, which is hosted by Brian Conley, sees inventors and sellers of new products have just 90 seconds to demonstrate their item in the hope of securing a potentially life-changing order with a national retailer.
Last night’s episode saw Simon pitch his design that aims to stop cables and earphones tangling, prevent them from slipping off your desk and eliminate time spent winding and unwinding cables.
Simon explained to the audience and a trio of top retailers that Mobu does away with cable tangling with style and speed by snapping together to store and pulling apart to use.
The interest in Mobu was evident; 11 audience members voted to purchase the product and the managing director of Firebox.com, Kristian Bromley, placed an initial order of 500 units – resulting in a total retail value of more than £3,000.
Commenting on his successful pitch, Simon said: “The experience of going on Buy It Now was incredible. I was really nervous in the run-up to filming, but then at some point late morning on the day of the shoot these nerves faded away and I was just excited instead.
“I'm very happy with the outcome of the show, it was an honour to feature on the first episode and to be the first pitch of the show overall. I wasn't sure how many in the audience would buy, but I was hoping for five or more so I exceeded that, which is great.
“I thought Mobu would be a brilliant fit for Firebox, so I was hopeful that Kristian would be interested. You can never know for sure with these things so it was really exciting when his light went green!”
Simon says the plan is to finish production on all three colours of Mobu and have the nifty product stocked on Firebox.com this summer.
The Loughborough graduate puts some of his success down to The Studio, which is currently accepting applications from finalists who want to launch their own businesses when they graduate.
Simon said: "The Studio was the perfect place for me to start my business. It provided everything - from a place to work to a strong network of like-minded people and business training too."
To learn more about Mobu, visit the dedicated webpage. To find out more about The Studio and how to apply to join, click here.