February- Trade show excitement

Back home at last, just had 2 expos in a week and need to get some rest in. Pool-Mates went down a storm though, there is a real buzz developing around them. Fantastic responses and feedback- couldn't ask for more.

First was Munich and ISPO, the largest sporting goods trade fair in the world. We had our own stand and were finallists in the Bluetooth Innovation World Cup so had space on their stand too!

It was great to meet our European distributors including Emiliano from Italy who travelled 9 hours by train to meet us and Martin from swimovate.de who showed us the sights in Munich and translated the menu for us at the Hofbrauhaus one evening. Also made lots of new contacts from all over the world and had some really interesting talks with some other parties (no names yet).

Alas we were runners up in the competition, no win this time :(, but we met some fantastic people and contacts that will be really useful in the days ahead. Low Energy Bluetooth has really got us excited and it will be such a fantastic platform for sports and fitness technology- we want to be first on the scene! Got a nice glass trophy to add to the collection too.

I'm getting better at presentations now too, I presented to the Wearable Technology conference 2010 and did a press conference the next day (wow)- glad I did the talk at the British Library last month to give me some confidence!

Then was TCR show in Sandown Park, UK- lots of public this time. It was fantastic to speak to existing users who without exception loved the Pool-Mate! We can't believe how many people came up to us and said it was amazing and had really made a difference to their swimming. Swim For Tri , Jog Shop and Mailsports believed it too and all took stock back to sell. What could be better than having people come to your stand wearing your product and singing it's praises!

We have loads of press this month, a great review in Stuff magazine, competition in Swimming Times, interview in Triathlete's World, filming for the British Library Business Centre and reviews coming out in Triathlete USA, Cycling Weekly and many more. Things are really moving now and we are having the most fun ever (and working the hardest!).

..............We got another addition to the household last night, a beautiful little gremlin who will no doubt be helping pack watches before too long :)

2010 off with a bang

The big freeze meant I couldn't get to the pool as much as I wanted over the last couple of weeks but running in deep fresh snow in Windsor Great Park was a joy. I'm afraid I'm not as committed as one of my shop owners though in the USA who goes out running at 5am in the dark every morning (minus 8 and snow, no deterent). I only managed once!

Daughter Lauren had fun in her Christmas break in the garden :)



2010 has set off to be no less exciting than 2009, Swimovate have been selected from over 250 entrants to be one of the 4 finalists in the Low Power Bluetooth Innovation Worldcup. This is an international competition to find exciting new applications for this growing technology. Winners will be announced at the awards ceremony at ISPO, the worlds largest sporting goods trade fair on 8th February.
Part of the prize is space on the Wearable Technology stand in the main hall so we will have double the presence- we already have our own stand there too! Press conferences have been booked and amazing times to be had....

February will be a busy month, we have a stand at the TCR show in Sandown Park which is the UKs biggest triathlon exhibition. We will have a prize draw for all customers to win a signed Rebecca Adlington T Shirt. So please come along and meet us.

We have also been delighted to join with Swim-Log to offer software analysis for the Pool-Mate data. The Swim-Log software is fantastic, comprehensive and really good value. The Swim-Log team are committed to providing a quality product with free upgrades and support, you can even try it free before you buy. Loads of our users are analysing their data and this is a great solution to offer.

Best get back to work, more watches are arriving soon and I have my talk next week at the British Library to inspire other entrepreneurs. Hope the snow stays away a little longer!

Wow what a year!

Wow what a year, thankyou so much to all our customers all over the world for your purchases and fantastic feedback. We are delighted and overwhelmed by the success of 2009 and really looking forward to 2010.

Unfortunately demand far exceeded our supply in the run up to Christmas and we apologise if you haven't been able to get your watch yet. The limited edition pink watches sold out in just 2 days!

We have had some great publicity the last couple of weeks with a fabulous press release from Texas Instruments, our IC provider, who broadcasted the Pool-Mate story to the electronics press all over the world. We also were delighted to secure the endorsement of Nick Gillingham MBE, double Olympic medallist, former World, European, Commonwealth Champion and World Record Holder!

Nick is now a renowned coach and is keen on promoting the Pool-Mate to the swimmers in his swimming camps and courses. He's done a great video for us in the pool- why can't I swim like that? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb7Kr4r7yMo

Nick says "Based on my experience, I have no hesitation to recommend it’s inclusion into your training. If the Pool-Mate had been available when I was breaking records and developing into an Olympic swimmer it would have saved me a lot of time and would have been part of my programme..."

I was also approached by Cally Robson of www.shesingenious.org who had heard about my Enterprising Women award, to give a talk to new entrepreneurs next month at the British Library about our experiences! It's a terrifying prospect, I haven't done any public speaking before and those of you that know me will know this is way out of my comfort zone. But after going up in front of the Dragons, I can do anything! Cally did say I would be talking for a hour- my goodness. I can't believe people will be paying to hear me talk but it's an amazing story that even we find hard to believe and if I can help inspire someone else to give it a go then it must be worth it. If you are there please be kind.

We are pulling out the stops to increase supply in the next couple of months, we have some big events coming up in February- TCR show in Sandown park and the huge ISPO trade show in Munich so please come and see us if you can. We will have a fabulous prize draw for customers at TCR show and Nick has promised he will be there on our stand at least one of the two days!

Looking forward to getting the kids home for Christmas and eating the 2 year old Christmas pudding we found at the back of the larder last month!!!!!!!


Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year

Lisa

One last thing- We have been shortlisted for the 220triathlon most innovative product of 2009. Please vote for us at www.220triathlon.com!

Awards......

It's been a busy few days at Swimovate HQ. Sales are going off the scale now the holiday season is approaching and keeping us very busy indeed.

We've had a whirlwind few days starting with a trip to the Splash Awards for Britains best swimmers, courtesy of Olympic medallist Karen Pickering and Mission Sports Management. Held at a top Knightsbridge hotel we joined elite swimmers from all over the country in this glittering event. Clare Baldwin was a fantastic host and Sharron Davies was stunning in sequins, winning the lifetime achievement award. We were flying the flag for the Pool-Mate and totally in awe of the award winners and their amazing success. The GB synchronized swimming squad monopolized the dance floor much to the delight of Justin Lee Collins who was surrounded by them!

I also travelled to Cambridge yesterday to attend the annual Enterprising Women Awards dinner. I was up for an award and met lots of very inspirational women who had travelled from all over the country to be there. Emma Harrison did an amazing, inspirational talk. You might have seen her in many TV programmes including Secret Millionaire. Speaking of which..........I got an email last week from Channel 4 asking if I would be interested in taking part in the programme! Not quite there yet but maybe next year!


Anyway to my delight I won the award- I'm officially Enterprising Women Innovator of 2009 and have the trophy and bouquet to prove it (first time I have won a trophy!). It's great to have recognition after working so long on our own to get to where we are today.

We are waiting for the next batch of watches again and presold 80% of these already, we can't get them quick enough. We still can't believe how quickly things are happening. We have got in some very large shops in the US and signed up more distributors around the world so the future looks very rosy.

We are about to reveal a very sexy hot PINK version for Christmas so watch this space!!!!

38 countries and rising!

Sales have been going through the roof here, last count we had sent Pool-Mates out to 38 different countries all over the world and we now have the manual in several different languages. We will be in all 30 Sweatshop stores in the UK next month including Harrods- how cool is that.

The challenge in on now to keep up with demand. We did think things would start slowly and gradually but the internet has taken a grip and interest has begun to rocket. Our trusty manufacturer is on full alert and we will have a couple more batches before Christmas. By popular demand we are hoping to have special, limited edition, hot pink watches too- watch this space for a sneak preview soon!

Team Pool-Mate is doing well, although there is not enough time to train these days. Here's a picture of us at the recent Rough Track Triathlon where we managed a fab second place.
We welcome new team member Fitness Instructor Pete Frost from Marlow. Pete is training, with his Pool-Mate of course, to swim the English Channel next summer. Pete will be sharing all his swim training and the big day itself with us on the website over the next year.

We are also delighted to receive an endorsement from Paralympic Gold medalist, Claire Cunningham. Clare wanted the Pool-Mate to help her with her training. Although now retired from professional swimming, Clare has entered the sport of triathlon and is doing astoundingly well. She's won gold medals this year at the World, European and British Championships- can't do any better than that!

Clare was born without her left forearm and wears her Pool-Mate on this arm but strapped above the elbow. We must admit we were not sure if it would be 100% accurate worn in this way- but it works perfectly for her and she finds it invaluable for efficiency evaluation and stroke counting. Thanks Clare.

Anyway, more orders to send out so best get on.

P.S. We would love to win "Most Innovative Product Award" in the 220 Triathlon 2009 awards so please spare a minute to vote at www.220triathlon.com!

Pool-Mates are shipping

We have the first couple of weeks of shipping behind us now and half have gone already! Rajan in the post office is now used to seeing us several times a day as we keep filling up his sacks. Don't think the people of Wraysbury are quite as happy to see us as though as they wait behind us in the queue.

Starting to get some feedback too which is invaluable and allows us to continue developing the Pool-Mate and making it better. We have had some great comments and reviews from our customers which is fab and great to know the public actually like it. Seems people really do want a downloadable version (we have prototypes already working) and open water functionality, so that gives us some focus. There also seems to be a big market for funky colours- pink in particular was a often heard request. 220 triathlon have their review coming out tomorrow which should be great news for getting the word out in the UK. I heard on the grapevine we had "Editor's Choice" hope it's true.

We spent Sunday on the Tri and Run stand at the Rough Track Triathlon at Eton showing the Pool-Mates and competing. Team Pool-Mate- myself, Chris and Jim entered the relay and stormed home in second place (well the boys did, I was the weak link as usual- will really have to improve my swimming, no excuses now!). The Pool-Mates got a great reception too, gave one to Will Clarke and Mens Fitness to review as well.

It is so exciting at the moment, we never know what the next phone call or email will hold. Shops are starting to listen now and international sales have really kicked off. So glad we took the plunge and gave it all a go. I expect there will be tough times ahead but it's so much more fun than working for someone else. Those dragons will be sorry.....

Pool-Mate in the Den

Just heard they wont be showing my spot on Dragon's Den :(

Last April I went up in front of the Dragons for the BBC TV programme. It was every bit as scary as you would imagine. I applied back in November and got the first call soon after Christmas. After answering lots of questions on the phone I heard I had made it to a screen test at BBC TV centre in three days time. I had to learn a pitch and prepare and learn our business plan over a weekend. The screen test was in front of an assistant producer but I'd not been filmed before and it was still daunting. About 5 takes later they were happy and I had completely forgotten everything I had said- I could have been talking about washing powder for all I remember!

I waited for a few weeks then got the call to say I'd made it to filming at Pinewood Studios. I had to put together a huge folder of information and they did weeks of due dilligence. What the Dragons' get before them are companies who have been thoroughly checked out so they can be assured the claims, patents, competition and figures have been checked and verified by the BBC so some of the risk has been minimised.

Finally the day arrived............

I had to arrive at the Studios at 7.30am. What you don't see on TV is that they keep you waiting all day in the Green Room with the other entrepreneurs, not knowing when you are going to be on. You can't even go to the toilet without a chaperone in case you see the other companies who have already been filmed or you bump into any of the Dragons. This really builds the tension and keeps the nerves on edge. The first day they ran out of time and along with another company, I had to go home again without being filmed. Back the next week for another shot and I did get on this time.

The set is nothing like it appears on the TV, the main thing that struck me waiting to go on was how cold it was- I almost felt sorry for the Dragons sitting there all day. The stairs you walk up are just part of the set and dont actually go anywhere. The bricks on the walls are all plastic but look great on camera. Finally I got the call to go, and had to find my mark on the floor to stand on- not easy in a dark room. There are about 20 other people in the room and the cameras, so it really is a bit different from how it appears on the TV. If it was just me and the Dragons perhaps I wouldn't have been so scared.

The pitch went well however and I remembered everything including the figures, phew. I was infront of them for over an hour and got a good grilling and scared I was. The Dragons kept saying I looked nervous but it was a good presentation. Without exception, they all said the Pool-Mate was a really good product, they liked it a lot and thought it would sell, however they couldn't see how they could make money out of it too. I think I should have been a bit more forceful when I spoke about the size of the potential market and lack of any competition but it's easy to think of these things with hindsight. Deborah was kind and made sure I got all my information across including some good letters of intent from distributors but one by one they bowed out.

I was disappointed of course, as the thought of failure never once crossed my mind before stepping on set. I totally believe the Pool-Mate is a fantastic product and a huge leap forward for swimmers but looking back I think we were already doing everything they would have suggested. Obviously the publicity would have been good if we had got investment but we really didn't want to give away a large percentage of the business.

I just heard that we wont be shown on the TV series, I guess I wasn't silly or exciting enough for good TV. I knew I should have taken Richard "the fish" Stannard (top UK Triathlete) up on his offer to come on with me in his Speedos! It's been great fun doing things on our own and I know this will continue and we get to keep all the profits and plough them back into the company to develop more lines in the range.

Would I do on the Den again? In one word- no. Still it was a huge experience and we have got to work hard now to prove them wrong!