Start-up Stories: Proving the Dragons wrong - Rob Law at Trunki

Being told your company is worthless by some of the UK's most successful entrepreneurs would put off most business people. But not Rob Law. Despite being turned down for funding on Dragons' Den, the founder of the innovative Trunki ride-on children's suitcase is enjoying huge success including achieving best-selling product status in John Lewis. He spoke to Dan Martin about how he has proven Peter Jones and co wrong.

Rob Law's Dragons' Den experience is one of the show's most infamous moments.

It all started off well. Australian entrepreneur Richard Farley sat on the brightly coloured suitcase and Rob Law wheeled him around the studio. But it was when Theo Paphitis, one of Farley's fellow millionaire panellists, decided to get involved that disaster struck. The boss of retailers La Senza, Ryman and Partners took hold of the case's strap and ripped it off. Law's exit from the den empty-handed was now inevitable.

Never afraid to pack a punch, Paphitis ridiculed the product and Deborah Meaden quipped that there was no market for the company. Phones International boss Peter Jones was even more vicious. "You think you have something," he said. "I tell you, you don't. Within seven days I could do a better job than that. Your company is currently worthless."

But despite such a mauling, Law is enjoying the last laugh. The Trunki was one of department store chain John Lewis' most successful products last summer, while the quirky suitcases are also flying off the shelves of around 100 other UK retailers. However, rejection in the den is certainly not the only setback the Bristol-based entrepreneur has faced.

The eureka moment

Rob Law appeared on Dragons' Den in 2006 but the idea for his product came about long before that. While studying product design at Newcastle University in 1997, Law came up with the idea for a design project. The penny dropped during a visit to a branch of Fenwicks.

"I was looking around the luggage department but got bored and ended up in the toy department looking at ride on toys," he explains. "Suddenly something clicked. I thought kids get board at airports so a ride on suitcase would be a great answer to the brief."

Rob Law graduated from university convinced the product was a great idea. But a career and money called so he put the idea on hold for a few years.

Setback city

After a couple of years working professionally, Law couldn't wait any longer to turn his suitcase idea into an actual product. He spent the following six years testing and developing prototypes and in 2003 launched the parent company Magmatic.

Before starting on developing the Trunki into a market ready product, Law worked professionally as a designer in countries. Now back in the UK working from home, he faced new challenges. "It was a real shock working alone," he says. "I'd worked in Taiwan, Sydney, and New York but now I found myself back in the country and all my mates had moved away. I was there on my tod working 24/7."

Securing money for a business however often helps focus the mind and that proved the case for Law. He got hold of a loan from the Prince's Trust. "Getting the money really helped cement the whole business plan and my strategy about what I wanted to do," Law claims.

At this point, the entrepreneur was focused on exploiting his intellectual property so he decided to license the suitcase design to a toy manufacturer and looked forward to watching the royalty cheques roll-in. But in 2005, the company went bust. Law received very little money during the two years the company existed and admits it "did a very bad job".

However, like the best entrepreneurs, Law learnt from this failure in a very positive way. He explains: "When I got the bad news, I decided to take it on myself."

But despite now being in control of the company, the challenges weren't over.

Law placed an order for 1,600 Trunkis with a Chinese factory. But in a quirk of fate, that company also went into receivership. The Chinese government seized the moulds and it was only a few payments to local officials which meant they were reunited with a relieved Law.

However, the problems still didn't end. He sourced a new factory but the first 4,000 Trunkis left production with faulty catches. Law was used to overcoming adversity though and with the help of friends and family spent the summer fitting new catches in what he dubs "Trunki ER".

Pitching to the big boys

With production now sorted, Law set about getting retailers on board.

He decided to conduct market research by approaching large companies for their views on whether they would stock the product and how much it should retail for. But many didn’t seem to grasp the concept.

"I was rejected for the idea so many times by suitcase manufacturers, toy manufacturers and large stores like Argos who kept saying is it toys or luggage? Go and see the toy buyer but then the toy buyer would say go and see the luggage buyer," he says. "Loads of people just didn't get it."

Law decided that media coverage was his best option. He took on the services of a local PR firm and started getting the message out. Playing on the idea of how the product helps flustered parents prevent their children getting bored during long queues at airports, journalists soon began to take the bait.

"PR has become integral to my strategy," he says. "It worked for both Mothercare and John Lewis."

Expanding overseas

"It became very clear early on that the bulk of our profit would come from overseas distribution," Law explains. "We spent a lot of time looking into and developing that side of the business and although UK Trade and Investment provided us with some good mentoring it was incredibly hard work."

Law’s key advice to entrepreneurs doing similar is to know the local cultures. For UK businesses entering international markets, cultural howlers are commonplace and Trunki is no exception. "We launched a Trunki that was purple as it’s the most popular colour for children's products in the UK," Law explains. "But it's seen as a funeral colour in northern Europe so they wouldn't touch it with a barge pole."

But the issue was flagged up by a distributor when they were shown the early concepts and a green product was launched instead.

Entering the den

It was a Prince's Trust mentor who first flagged up Dragons' Den to Law. Satisfied he had a great product and having already been approached by Mothercare, the entrepreneur decided to go for it convinced he would get the £100,000 in return for 10% of the business which he was seeking.

What actually happened is now common knowledge and Law left the den terrified that his dream was over. Recognising that the programme's producers were likely to cash in of the "great" footage of Theo Paphitis ripping off the luggage strap, he was scared the public would agree with the Dragons' view that his product was worthless. A BBC promo entitled "Wheelie Rubbish" didn't help him feel any better.

But his fears proved unfounded.

"The public saw straight through it," he explains. "They recognised it was theatrical television and that the Trunki is a fantastic product. We haven't looked back since."

Since the show, media requests for interviews have flooded in and the John Lewis deal was secured. And despite the Dragons claims, shoppers weren't put off and some 23,000 Trunkis have been sold since the programme was aired.

Law has also become somewhat of a TV star.

"The best closure for Dragons' Den was being on Richard and Judy," he says. "They played all the really harsh comments from the Dragons and then said it's now John Lewis' best selling product of the summer. That really put them in their place."

And has he spoken to any of the Dragons since? "No," Law reveals. "But Richard Farley did buy the two Trunkis that featured on the show! He sent us a Coutts cheque from Monaco."