CASE STUDIES

Rob Law, Magmatic Design / Trunki - 2008 Winner Entrepreneur of the Year (Wales and West Country Region)

Persistence certainly did pay off for Rob Law who, having been rejected by one high profile panel, came under scrutiny once more but this time encountered a panel who refused to make the same mistake.

Having being rejected by the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, Rob Law spent £17,000 of his own money building the idea which had been rejected by the TV panelists - a child’s suitcase which doubles as a ride-on toy. The Trunki case, which has since been featured in myriad magazines and garnered media attention across the world, has proven to be a major sales success, justifying Law’s investment in the Magmatic Design business which would turn his idea into reality.
 

Law’s vision and tenacity was rewarded in 2008 when he was crowned Entrepreneur of the Year for Wales and West Country at the National Business Awards.

Involvement with the Awards started when Law took part in an ad campaign for mobile telephony provider Orange. As sponsor of the Awards, Orange suggested that Law get involved. "I have always been aware of The National Business Awards and conscious of winners - specifically those Awards linked to the design and innovation category."
 

It was Law’s first entry into the Awards, where he put himself forward for two Awards: Credit Suisse Entrepreneur of the Year and The Business Innovation of the Year. As well as being a great honour and celebrating ‘what I had achieved so far in business’, winning the Award offered benefits to Law, Magmatic Design and the Trunki brand.

I have full use of the National Business Awards logo, which always sits well when talking business and finance to potential investors or bank managers. The recognition offered by the Award has led to numerous national magazines and newspapers writing high profile features about me and Magmatic Design."

The Award has also helped solidify the link between the business and the brand. "It has certainly highlighted how credible Magmatic Design is as the company behind the Trunki brand. It’s a very positive business stamp of approval to be proud of."

Ongoing, Law says that the ‘stamp’ offered by the award helped open doors when raising second stage finance for the business. "It gave real credibility, showing I am a very capable managing director and has given confidence to investors, even in these hard times. The tangible result was having multiple investors wanting to come on board, which meant I was able to negotiate better terms and choose who to go with."

Law urges businesses to enter, as even those who do not win will learn a lot about themselves. "It gives you a chance to take stock of your achievements so far, some of the Award criteria required me to look back to the very early stages of the design, realising how far I had come since the start. My vision from the start was to create an innovative design, which can compete in the global market place; this in turn has been recognised by a panel of high profile judges and resulted in my Award."