Stuart and Sabryna Pitch - temporary medical tattoos
Father and daughter Stuart and Sabryna Pitch are proposing an alternative to medical identity bracelets - temporary tattoos.
Twenty-two-year-old Sabryna, who has been diabetic for 16 years, says she has gone through several bracelets, which either faded or got lost. She subsequently got a permanent tattoo, "Diabetic". But their company, Meditemptatts Ltd, offers a range of temporary hypo-allergenic transfers for sufferers of invisible medical conditions such as allergies and epilepsy.
Aimed at children, the logos last up to seven days and are designed to be worn in body locations visible to emergency service personnel. They can be used for holidays, weekends away and school trips, in addition to day-to-day-use. Sabryna, who works for an IT company, says: "They are a fun way of telling people about your condition without having to get a real tattoo. Children don't always like wearing medical bracelets. They are particularly good for school trips as they prevent parents worrying that their child will lose their identity bracelet."
The Southend-based duo have found a company to produce the tattoos and are now looking to market the idea.
Stuart, who works in the silicon chip industry, says: "The biggest thing we would want from the Dragons would be marketing and advertising expertise. To be successful, it needs to be marketed properly. We need to push it into schools." They estimate selling the transfers at around £4.99 for six.
"It would be brilliant if it took off. I think there is a real need for it, and not just in the UK," adds Sabryna. Ten per cent of profits would go to medical research charities.
www.meditemptatts.com
Nigel Stanley and Mandy Chody - a room of accessories… in a box
Hoping to profit from credit-crunch culture, interior designers Mandy Chody and Nigel Stanley have come up with a way of redoing homes at affordable prices. The husband and wife team have launched Room Renovator or, as the duo like to describe it, a "room in a box".
Each box, priced at £250, includes a selection of plush home accessories; cushions, table linen, a picture frame, a table centrepiece, a throw and candles, which can be used to spruce up a bedroom, lounge, dining or television room. The accessory sets are available in five different styles.
Mrs Chody, 48, says: "We have both been interior designers for more than 20 years doing up top-end private homes, and when the recession hit we needed to create a way to bring our luxury design ideas to the masses.
"The idea is to make people feel better about their homes, especially if they can't afford to give them a complete overhaul," adds Mr Stanley, 51.
The couple run M&Y Interiors in Bushey, Herts, together with Mandy Engelsman. M&Y has invested £25,000 into Room Renovator, which they launched at the Ideal Home Show in March 2010.
They are hoping for an additional £150,000 investment for a 25 per cent share. This would be used for the purchase of stock, advertising, marketing, the website, warehousing, staff and office equipment. Mr Stanley says: "We believe it's an amazing concept. We just need the right people to help us take it to the next level and help with exposure in the retail market." There is also scope to create boxes aimed at the student and bachelor market. They hope to make a profit in year two.
Mr Stanley started working in his family's retail business aged 14 and was area manager of 30 soft furnishing outlets at 30. Mrs Chody was a public relations executive before jumping ship to the design world.
www.room-renovator.com
Some of the other entrants
● Jacob Colton - Posh Pick and Mix, an online gift service for sending personalised pick and mix jars, www.poshpickandmix.com
● Julian Daniels - a series of educational card games. Juln_dan@yeahoo.co.uk
● Judith Fine - Secs in the City, a networking group for secretaries, PAs andoffice managers. jfine@finesse-services.co.uk
● Richard Ford - a radio station serving the Jewish community.
rbford@sky.com
● Marc Harris - Wow! Art, a range of contemporary lenticular video art work, www.wow-art.eu
● David Nathan - the Holy Grail, password pens and cards. davidnatha@gmail.com
● Tony Perkin- The T-Step, a slide-away access step for reaching high shelves, tech-value@ntlworld.com
● Gavin Shulman - an electric bar-coded file-tracking system. Gavin@careerstudies.co.uk
● Lucy Tammam - an ethical bridal wear range. www.tammam.co.uk
