Grip-it Fixings on Dragons Den.
Dragons’ Den saw one of its youngest ever entrepreneurs receive investment on Sunday 17th August 2014 as one of the Dragons invested in what is his third business before he leaves his teenage years.
19 year-old Jordan Daykin received £80,000 from Deborah Meaden for a 25% stake in his business, Grip It Fixings. The investment will help Jordan with the costs of new machinery, stock increase and a deposit for their warehouse in Melksham, Wiltshire.
Grip It Fixings are a revolutionary new design of universal fixing designed for use with all types of plasterboard installation. Deborah proved the strength of the fixings by sitting in a chair suspended by chains from a number of Grip It Fixings in a plasterboard wall.
Jordan left school at the age of 13, keen to follow his entrepreneurial dreams. He came up with the idea for Grip It in 2008 whilst putting up curtain rails with his then 74 year-old grandfather Stan. Having difficulty installing the railings via traditional methods, the pair spent the rest of the afternoon in his grandfather’s garden shed figuring out a more effective mechanism.
Aided by his grandfather’s engineering background, it took the pair just a matter of days to come up with a prototype for the fixings, and, following months of testing, they applied for a patent in 2009, when Jordan was 14.
The patent for Grip It was granted in November 2012 and Jordan has since secured a deal with Wickes, who are now an official distributor of Grip It products; available to buy in all of their 220 stores.
Grip It is already trading in Germany and Belgium, with a patent pending in America where the market is seven-times larger than the UK. Jordan’s plan is to take the product to the rest of Europe and Australia as well.
Having invested in Grip It, Deborah Meaden said: “Coming up with a practical solution for a problem that enough people experience and at a competitive price is the essence of business and that Jordan did this at the age of 13 is extraordinary. Having worked with him for several weeks now and seeing his drive, clarity and focus, it is no surprise that the range has already grown and Grip It now sells in over 700 stores nationwide.???
Speaking about his success in the Den, Jordan said: “I went into the Den with the hope that any of the Dragons would invest in my business. Secretly, I was very happy to secure Deborah’s backing because of her vast experience in the area and her extensive contact-base. We have been working together for a few weeks now and she has been a real inspiration to me already. I’m looking forward to many more exciting developments to come.???