The Art of Design Issue 19 2016 | Page 83

DRAG N SLAYERS Fresh from Dragons’ Den, we talk to Steve Noyes & Duncan Summers about the Worlds’ only covered recessed tv point. Why you decided to go on Dragons Den? After a year of trading, Sync-box was growing quickly. We had sold 5,000 units worldwide with large enquiries coming through from major developers. We had designed and prototyped other products to run with the Sync-box product range and realised we required funding to take Sync-box to the next level. Having approached various investment channels, it was proving to be a long and painful process. We considered applying to Dragons Den for investment as we were confident of the product and thought, it can’t be anymore long-winded or painful than the other avenues of investment we had tried! Tell us about your experience in the Den To our surprise we were called by the BBC and invited to the London Television Studios for a screen test. This was a few months after the initial application, so as you can imagine, it was a shock when the BBC called. The screen test was a brilliant experience! The BBC were just fantastic. The actual day of filming Dragon’s Den was amazing. The format has changed this year as we were interviewed before and after we went into the Den. Despite, the hard time we received from the male Dragons, Peter Jones was a true gent. He congratulated us afterwards and had a nice chat with us. It’s a day we will never forget! How has the industry responded? Since appearing in the Den, the phone and email enquiries have exploded. We have received multiple calls from various distributors, worldwide. We are talking to a large distributor, based in Dubai whom approached us after seeing the show. This is with regard to supplying Sync-box to three brand new Trump Hotels in India and one in Dubai! The AV industry’s reaction has also been fantastic. We have received so many kind words and congratulation messages! What does Sync-box hold for the future? Initially we are looking to grow the Sync-box product range. This includes a dry wall version (for plaster board walls) and high end metal cover plates for the multimillion £ complexes. It is our intention to grow the business by gaining a large presence in the US as well as EMEA. We also have other product solution ideas which we would like to take to market. What did Dragons’ Den Deborah Meaden see? “For me to invest, I have to understand why anyone would want to buy a product or service and at the price it can be produced for. Having been through a major refurbishment recently, I could see exactly why the Sync-box would have been a real asse t in terms of saving time and looking good.” sync--box.com @ syncbox +44 (0)1622 688551