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I turned down the Dragons, now the orders are flooding in
Amar Singh23 Mar 2009
AN INVENTOR who turned down £150,000 in the Dragon's Den for a device that stops baths overflowing is celebrating today after winning a contract with a leading hotel.
James Barnham, 36, said that rejecting the offer from Theo Paphitis and Deborah Meaden, two of the tycoons on the BBC show, turned out to be "the best decision of my life".
The Dorchester in London is now installing hundreds of "Nova-Flos", in a deal potentially worth millions. If the device proves successful it could lead to a contract across the whole Dorchester Collection - which includes another six international five-star hotels.
It follows a similar contract Mr Barnham secured earlier this year with Firmdale Hotels, which runs six of London's top boutique properties including the Haymarket and Soho Hotels.
The award-winning gadget is fitted to the tap and overflow pipes at the back of a bath, out of sight.
If water starts pouring through the overflow, it causes a float in the centre of the Nova-Flo to rise, and this triggers two magnetic valves that virtually shuts off the flow from the taps. A small amount of water still drips out, encouraging the user to turn the taps off - at which point the device resets itself.
Mr Barnham, of Tooting, pitched his invention on the TV show in 2006. It triggered offers from four of the five dragons: Duncan Bannatyne, Richard Farleigh, Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis. Mr Barnham was left to ponder a joint offer by Paphitis and Meaden of £150,000 investment in exchange for 40 per cent of his business.
He said: "It was tempting but I couldn't give up that much. I wasn't sure at first but it turned out to be the best decision of my life."
Nova-Flo could save thousands of pounds in water damage at hotels. Ray Pask, chief engineer at The Dorchester, said: "Installing these is an insurance policy. It's not uncommon for a guest to leave the bath running and perhaps take a phone call or watch TV, only to find there is water all over the floor."
Mr Barnham is the latest in a series of entrepreneurs who have found success despite walking away from the show empty-handed. Inventor James Halliburton who created the Waterbuoy sailing gadget was seen on the programme accepting cash from Paphitis and Jones. However, he changed his mind on the investment for his gadget, which inflated and lit up if dropped overboard, and signed a major deal with Tesco.
Last year Martin Wadsworth, creator of a radiator that looks like a skirting board, announced annual turnover of £6 million - despite Bannatyne and Paphitis telling him no one would buy his invention.
Reader views (3)
Good for you James,If thay offered you 150.000 in exchange for 40% of your company they knew thay were onto a good thing,and you saw through that and kept your nerve.
- Kev, London-UK, 24/03/2009 08:55
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Success is dynamic - of course successful people are going to behave in the way they do - that's how they became successful in the first place. New people become successful by creating, gambling and winning, as this inventor has done.
Congrats mate - but expect whingers to complain about your financial success in the future. It's a night-follows-day thing.
- Rogan, Irving, 24/03/2009 03:56
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Well Done: James.
They are a greedy bunch of people; ain't they.
Not only do they want to cash in on others peoples inventions; they also want your company lock stock and barrel as well.
You find that people with money; are never happy with anything; except getting even more money.
- Mickyinlondon, london, 23/03/2009 16:58
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