Over the past 13 years, more than 650 would-be entrepreneurs have shared their aspirations for their new businesses in the New Innovators column. What’s encouraging about this is that even though 90 per cent of start-ups fail, people keep trying. Their ideas may have changed to reflect opportunities in emerging areas such as sustainability and artificial intelligence (AI) but what continues to unite them is the belief that their product or service has the power to change the world.
One such product is ViperClip, a non-conductive plastic staple that secures electric cables five times faster than existing fixing systems. The product is the brainchild of Northern Ireland-based electrician Davy Gray, who had the clip idea running around in his head for years. In 2015, Gray and his wife, Julie, decided to see if the idea had legs: eight years and a lot of money and heartache later, ViperClip is ready to hit the shelves.
The Grays tapped into the technical expertise of Queen’s University Belfast for help with the development of the plastic compound for the staples and Julie Gray estimates investment to date at close to €1.2 million between private backing and support from Invest Northern Ireland. Like many start-ups in search of cash, the Grays tried their hand in the UK’s Dragons’ Den, but although their appearance generated big interest in the product, there was no investment as they decided to go with local funding instead.
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