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On the Sofa with Imran Hakim |
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Imran Hakim is a fearless Entrepreneur. While most are still thinking, Imran builds prototypes. He’s on a plane to China or on the phone to potential buyers. He’s clearly one of life’s achievers and a true gent with it.
In 2006 he was judged Young Entrepreneur of the Year locally for Mikah Eyewear, part of his Optometry business, while in 2007 he scooped the Technology, Design and Innovation Award for his newly-developed iTeddy.
With iTeddy – a digital soft toy that amuses and educates young children – Imran went onto the Dragons Den and secured £140,000 of funding from multi-millionaire entrepreneurs Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones. Exclusive deals with Argos followed, making Imran Hakim and his iTeddy one of the hottest properties around.
In an exclusive interview with Good Company, Imran Hakim speaks to Gary Lovatt about how he started, where he gets his ideas from, and how he is now helping others to turn their dreams into reality.
How and when did you start up in business?
As far back as I can remember, I have always had a passion for business. At 15 I was already buying and selling computers to my school and college teachers and learned about some of the pitfalls in business through experience rather than through a textbook. For me, the challenge is what it’s all about.
The money is a great side-effect and an important part of the success but if this is your sole motivation then business can become a very lonely journey, very quickly. I’m constantly waking up in the middle of the night with a new business idea that will keep me awake while I explore all the potential opportunities in my mind.
In fact, I even went through a phase of keeping a notepad next to the bed in case I suddenly had some inspiration during the night.
What do you think are the main qualities of an entrepreneur?
I meet a lot of very successful entrepreneurs and while they all have their own unique skill-sets, there are certain characteristics they all seem to manifest.
Entrepreneurs aren’t deterred by hard work. They realise that everything worth striving for requires hard work, which is why those who quit when the ‘going gets tough’ never reach their goals. In fact, the only place you will find success before work is in the dictionary!
How did you come up with the iTeddy?
I was sitting at home with my younger brother debating on what would be a great birthday gift for my young niece Aaminah who at the time was seven months old. I thought that his idea of a personalised talking birthday card had limited potential and had already been done.
I suggested an alternative, a teddy with both static and dynamic features – a teddy which would be interactive so you could choose what it did next – a teddy that would grow old with you – an iTeddy! We both decided to prototype our product in time for Aaminah’s first birthday – that was the challenge and there was even a forfeit involved.
However, the more I thought about it, and of course looked past the aesthetics, the more I thought that this could be a great idea especially with the revenue opportunity from downloads. I then described the idea to a friend of mine at PH-D, a local design house and he helped put together some visuals for the idea in my head.
I then exhausted many market research reports on the toy, electronics and download markets to conclude that this was definitely an emerging market. Kids are getting older younger and growing out of traditional toys at a much younger age. They crave the same kind of gadgetry enjoyed by their older brothers and sisters with iPods, mobile phones and digital cameras. Convergence in cost size and weight of consumer technology now means that electronic features are more portable and affordable. They can be seamlessly integrated with classic toys to increase both child and parental appeal. This can be seen with many of the classic icons such as Action Man and Barbie.
So how did you feel walking into the Dragon’s Den with iTeddy?
The den looks, smells and feels like an old, converted open-brick warehouse. This fuels the nervous tension and the rush of adrenaline right through your body, makes your stomach churn. I saw this as a challenge, opportunity and risk.
The challenge was to convey my confidence and vision for iTeddy to convince some of the leading entrepreneurial minds that my product had huge potential. Successfully meeting this challenge would mean the exciting opportunity of working with the dragons, but what if I had a glaring hole in my financials? Or if I blanked out under the bright lights? Or worst of all, what if I fell over when walking up the stairs, with millions watching at home on their TV sets?
The first minute is the hardest and seems to last a lifetime. Before you go up the stairs you are told to stand in a certain spot and if you make it to your marker on the floor with your composure unperturbed then the moment you lift your eyes and gaze upon the icy stare from the dragons, reality kicks in! This is it, only one shot at it, make or break, victorious or ridiculed – the only certainty, there’s no turning back!
After a gruelling pitch, I successfully secured investment. Intrigued by the concept and convinced by my plans, Dragons Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis agreed to a 20 per cent share in the business.
I negotiated them down from a combined 45% to 40% between the two of them. The negotiating wasn’t too difficult really as I do this as part and parcel of my everyday life. In fact, I would probably say that I even enjoyed that part of the pitch.
What types of other businesses are you currently involved in?
I was already running a diverse portfolio of businesses before iTeddy, mainly in the optical field, including a lens laboratory, a frame distribution business and recruitment company.
In addition I own a group of optician practices around the North West that are managed by my management company, which provides stability and structure to our core business. This leaves me free to explore new and exciting opportunities like iTeddy.
Do you have any tips for businesses who are currently feeling the economic pinch?
We have enjoyed a number of years of healthy growth in the UK and a downturn in the economy was always inevitable. We are currently in difficult times and businesses have braced themselves for a tough 18 months ahead.
But the UK economy has been here before, these things are cyclical and those who tighten their belts and ride out the storm will continue to prosper once we are out of the downturn. As an entrepreneur, I’m excited by the opportunities presented by the current economic climate.
There are some good profitable businesses out there which are only struggling due to the economic climate we are in. There are some good acquisitions that can be made in these troubled times.
What can we expect from Imran Hakim in the next 12 months?
I have enjoyed working with Peter and Theo immensely and have developed a great chemistry for taking on new challenges with them. We are currently working on some exciting opportunities. In addition, I am working on establishing a Northern office for ‘ The Rainmakers’ with a fellow entrepreneur Ben Way.
The Rainmakers is an innovative corporate venturing company which essentially is a hybrid between VC and an investment incubator. We get involved with innovative businesses, which have unique selling points in the green, internet and technology arena. We invest our time and money, adding value to help these businesses realise their commercial potential.
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