Red Button Design visited by 1 in 400 UK residents

3,300,000 people watched "The Dragons' Den" on December 17th

Web stats indicate that around 108,000 people visited Red Button Design's website between 9pm Mon 17th and 9pm Wed 19th.

So.... 3.3%, around 1 in 30 people, who saw Red Button on TV looked us up online....
The average response rate for targeted advertising is 0.7%

Overall in December we had over 147,000 visitors to http://www.thisisredbutton.co.uk/

Less than 4% of those visitors used a Mac

6 months ago our biggest referrer was facebook.
Now it is shared by Google and bbc.co.uk.
6 months ago we had an average of 60 users a day visit the site.
Now we average 4,901.

The CIA think there are 60,776,238 people in the UK,

1 in 18 people in the UK watched the Dragons' Den (5.5% of the population)

1 in 400 people in the country have been to our website at some point.


*dashes out to buy dark glasses and a headscarf!*

Red Button Design Shortlisted for HSBC Award.

Yes, yes, you must be getting bored of us by now but I thought I'd just quietly mention, for those of you still with us, that Red Button Design have reached the semi-finals (final 100) of the 2008 HSBC Unipreneurs Awards.


HSBC Unipreneurs 2008 is a new £20,000 business award which aims to discover and encourage a new generation of university educated business entrepreneurs. It's also supported by the National Council for Graduate Entrepreneurship and is therefore connected with all 168 UK universities."

From the website: "http://www.unipreneurs.hsbc.co.uk/"

The Word on the Wire..

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/other/display.var.1907118.0.Trio_aim_to_make_a_splash_on_TV_show.php

http://www.lammo.net/dragons-den/104/dragons-den-series-5-episode-9

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/display.var.1912327.0.city_trio_tame_dragons.php

http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/news/display.var.1911293.0.Dragons_unanimous_in_backing_Glasgow_students.php

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/glasgow_and_west/7147893.stm

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/display.var.1908537.0.students_take_water_idea_to_den.php

http://money.uk.msn.com/business/dragons-den/article.aspx?cp-documentid=7023363


forum gossips! (these are my favourite!)

http://www.ukbusinessforums.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=50841

http://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2867

http://www.theenvironmentsite.org/Forum/viewtopic.php?t=11338

http://www.ukparentslounge.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=653574


if you see us anywhere else, let me know!

WANTED: Have you seen these Entrepreneurs?

If you see an article about Red Button Design in the paper, please hang on to it! We're having trouble collecting them all (we've already missed quite a few) alternatively if you see us in the paper give one of us a text or email so we know!

Many thanks,
Manda.

How many emails can a BlackBerry hold?

Just a quick one to sincerely thank everyone for their congratulatory messages and offers of support.

There's a joke in the Red Button Offices that as I don't work for a wage (yeah - that's a point all of you who want to get into this entrepreneurship lark! 9 months without an income... ouch!) but because I don't get paid in a financial sense I get paid with tit bits of praise and thanks. Infact I believe the term "Approval Junkie" has been coined for me. Nevertheless despite Oxford Said's Business School deciding that our £45,000 prize winnings wont be transferred until January (!) and the resulting frugal Christmas at RBD-HQ knowing so many of you share our visions will spur me on for another wage-less month!

And when the countdown clock read zero...

Well the fateful day has finally come around, spent the last week doing press stuff, interviews, pre-recording radio shows and other fun and games. Got a call from 'Radio 5 live' this afternoon, however, asking if I would go into a Glasgow studio, tonight at 11pm to be interviewed live by Richard Bacon...

They were surprised I refused!

11pm? On the night of my show airing? At a few hours notice? Ummm Richard Bacon, are you kidding me? I admit, I was ranting a bit by the third time they called but ... Seriously? forgive my disregard for your ego but I made plans, I have friends coming and with any luck I wont be sober enough to air live by 11pm!

Thanks to everyone who has contacted us to wish us luck etc. We are very grateful and will get back to you *all* over the next few days. Meanwhile I still have an hour and a half to bite my fingernails down to a quick and you've still got time to get yourself a wee dram on our behalf.

Manda

Press Release

Red Button Design win £45,000 in Oxford University's 21st Century Challenge Competition with their life saving water transport, sanitation and storage device.

The trio scooped a total of £45,000 in prizes on the night for their Reverse Osmosis Sanitation System (ROSS) which can effectively and cheaply provide safe water for the developing world.

Entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, policy makers, academics, corporate guests, sponsors and competitors gathered at the Saïd Business School in Oxford for the annoucement this week. The judges awarded two prizes, the first a £10,000 prize to a company addressing a pertinent problem affecting people in the 21st Century and a second for £35,000 awarded to the ‘Global’ winner representing the most investable social enterprise.

Steve Rayner, Director of the James Martin Institute for Science and Civilisation at Saïd commented:

‘The competition exemplifies what the School stands for, bringing together business with social and environmental issues that address the problems we are faced with in the 21st Century. The strength and quality of submissions was outstanding and the overall winner was selected on its ability to meet certain criteria; the scale of the problem being addressed; the impact of the individual business on problem solving; and for its simplicity and elegance’.

The 21st Century Challenge, the largest such competition in the UK, is designed to encourage commercial solutions to help solve the major social and environmental challenges of the 21st Century. More than 180 entries were received from 23 countries. Participants had to submit a five page business plan focusing on one of the three challenge tracks. Three finalists were drawn from the entries to each track and the nine finalists then went forward to the grand final event and pitched their business plans to a panel of judges.

Red Button Design was founded by Amanda Jones, a Glasgow University Graduate, James Brown and Nicky Pang who are both studying Product Design on a joint course run by Glasgow University and Glasgow School of Art.

The judging panel for the grand final comprised:

Professor Steve Rayner, James Martin Institute for Science and Civilization (Chair)
Rob James, DFJ Esprit
Keith Evans, PricewaterhouseCoopers
Jonathan Guthrie, Financial Times
Wendy Hart, Grant Thornton
Ravi Kapur, NESTA
Antony Ross, Bridges Ventures
Nicholas Pitts-Tucker, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
Richard Sanders, Permira

For further details please contact Amanda Jones:
Amanda@thisisredbutton.co.uk

Let Me Put You Out Of Your Misery!

It's been confirmed:

9pm December 17th,

last in the series as suspected.

Christmas Comes Early For Red Button Design

There were more than 180 entries from 23 countries, submitted to the the Oxford University 21st Century Challenge Competition each focusing on one of the three challenge tracks:

Tomorrow’s People – business ideas covering healthcare and medical challenges
Tomorrow’s Planet – business ideas covering environmental challenges
Tomorrow’s Wealth – business ideas covering social inequality and distribution of wealth challenges

Red Button submitted to the Tomorrow's People track.and were selected as one of the nine finalists (three from each track) to go forward to the grand final where they present their business plans to a panel of judges before an audience of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, policy makers, academics and corporate guests.

I am thrilled and stunned to be able to report that not only did Red Button Win their challenge track scooping the £10,000 Tomorrow's People Award..

BUT

We also scooped the 2007 Global Prize winning another £35,000!

£45,000 will literally allow us to get through the next stage of prototype development without selling off any equity meaning that when we do come to sell a percentage of our company the risk will be significantly lowered due to further prototype advancement and we will recieve a significantly better price!

We are so thrilled, so so thrilled!

Social Suicide via Webcam

Well, we have be listed as finalists in the prestigious Oxford 21st Century Challenge, sponsored by NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts). Celebrating new technologies for global change.

We are one of 3 finalists in our track and on Wednesday James and I make the long drive south to Oxford in preparation to pitch for our lives. If you are so cruelly inclined you can watch this evil spectacle live via webcam at 3:10pm Thursday 29th November (http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/21challenge/news/Events.htm)

We have no delusions of winning, such are the companies we are up against, however we are very flattered to be able to add "finalist" to our wrap sheet against such a well regarded competition.

At least that's what we keep telling ourselves.

Troops Stand Down!

We have been lead to believe that our participation in the thing-that-shall-not-be-named will hit your screens in December so you’ve a couple of weeks yet. Hold tight though, we’re worth it I promise!

Social Enterprise Day.

I was interviewed by BBC Radio again today, you can listen to the programme here. I was broadcast live at 6:40am from the floor of Lizzie’s lounge in my her dressing gown and nursing a mug of tea but if I sound groggy or not too awake, do me the courtesy of blaming the bad phone line… ;o)

Pussycat Pussycat where have you been?

Well we didn’t scoop any awards in London much to my disappointment but we were up against some strong competition and some tough judges with tricky questions but we met the PrimeMinister which is none too shabby I suppose. The event at Westminster was very interesting as well. Met some very interesting people (other participants more than the MPs) I have a lot to think about with regards to how we market the company, we don’t really know who we are yet and need to get a clear idea before the media attention arrives…changes are afoot.

Watch this space!

Special Government Invitation

I almost deleted the email I recieved titled "Special Government Invitation" - well, wouldn't you?

"This email is to invite you to join John Hutton MP, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, to a consultation event in Westminster about Government plans to develop a new Enterprise Framework."

Yeah right.

"We are really pleased to announce that we have been asked by the Government to identify young entrepreneurs, would-be entrepreneurs and women business owners and entrepreneurs who will shape the future face of enterprise in the UK. We think this includes you and so we would like to offer you the opportunity to shape the Government’s thinking on how to inspire and support enterprise in two consultation events ...."

But no, this is for real.

I'll be heading down to Westminster to represent the young, female entrepreneurs of the UK.
(God help us all!)

Back on British Soil

We have now arrived back in the UK from San Francisco to an impressive backlog of work and the substantially more pleasant news that the product has been short listed for the Make Your Mark Enterprising Young Brits 2007 competition, run by the British Chambers of Commerce, CBI, Federation of Small Businesses and Institute of Directors as part of National Enterprise Week. Winning this would really cement our position as a UK "company to watch" and you can help! There will be a 'people's choice' category so i'll keep you posted and maybe you will slip a vote in our direction. ;o)

California Dreaming

James and I were fortunate enough to recieve funding allowing us to travel to California to attend The Wall Street Journal Alternative Energy Conference, 2007 Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards Ceremony (where we picked up a rather nifty certificate in a blaze of flash photography ... kinda) and MicroVentures Conferences in San Francisco.
We made some amazing contacts and worked very hard to earn our place at such prestigious events but now with two days left and no more business to attend to it's time to take Highway 1 down to Santa Cruz and watch the surfers!

Live on BBC Radio

..Yes indeed they let the 3 of us speak live on BBC Radio to talk about the product, what happened?

"One of the most intriguing innovations" - Wall Street Journal Podcast

You can hear the good people of the Wall Street Journal discussing our product on their weekly podcast, thankfully it's all favourable as the podcast is distributed to almost 4 million listeners worldwide!

Press Release: Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards

Glasgow Student's Life Saving Product Honored In Wall Street Journal Innovation Awards

Red Button Design Ltd, a company set up by 3 students at the Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow, have been awarded a 'Runners Up' place in the 'Environment' category of this year's Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Awards, alongside entries by LG Electronics and Xerox.
The product is “The Reverse Osmosis Sanitation System” a unit that transports, stores and purifies water aimed at parts of the developing world that do not have clean water.
Amanda Jones, James Brown and Nicholas Pang are all 23 and came up with the concept for the
product just 9 months ago. The trio are currently being featured in a Wall Street Journal Podcast and full coverage of the award currently appears in The Wall Street Journal's three global editions.

This is a huge achievement for such a young company, they are the only UK company being honored at the awards.

Press Release: Red Button Design win £16,000 Scottish Institite for Enterprise Competition

Students from the University of Glasgow picked up 1st and 2nd prizes at the Scottish Institute for Enterprise Business Plan Competition on the 7th March.
Red Button Design were awarded the first prize of £16,000 of cash and in-kind support for their innovative Reverse Osmosis Sanitation System. Sounds Good Advertising were the runners up, receiving £9,000 for their audio / visual light box.
Open to all students and recent graduates from across Scotland the SIE competition received a record number of entries this year but for the third year in a row it was a University of Glasgow business that took the first prize in the undergraduate category.
Following on the footsteps of Barhand and Oyo Products, Red Button Design, led by James Brown, Nicky Pang and Amanda Jones, have developed a product which can bring relief to the 1.2 billion people around the world who are still without clean water. Their product, ROSS, is an innovative water sanitation, transport and storage device specifically tailored to suit the demanding requirements of a user resident in a developing country. ROSS enables individuals to collect water from the nearest source, contaminated or not, and sanitize for drinking or bathing use.