Drop it in the box

Rob speaks to Eddie Riby who started Parcelsafe

Having a bright idea is a good start.

But the next stages are the most important.

Rob went to meet a young entrepreneur to find out how he turned his clever design into a real business, with a product sourced in China.

Watch his film.

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VIDEO: Idea to Production

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Student Guide

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More and more of us are ordering things from the internet.

It's all so easy. Just sit and surf. Find the bargain you're looking for and click the button and it's on its way.

We buy all sorts of things but there is just one problem. We've got to be at home when it arrives.

Courier companies are not very good at telling us when they are going to turn up - so we might have to stay at home all day to wait for them.

The alternative is to trek off to the depot to collect our treasured new possession.

Not very satisfactory really.

Just think...

Why do we order things from the internet when receiving them can be so difficult?

Eddy's solution

It's very simply really. A box on the wall that locks securely once the parcel has been dropped into it.

Eddy Riby was fed up with deliveries not arriving when he was a club DJ so he set about solving the problem. He had clearly spotted a gap in the market.

He'd discovered that this was not just his problem. 60% of deliveries fail first time.

Just think...

What evidence did Eddy have that there was a need for the product?

What other evidence would you have wanted before you set up the Parcel Safe business?

Where would you have looked for your evidence?

From idea to delivery

Eddy's was just 23 when he started the business - six months ago. He didn't have any experience of running a business but has succeeded in getting Parcel Safe into production.

Having worked out there was a gap in the market, he had to work out whether the product was viable.

Could it be produced at a price that people would pay? That's the tricky bit.

He had to have a proper design that really worked. A rough sketch on the back of a bus ticket wouldn't do.

Then he had to take the design to manufacturers to find out about the costs of production.

He then had to find out whether shops would stock the product at a price that would give him a decent profit.

Of course - he had to have a website to sell it as well.

All these things cost time and money - just to get going.

After all this research, Eddy came to the conclusion that the product was viable and got Parcel Safe underway.

Just think...

If Eddy wanted to borrow money to set up the business, what information would the bank have wanted? Explain why.

Successful deliveries

Often new businesses find it hard to persuade shops to risk stocking a new product. It's much safer for them to keep their shelves filled with reliable products that they know that people buy.

A new product has to sell itself effectively. People have to know that it works, is reliable and worth the money.

Just think...

Have a look at Eddy's website and see what clues you can find that suggest that he's onto a winner with Parcel Safe.