An enterprising young Aberdeen entrepreneur is looking to launch a new product with the help of a Kickstarter campaign.
Andrew Davidson, from Cove, has designed an alternative to the selfie stick, a tiny, versatile camera mount called PolePod™. The product is a small sphere which can be fitted to a ski pole, walking pole or even a branch to convert it instantly into a selfie stick.
The 24-year-old, who graduated with a Product Design degree from Robert Gordon University (RGU) last year, has set up his own company called AS D-Zine Ltd.
He said: “PolePod™ was devised as an alternative to a selfie stick as I wanted to film myself skiing, and didn’t see the point in carrying a flimsy extendable pole when I already had two sturdy ones in my hands.
“PolePod™ can be fitted to your ski or walking pole and left there for when you need it without restricting normal use. It can also be used on a less permanent basis - for example, attaching it to a branch or gate when out and about.”
Andrew has had a number of successes since leaving university, being named as one of the winners of the Sports Innovation Challenge at the Sports Business Innovation Awards earlier this year for his first product Go~Iso - a device which can be fitted to an existing water bladder to instantly convert water into a formulated isotonic fluid.
He was also selected for the second cohort of Elevator UK’s Accelerator programme which offers participants an intense 12-week entrepreneurial experience to test, research, develop, launch and refine a product or service-led business to become pitch and investor ready, as well as receiving additional support from the Scottish Institute of Enterprise (SIE).
Andrew said: “Winning the Sports Innovation Challenge at the Sports Business Innovation Awards was a great achievement and has opened up a lot of opportunities.
“The prize fund included a one-year incubation package at the Stirling University Innovation Park which I feel will help AS D-Zine open many new doors. I also loved every moment of the Accelerator programme run by Elevator UK - the atmosphere and quality of business support and lectures was top notch.”
He added: “I have quite a few ideas in the pipeline and am working on a couple of products for external companies, so I am excited for what the future holds.”
Andrew will be attending the Eurobike Trade Show in Germany later this month where he is hoping to attract support for Go~Iso. He will also be speaking about his entrepreneurial journey so far at Aberdeen’s TechFest on September 14, before exhibiting PolePod™ at the Telegraph Ski and Snowboard Show at Battersea Park in London in October.
To support Andrew’s Kickstarter campaign, search PolePod on www.kickstarter.com.