Hampshire based inventor Tom Keen in Dragons’ Den success story

When Hampshire inventor Tom Keen (27) approached our team at Idea Reality with his novel toilet brush idea we saw great potential in it and we started working together to develop it further.

Flushbrush is an innovation in toilet brush design. The most important feature is that the head is detachable from the handle, and it is stored in the toilet where dirt belongs. Each time you routinely flush the head gets cleaned by the water passing over it.

Flush brush prototype CAD

FlushBrush head and handle

The idea came when the inventor moved to a new flat and discovered a very old brush that had been left behind by the previous occupant. Talking with his flatmate afterwards about why there were so many of these brushes in each household when they seemed so deficient in its design. That’s when the light bulb moment came and he decided to redesign the toilet brush.

“I cannot believe that we as humanity have put a man on the moon, and yet we use this poo stick to clean the toilet” he said.

The product development with Idea Reality started with an idea review and brainstorming session at our Hampshire studio. The chosen concept was further developed, mechanisms tested and multiple iterations prototyped until the product performed as intended.

Flushbrush Sketch of concepts

Concept sketches for FlushBrush

After getting a patent protection in place, Tom Keen took his prototypes to a major Toilet & Bathroom Show at the NEC to present his prototype idea for user and industry feedback. He subsequently applied to take the product onto BBC Dragons’ Den.
Around one month before filming the show Tom Keen was notified that he was going to present a pitch, so he asked Idea Reality to redesign certain elements to improve the functionality. Thanks to in-house 3D Printing facilities and R&D process we were able to accelerate the development and get the improved prototype ready for his deadline.

Flushbrush prototype iteration proccess

In-house Prototype iteration for FlushBrush

“Dragon” Toukar Suleyman had invested in toilet related products in the past and liked the idea. The newest dragon, Sarah Davies, showed a strong interest in the product, as she had removed all toilet brushes in her house when her two year old decided it was a hair brush. Touker Suleyman offered to split the equity and investment with another dragon. Tom Keen finally accepted Sarah Davies’ offer alone and got the full £50,000 investment for one third of his business.

Following Tom’s success in the Den even though he got the investment, he plans to launch a crowdfunding campaign to take pre-orders. To find out more about how to buy the Flushbrush you can visit www.flushbrush.co.uk

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