BALLOON TYCOON: ‘Why I really turned-down TV Dragons’

November 10, 2008 11:00 by Sharp Communication - Marine PR | 0 comments

Last year James Halliburton had the confidence to say ‘no’ to the biggest deal ever offered on Dragons’ Den – the hit BBC TV show where entrepreneurs pitch their big ideas to a daunting panel of self-made millionaire investors. Following a new BBC documentary, we find out why James turned them down and discover what he has been doing since his appearance on the show.

Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis offered an investment of £200,000 for James’ invention, Waterbuoy – an ingenious key-ring that transforms into an emergency floatation beacon when your valuables get dropped into water. But, following the show James was determined to go it alone and declined the Dragons’ offer. Since then, he has successfully managed to launch Waterbuoy on his own and has developed the ‘illoom’ the world’s first light-up balloon which is revolutionising the balloon market.

During James’ time in the Den, it was clear that the Dragons, some of whom own their own luxury yachts, were sold on Waterbuoy. “When the product came out it looked great,” says Peter Jones during an interview for The Theo Paphitis’ Story (watch again online from the 36-minute mark, click the following link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00fc39y). “Great idea, brilliant concept and it’s going to surely sell a lot, and ‘Waterbuoy’ what a fantastic name,” concluded Peter Jones.

Peter Jones was right. After turning down the Dragons’ offer, James set about getting his products to market himself by signing-up leading marine distributors. Following a concerted marketing push Waterbuoy is now stocked at all leading boat chandlers and has become a must-have for anyone who has ever experienced the sinking-feeling of losing their valuables to Davy Jones’ Locker.

It was during product development for Waterbuoy when James had another ‘light bulb’ moment. His fledgling company Seatriever International tested hundreds of different balloons with flashing internal LED lights to create the perfect size, visibility and buoyancy for the rescue beacon. All the while, his neighbour’s kids would ask to play with any discarded designs. After seeing their excitement, James knew that he could develop a massive new product with an even broader appeal than Waterbuoy – and so the illoom was born.

During the patenting process to protect the Waterbuoy design, James discovered that he had also, inadvertently, patented the internally-illuminated balloon, the world’s first latex balloon with an integrated light source – genius! Illooms are proving to be a massive hit in the promotions and party industries and for instant success James has also managed to secure exclusive listings in all Tesco stores in the UK. Launched just 3 weeks before Halloween, the special edition ‘pumpkin’ illoom was an instant sell-out. Tesco has since reordered in time for the Christmas and New Year party seasons.

Waterbuoy is the ideal Christmas gift for those who work, rest or play near the water and is now also available from Blacks, the outdoor-pursuit retailer, in selected stores and at www.blacks.co.uk

Ilooms are sweeping the nation and are available at all Tesco stores now

It’s National Balloon Week 10th – 16th November

Over 64 billion balloons were sold around the world in 2007!