Philip and Martin
are finalists in the 2009 YBI Entrepreneur of the Year
competition.
More on the competition.
"Being entrepreneurs changed
our lives fundamentally. In our self-employed career, we have
developed business acumen way beyond the employed equivalent,
developing an understanding of all the key components of
business."
Philip Ross
Philip Ross & Martin
Izod:
Safehinge, Scotland
Supported by: The Prince's Scottish Youth
Business Trust
Almost everyone has experienced the pain of trapping their
fingers in a door, but very few have been inspired to do anything
about it once the swelling has gone down.
However, young entrepreneurs Philip Ross and
Martin Izod decided to combat just that problem, spending years
developing a revolutionary hinge that prevents fingers becoming
trapped in doors.
Five years ago Philip and Martin, now both 25,
took part in a product design engineering course and competition
run between the University of Glasgow and the Glasgow School of
Art. While interviewing a local hospital doctor, they discovered
that some 2% of children’s admissions to the hospital’s accident
and emergency department were because of trapped fingers - the
highest single cause for admissions among children.
Currently, Philip and Martin have patents
pending for a ball and socket connection between a door and a wall
that prevents a gap being formed to tempt stray fingers. Already,
they have struck a deal with one of the country’s largest door
manufacturers, and are also working with many other manufacturers
and through a distributor in pursuit of preventing very painful,
potentially debilitating, accidents.
The product was officially launched in
November 2008 and Safehinge is already being incorporated into a
number of schools’ construction projects throughout the UK.
The long-term future of Safehinge looks bright
with strong support from the architectural industry, as well as new
public health innovations being developed by Philip and
Martin.
More about the
Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2009