Case study: heartdesign

heartdesign, a new company founded by David Hill was awarded the winner of the Business Start-up 2008 Business Concept Competition (pre-trading) for the new invention of the Helping Hands knitting aid.

The annual competition gives students and graduates of Leeds Met the opportunity to work on their business idea and turn it into reality. Entrants were asked to submit a summary of their business idea in January and five finalists were chosen to pitch their idea to a panel of judges in the style of the BBC's Dragons' Den.

Helping Hands is the creative solution for knitters seeking that little extra ‘helping hand'. The gadget was developed with guidance from occupational therapists and members of the national charity Arthritis Care and is designed to take stress off the wrist so that you can remain in control of your knitting.

David impressed the judges of the competition with how quick he got his unique product to market and his entrepreneurial approach to the development of the product. As a result of his inspiring pitch he was awarded £2000 in prize money.

“I am delighted to have won the Business Concept Competition as all the finalists seemed to have great business ideas. The prize money and the feedback I have gained from the competition will open up a variety of possibilities for my business and I can't wait to get the ball rolling” David said.

Following his success, David went on to represent Leeds Metropolitan University at the Regional Enterprise Awards on 9th April 2008 in Hull, finishing runner up. This competition brings together winners from business competitions in each of the eleven Yorkshire universities to compete against each other.

Since the competition David’s Helping Hand product has gone to market and the knitting aid is available to buy through the website. The product has impressed those in knitting circles, and many magazines that cover this area have given very positive reviews. Knit Today said “So many people have been excited by this new and innovative product”, and Simply Knitting have described it as an “ingenious device”.

For more information about the Helping Hands knitting aid please visit their website www.heartdesign.co.uk

Updated August 2008