Edinburgh innovators to appear on Dragons' Den

Two Edinburgh innovators are hoping to tempt investors Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Nick Jenkins, Sarah Willingham and Touker Suleyman to part with a five-figure sum of cash when they appear on BBC TV's Dragons' Den.
By The Newsroom
Published 2nd Sep 2016, 10:45 BST
Updated 2nd Sep 2016, 11:49 BST

This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.

Former Edinburgh University students will need to impress the Dragons. Picture; contributedFormer Edinburgh University students will need to impress the Dragons. Picture; contributed
Former Edinburgh University students will need to impress the Dragons. Picture; contributed

DOWNLOAD THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS APP ON ITUNES OR GOOGLE PLAY

University of Edinburgh graduate Artur Napiorowski and his business partner, Denny Schenk, are set to appear on the show this Sunday, after making it through a tough initial pitching process with their innovative product ‘Retromixer’.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Their product is a mixing adapter for separate taps for hot and cold water which, as well as being convenient, improves sustainability by reducing water consumption by up to 50 per cent.

Polish-born Artur, who studied at the University of Edinburgh’s School of Engineering, explained: “Separate taps are wasteful and considered by many to be extremely inconvenient.

“This is especially true of foreign visitors, expats, and international students, who aren’t used to this kind of set-up.

“Our product – Retromixer – is inexpensive, quick and easy to install. It’s also compatible with all kinds of spout shapes and is adjustable to different distances between the two taps.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“By connecting the two water streams, Retromixer reduces water consumption by up to 50 per cent.”

The dynamic duo, which developed Retromixer with the support of the Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Innovation’s (ECCI) Low Carbon Ideas Lab, has already been shortlisted for a string of awards.

A crowdfunding campaign to get the product up and running raised more than £4.000, with more than 190 backers and 200 pre=orders.

The first batch of the product, was sold in the Edinburgh University Student Association (EUSA) shop at Kings Buildings Campus, as well as three other stores.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Artur and Denny are now keen to start producing and selling Retromixer on a larger scale and hope their appearance on Dragons’ Den will help to raise brand awareness.

Denny said: “We can’t believe we’ve made it onto Dragons’ Den and are really grateful for the opportunity.

“We hope that everyone will tune in and support us.”

The episode is set to air on Sunday, September 4 on BBC Two at 9pm.

Related topics:Edinburgh