Monday 3 October 2011

Profile on… Spiroll Heated Rollers

Janis Eagle of Spiroll Heated Rollers recently spoke to the AIC about the company’s journey along the commercialisation pathway. The company has developed a new design of hair tool, using an innovative shape and design.

1)    Briefly describe your business
Spiroll Heated Rollers is a new design of hair tool.  The uniqueness of this design lies in its conical shape with a matching clip which all heat up together. The roller can be applied to almost any hair length with different applications which create different curl results quickly and easily.  Because the clip is a hot and is applied on to the hair once it has been wound on the heated roller, it cools down in the same position this creates longer stronger lasting curls. There is no tool that can do all this.

Spiroll is sold online to the consumer as well as to and through salons. Where I can, I go out to salons to do one-on-one training.  I launched Spiroll Heated Rollers in April 2011 in Australia and have allowed Wahl agencies in the UK to market and distribute my product.  They have just launched their first 5,000 units in July 2011. As part of their marketing, they also train the trainers. Other interested parties have been testing the product elsewhere in Europe.

2)    How did you generate the idea?
As a hairstylist for many years, and the love I have for curls, I saw the need for a tool that could mimic natural tapers and twists in the hair, as natural hair often does.  To date we only had limiting cylindrical rollers. I wanted a conical shape to allow me to create more tapered curl results.

3)    What made you decide to progress it from just an idea to a real business?
When the day came where I had to 100% commit or quit, I knew I had to keep going because if I didn’t I knew someone else would.  The market research had been showing the upward trends in curls for the last 5 years.  In 2009 at the Sydney hair expo the buzz was that our industry was looking for the next best curling tool. Straightening irons were on the downturn and not that easy to curl with, as well as being time consuming.  I was so excited to see that what was on offer didn't compare and in my view was not any real competition to Spiroll. I believed very much in my design and how popular it would be, so it was a must to continue.

4)    What were the main challenges faced?
The challenges were so many. Research, plastics, prototyping, graphic designer, websites, marketing and lots of communication via the internet - it was an unknown world to me. Don't laugh but the yellow pages were my start to find plastics and the internet certainly is a good tool.  I would have to say the most difficult was finding the manufacturer, connecting to the big companies internationally, finding a good Patent Attorney, continually working the day job to fund the project and being a single mum to-boot! Though I must add being a woman with a women’s hair tool in a male driven business industry was quite a challenge too.   I was berated in a manner of '' what would you know!'' by a few males which was very disappointing, but of course made me push even harder.  And of course my many clients and hair representatives over the years always loved the concept.  Access to a mentor more often would have been a wonderful asset.

5)    What tips would you pass on to other entrepreneurs who are starting out?
Always research your idea thoroughly, then make some inexpensive prototypes and give it the ' crash test dummy ' style of testing. Don't expect it to happen overnight or expect other people to do it for you. What I mean by that is that you will need to enlist people with skills you don't possess, but you are the one that has to take control and make the hard decisions and take the responsibility and do all the work.  Then if you really believe that there is a need for your concept and the market is lacking, go for it. Keeping in mind at all times that you may win or lose in the task at hand. If you succeed, fantastic, if you don’t, accept that you tried.

6)    Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have done differently?
To do something differently than what you have already done. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, isn't it?!

That said, yes, I would have spoken up more, asked many, many more questions and not felt intimidated by people I thought knew more than me and be a little more cautious of people who said they knew more than me.

7)    Where do you see the business in 5 years’ time?
I see the Spiroll Heated Rollers company in Australia managing distribution online and through all salons in the country for use and for retail to the customers. Wahl Agencies has just launch Spiroll Heated Rollers in July 2011 in the UK. I expect that to spread throughout Europe and the US. I then anticipate on moving forward on the low end and the high end designs that I have on the drawing board.

8)    What would you suggest that the AIC strives to tell government in Australia about commercialisation?
I believe the Government needs to recognise that many innovators like myself are trade-based people who have spent their life training apprentices and running businesses. We work with tools and people all day long, but Government initiatives expect us to be able to navigate red tape like a politician might do. This is not going to happen. They need people at grass roots level to help assist people like me whether it be with mentoring or applying for grant money. The business plan and application structures and costings are often out of reach and unrealistic.  

9)    If you could have been responsible for any innovation, what would it be and why?
Spiroll of course, I just love curling my hair with it and doing my clients as well. Next to that, Post-It notes, I use so many!

10)    Which entrepreneur do you most admire and why?
Oprah and Donald Trump. They both have at some point in their life risen from adversity and built an empire to inspire and to assist other people.

www.spirollheatedrollers.com.au
 

< Back