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Entrepreneurs - Neil O'Neil

Neil O'Neil

Poweridge Limited

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Neil in the Den http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/media/emp/playlists/entrepreneurs/neiloneil.xml
The video pitch http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/media/emp/playlists/pitches/neiloneil_4x3.xml

Name	Neil O'Neil
Pitching	Poweridge Limited
Investment Required	拢50,000
Equity Offered	12%
Brief Description	A horizontal wind turbine that is placed under the ridge tile of a roof

Glossary terms:

What happened to Neil in the Online Den?

Neil breezes in and delivers a confident pitch with gusto. He ends with a flourish, teasing the Dragons with the prospect of tax free profits.

American Dragon Julie Myer has been left with some fundamental questions about how the invention works as wind power cannot be relied on consistently. Neil, clearly knowledgeable on the subject, explains that the device would never power all the needs of a typical house, but with a battery setup could maybe power the lights.

Shaf Rasul wants to know about the cost. Neil informs him each mini turbine will cost 拢20 - 拢22 per unit and that about 25 would need to be fitted under ridge tiles to cover an average semi.

The inventor is again pressed on whether it could run the lights of a whole house and he claims that as long as a household is economic with its lights there is a good chance it could.

The investment is - invest 拢50,000 and there's a snowball's chance in hell that I might invent the green product

Shaf gazes into his crystal ball

Shaf can't see how investing 拢50,000 in this a very high risk venture will make him money. Even the inventors repeated claim of tax free profits fail to convince him.

But Julie is curious and wants to know more about the tax free benefits.

Neil explains he wants the company to be registered as an Enterprise Investment Scheme. Julie reveals that all her companies are EIS registered. Neil goes to great lengths to explain to an impassive Shaf that profits are tax free and if the company fails the investors will still get their money back.

Neil triumphs the invention as zero risk with maximum profits.

After a brief resume of the entrepreneur鈥檚 colourful back story Julie Meyer concedes she likes the inventor but not the invention. She can see he has had lots of ideas but none have made any serious money. Dragons are in the Den to make a profit and for that reason she's out.

Shaf wants to know more about Neil's other businesses. He proposes that with another business the entrepreneur could finance the Poweridge development. To have not done so suggests to the Dragon that Neil doubts his own product.

Rattled, Neil makes a last ditch attempt to salvage his chances, pleading that business contacts are more important to him than the money he is requesting. Shaf Rasul admits Neil is a great salesman but if he's not in the Den for the money then he shouldn't be here. He is out.

Neil's blown it. He has failed to convince the Dragons of his commitment to the project and he leaves the Den empty handed.

The deal done in the Den:

No investment

Last updated: 31st March 2010

Comments

1. At on 01 Mar 2010, Dorijan Santini wrote:
Seems like a good idea, our planet need more clean energy sources, especially in windy areas.

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2. At on 02 Mar 2010, Raffaello wrote:
Great intrusive innovative concept. I hope it gets a chance to be proven

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3. At on 04 Mar 2010, Tommy wrote:
Genius! And a great green concept... Would love to see what the Dragons think

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4. At on 01 Apr 2010, The_Reverend wrote:
Regarding the second comment - is this the same Raffaello that Mr O'Neil mentioned in his pitch? Nice PR skillz. ;)

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5. At on 14 Apr 2010, onlooker wrote:
is the unit expensive to make -this to me looks like a very productive energy saging invention -has it been tested -it looks like a good product which some work has gone into

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6. At on 24 Apr 2010, st wrote:
Great idea in practice but it will never work and i bet it can t even run a tv of for 5mins.

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7. At on 10 May 2010, Charles Leman wrote:
It seems so simple but so effective. No sure he and Shaf got on...I'd like to know what happened off camera. Can't believe he offered tax free profits and and little or no risk and they didn't go for it??? Hope somebody with a vision can see its benefits

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8. At on 18 May 2010, JP wrote:
Potentially a great British invention. That said 拢50,000 is small fry when compared to the billions that could be saved on a global basis.

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9. At on 18 May 2010, richard1844 wrote:
I think that this is a great product. At school we are always trying to show the pupils how energy can be produced and this seeme to fit the bill.

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10. At on 18 May 2010, Gary wrote:
This looks like a great idea, why is nobody interested in taking limited risks for 'green' business issues? This is an idea that merits further research and development to help out future generations.

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11. At on 18 May 2010, langford wrote:
We all need to save energy and this is a great invention to help us all

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12. At on 19 May 2010, mike_sheehan wrote:
The dragons seem blinkered by short term money objectives; with investment and marketing this product could become ubiquitous without being an obtrusive eye sore.

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13. At on 19 May 2010, the-cats-mother wrote:
I think this is a fantastic idea. The dragons would be daft if they didn't support this very green method of energy generation, added to the tax free offer Neil is offering, and a 12% bit of the company and they are laughing ... and there was that other 2nd offer he did not wish to discuss on camera ... what's up your sleeve Mr O'Neil - wish I was a dragon.

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14. At on 21 May 2010, boxmanbrum wrote:
This is a great idea and should be incorporated into the design of all new houses. Mass production should drive the costs down and with possible Government tax relief for investment in green energy schemes for householders this could be a winner!

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15. At on 14 Jun 2010, PrimeSiteUK wrote:
Nice idea, suggest you add batteries (car type) into loft space and wire to main boards so whenever there is a powercut, your system will kick in. One point though; your prototype roof let the pitch down as clearly, it did not 'sit' into place thus stood out. Redesign it better so it looks 'seamless'. Nice idea though ;-)

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Entrepreneurs - Neil O'Neil

Neil O'Neil