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Amber, thanks for joining me today on the NatWest Unnoticed Entrepreneur Podcast Series.
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Well, thank you for having me.
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I'm really excited to have this great conversation together.
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Well, you are solving a problem that affects half the world, you know all women that struggle when it comes to large events, and the first urinal male urinal was invented in 1866.
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But you've got a solution now for women, so do you want to tell us what business you're building, and then we'll talk a little bit more about you and your background.
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Love to.
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Yeah, so myself and Hazel, we've created Piqua, and Piqua is the UK's first squat-and-go women's urinal, and what we do is we get women out of the queues and back to the event so they're not missing out on their favorite acts or delaying their start times for marathons, or having to go further afield and have a wild wee where it's a bit unsafe, you know, really creating equal access to facilities, and we consider women's time as equal to men's time.
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So that's why we're really passionate about what we do.
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Yeah, what a wonderful, wonderful mission that you've got.
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And I said as a father of two daughters, and I have three sisters and five nieces.
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Yeah, you know the problem.
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I know the problem of waiting around for them actually.
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That's right, so it's benefiting everybody.
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Piqul, tell us then the backstory.
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How did you and your co-founder, hazel, start the business?
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then we'll talk about some of the challenges that you faced along the way and successes you've been having so in our master's year at bristol university, haze and I collaborated in our fourth and final year and the project was to solve a real world problem.
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So in our summers we'd work at festivals and in our breaks we'd have to choose between going to the loo or getting food just because the toilet queues were that long.
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So you'd have to really compromise on what you needed, and so we thought surely there's a better way.
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Let's just see what we can do, push some doors, be curious and sort of see if there's any kind of solutions out there already.
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So when we did the project and we were going through the secondary death research, we just realized there was nothing out there and we're like, oh my goodness, this is a massive gap.
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There's no innovation, there's no investment assigned to this.
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There's huge taboo around women's sanitation and it's actually very unsexy and women are very linked to being sexy.
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So if you don't want to talk about it, it's this huge taboo around.
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You know women's sanitation.
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So we were like, gosh, someone needs to do something about this.
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So why not us?
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So that's sort of where it kicked off it was.
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That was very a big conviction point, and then, ever since then, we've been speaking to millions of women, hundreds and millions of women, about getting this, getting this to be a standard facility why do you think that women's urinals have taken this long?
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you said it's been um unsexy.
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Yeah, has it also been something that's not been interesting to you?
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Know?
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inventors to vcs yeah, so the one point is that you know we sexualize women, so we don't want that associated.
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We don't want any kind of bodily liquid associated with women.
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So even in our language we'd say I'm going to the powder room, you know I'm going to powder my nose instead of going to the toilet.
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Or you know, you see these slight changes in our language even to sort of disconnect women from sanitation.
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Um, so there's like taboo around that.
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But then there's also lack of investment in this space, because at the moment it's very obvious that a lot of investors out there are men and this problem doesn't impact them very much, so the investment is less funneled towards women's sanitation or women's health tech.
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Yeah, there's a big barrier there for female founders to get investment.
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So, yeah, for a long time now it hasn't been a priority.
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Um, there's lots of other barriers as well, but those are two main ones yeah, I mean.
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So you've got, I think, the statistically less than one percent of all funding goes to women.
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Yeah, when it comes to, you know, investments, plus, you've got the like, the unsexiness of women's sanitation, yeah, being not high on people's agenda.
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And I guess you can't use technology perhaps in the same way to get scales and so on.
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Yeah, why did you and hazel think that you could solve this problem where, in 160 years, no one else has even come close?
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I mean, I think it was that conviction that we had, like, when we realized there was nothing out there and it was like a bit baffling, you kind of surprised yourself and you sort of realized that this is a normalized inequality that us ourselves have been drawn into.
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You know, it's something that we know the problem we feel the pain waiting in the queues, but yet we've just stood about thinking, oh, someone else will do something about it.
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But then you get this conviction of, like gosh, something needs to happen, so let's see if we can do it, let's, why not us?
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That kind of attitude of why not us, if not us?
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Who?
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You know, that kind of the powerful, convicting language that you hear.
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It was that kind of moment, and then we just have been curious and been running with it ever since.
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Well, I think it's amazing that you found such a huge problem that no one had addressed, but also that the scale of the problem didn't intimidate you and Hazel.
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I think there was a bit of naivety at the beginning, to be honest, which was actually a protective thing, because if you knew what we were getting into, I don't know if we'd even started.
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But yeah, I think it is massive and sometimes it is intimidating to think about.
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We're actually changing industries, we're changing language, you know we're changing expectations and budget allocation and you know there's so many important things that people addresses and challenges, and so that's a big responsibility.
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So, yeah, I think the naivety I wish we had a bit more of that at the moment but yeah, it is a huge opportunity.
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You had a huge opportunity and we'll talk about how you got there in time.
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But just for anyone watching or listening, you have just served the London marathon.
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Yes, so you've had literally tens of thousands of people go through PCOR.
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So for anyone listening, this is a true story of a couple of women founders changing the way that events and even society operate.
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So I do want to call that out.
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So one listening goes wow, that's amazing.
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Let's stick around and listen to this story.
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So you and Hazel university find a real world problem, unlike just submitting your thesis and then getting jobs and say, well, we found the problem, but we decided not to tackle it.
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You have decided to tackle it.
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You have decided to tackle it.
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Can you just take us through the steps?
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the stages that you've gone from university thesis to actually delivering these P-Col urinals to the London Marathon.
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Sure, I mean, there's so many stages and so many things I could talk about, but to condense it down.
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So after university, Hazel and I did get full-time jobs.
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I got a job at an innovation consultancy and Hazel got a job with oh my goodness, I've forgotten the company now.
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An important company, Very important company sustainable company Sorry, hazel.
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And we did that in our days.
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And then we worked on Pequil in our mornings and our evenings to sort of keep going and keep pushing, getting more research, talking to more people, more customers, and so that was how we funded the sort of our work on Pequil.
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Right at the start, we were also applying for grants and competitions where you'd win 500 quid there, 200 quid here, so that would sort of tie us over, um right at the start.
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And then, um, we managed to get a grant from the University of Bristol that enabled us to go full-time, so we were able to quit our jobs, which is an incredible feeling.
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To you know, focus the best hours of your day on what you really want to do.
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Um.
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And then we made lots and lots of prototypes.
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So we were already making cardboard prototypes and 3d prints, but then we made two scale prototypes that we took to covid safe events.
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This was in 2021, um, and we took our large scale prototypes to get real feedback from women at these events, because you can talk about it all you want, but as soon as you go to an event, get your feet on the ground.
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That's when you get your real feedback.
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So it was fantastic.
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So the first one we went to was on the Downs in Bristol.
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Um, it was a comedy garden festival and, um, we had the BBC feature us.
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It was a fantastic opportunity because it meant that we won the front page of the BBC with this um made out of scrap material prototype.
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Basically because we had no money and that meant we had customers internationally reaching out to us saying how do we get you to the US?
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I want you in Malaysia, literally.
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It was incredible the demand that we were able to showcase and that was a big point for us because it meant that when we went for investment, we had all this sort of that.
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All these customers lined meant that when we went for investment, we had all this sort of that, all these customers lined up that showed the demand for our product like this.
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So lots of prototyping.
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And then the next step was raise investment.
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Um, and this was in covid.
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So lots of zoom meetings, lots of dodgy wi-fi, which was not fun, very triggering, but we did manage to raise 250K in COVID for an event-based business.
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So you know that's no small thing and we often think about that.
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How do we do that?
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But we had some incredible investors and that still back us today.
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And, yeah, that allowed us to manufacture the product in the UK and then be able to launch at Glastonbury in 2022.
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I could keep going but that that's Well, what an amazing story.
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So it sounds as though you managed to really tap into a zeitgeist where, although it hadn't been developed, everyone saw the need.
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Yes, that's right, and COVID actually helped in some ways, because it was a chance for festivals and events to rethink their sustainability and to look to switch up their solutions, and so people were a bit more open to change, a bit more open to trying new things instead of sort of the same old rigmarole.
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So, yeah, in that way it really did help us and also because we're so much more hygienic than portable toilets, it meant that because covid had just happened, everyone was looking for sanitary options, so it was another sort of arrow in our in our boat yeah, like for those people that aren't familiar with how a woman's urinal works, I I don't know whether it's possible to say paint us a picture in words yes, I try my best yeah, so that people can visualize, of course yeah, so it is a standalone facility so you don't have to hold anything.
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It's not a funnel.
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You just step into this facility and pop a squat, you pee into this thing called the pedestal, which is anti-splashback, and it's really comfortable for all squat heights.
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We've tested this thoroughly and there's a handle if you want support and you just pop a squat and pee, squat and go.
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It's that simple.
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It's a designated safe space for women to go for a wee, just like the equivalent of male urinals.
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Uh, it's.
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What's the key thing about peak quiz is the efficiency.
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So we've designed it to be 2.7 times faster than a portable toilet, which means women are in and out of those queues like no.
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Tomorrow means that you get back to the event without having to miss out on anything.
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Um and those, those, um.
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That efficiency has been made real because of things like the pedestal being just squat and go.
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You'd have to touch the thing, clean anything down.
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It's overlapping doors instead of like a lockable door and it's semi-private.
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This is the important thing.
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It means that when you're standing up, you can be seen from the waist up, so it's really fun.
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You can wave at your friends, um, but then when you're peeing, you're popping up.
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You can be seen from the waist up, so it's really fun.
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You can wave at your friends.
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But then when you're peeing, you're popping a squat.
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You can't be seen by anyone and that means you're fully private.
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It means that you're incentivized to just pee and go.
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You're not checking your phone, you're not doing anything else in the toilet, you're just peeing.
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You said something there which made me think of you and Hazel as engineers, which is about the micro moments and makes me think about the idea of the frictionless customer experience.
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We remove anything that's a bottleneck, and you've identified time as being the give back for the customer.
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How did you light upon what you're calling micro moments as being one of the keys to success?
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I think we just knew that we needed to make it more efficient some way.
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So we were trying to tackle what, what was it that was slowing this process down and then try to re-out, design it basically, um, and that's shown throughout our journey, because we're actually launching a version five next year.
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So, you know, not just version one, not two, not not three, not four, but five.
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And that's just micro improvements that we've made to make the product a lot more efficient, a lot more desirable for the user to use.
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So, yeah, it's just constant iteration and improvement to make it even more efficient.
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So let's talk, then, about the move from raising money and making these things yourself, these urinals yourself, to commercialization, because it's one thing to have a great idea and get people saying, hey, can you deliver it.
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It's another game altogether when there are two of you in Bristol and you're delivering urinals to Glastonbury, for example, or to the marathon in London.
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How did you and Hazel overcome the really the transition from idea and prototype into delivered commercial product?
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um, I think a big moment was when we started manufacturing from the UK.
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So it went from building the prototypes ourselves to an established rotational moulding factory producing the product for us, and that was the product that we had ready for Glastonbury.
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However, there is a story here.
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You know, one of those barriers that you, as founders, always have to come up against.
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Unfortunately, the manufacturers made half of the product, so they made the tanks but not the walls.
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So if we had just gone ahead, we wouldn't have been able to do Glastonbury that year.
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So, as gritty founders that we are, we were like no, this has to happen.
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How do we get to Glastonbury?
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How do we make sure that we do this?
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Launch Women access?
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How do we get to Glastonbury?
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How do we make sure that we do this?
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Launch women access, this product?
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So we got loads of our friends together.
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We, we ordered some scaffold, loads of allen keys and some foam boards and we basically built the walls ourselves I think over 300 walls over a weekend or two, and our you know, new employees they also gave up their weekends to join us, and it was just this big team effort that enabled these walls to be made.
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And we got to Glastonbury and we launched there and it was significantly successful.
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We were on Women's Hour, we sort of hit huge BBC outlets.
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It was incredible and we got to prove that this is something women love and really want to see more of, and that those walls we actually took throughout the whole of 2022.
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It wasn't just Glastonbury, so the manufacturers actually couldn't have produced those walls for any of the other events either.
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So it just shows you just have to really dig deep and think how can we actually make this happen?
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As a founder, you're like so stubbornly passionate about what needs to go next.
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So, yeah, that was.
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That was a really big moment of going from just prototyping to commercialization can I ask what went wrong with the procurement process that the manufacturer didn't deliver?
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because I wish I knew.
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Okay, there's multiple reasons.
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You know things that you can't help like.
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You know, one of the tool makers was sick for three weeks, delaying production, you know, or some a big order took longer than they anticipated before our order, pushing ours back.
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You know, there's just so many things that you can't control with manufacturing and so, yeah, that buffer time was just eaten up.
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But you know, we've learned a lot from it and you know we we do enjoy, um, not having to make ourselves.
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You know we do enjoy working with manufacturers that have those skills to make sure we can commercialize.
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But, um, yeah, we're excited to be producing version five in poland year.
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So we went out there last year and we absolutely loved it and it was a fantastic factory where they've got everything run to a T.
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We really enjoyed their business, their manufacturing.
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Okay, obviously it's a bit disappointing that in the UK you won't be able to find someone to deliver, that you've had to go to Europe.
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But what I will ask you is a cash flow question, because when you commercialize you've got the quarter of a million but you've got a team.
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You've got you and Hazel.
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How are you able to structure the cash flow to carry you through?
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Because if you have a manufacturer that doesn't deliver but you've probably got a commitment to glass debris, for example, yes for me, anyway, the stress is when I'm trying to arbitrage the relationships between a customer and a supplier.
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Right as an entrepreneur, you get stuck between what you promise one person you'll deliver and what someone else promised yeah, you'll deliver, and you're expressing how you.
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You bridge the gap by just sheer force of character and appetite of risk, isn't it?
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Exactly.
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Yeah, can you just take us through how you solved, how you dealt with that practically or emotionally, because I think often people look at entrepreneurs oh well, they, they were there and they got to there, but there's there's a lot of challenges, not just the physical but the financial.
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Yeah, I mean from a cash flow perspective, what we ask of our customers is 50 up front, so as soon as they book, and then 30 30 days before the event and then 20 seven days after.
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So we get a large percentage of the cash up front before the event actually happens, which means that we have that cash flow coming in significantly throughout the year and that really helps us sort of prepare for those events and tie us over.
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But we have raised a second round of investment with from since 2022 till now, and we are currently raising investment around now.
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So you know we are constantly looking for new investors.
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So if anyone's listening that wants to back people, please reach out to us, because we always want to start new relationships with new investors.
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And, yeah, see how we can get Pequil international.
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Okay, that's wonderful, amber.
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So let's think about investors.
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Will love the product, yes, and half the world.
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Let's face it half or over half the world needs what you're offering.
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But investors also look at the founders and the relationship between the founders.
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Can we just talk a little bit about how you and Hazel operate, because that can make or break a business.
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Yeah, I think well for PQOL, our relationship has made the business happen.
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So, you know, both of us would say we don't want to do this on our own.
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This is something that we've entered into together, this is something that we both really believe in, really want to see happen.
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You know the off the back of the London Marathon.
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You know we were collecting the urine to turn into fertilizer and we were there on the ground actually collecting the urine ourselves.
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And you know you have these moments of, like, shared experience.
00:19:39.330 --> 00:19:42.520
You're like nobody else understands me like you do.
00:19:42.520 --> 00:19:45.146
No one else gets the grind like you do.
00:19:45.146 --> 00:19:57.301
And it's this very rare relationship where you challenge each other, where you care for each other, where you really grind and see that strain with each other and try and support each other in the best way you can.
00:19:57.301 --> 00:20:01.853
Um, I don't know any other relationship in my life that's like this one.
00:20:02.560 --> 00:20:11.125
Um, but yeah, we, we shoulder each other, you know, and you have to be constantly communicating to to let each other know where you're at, even today.
00:20:11.125 --> 00:20:17.425
You know, communicating where our mood's at in the day, like, oh, I think I need to just have a break, have a drink, get a cup of tea.
00:20:17.425 --> 00:20:19.373
Um, disclaiming.
00:20:19.373 --> 00:20:20.917
You know, today I feel a bit rough.
00:20:20.917 --> 00:20:21.961
You know that kind of thing.
00:20:21.961 --> 00:20:28.800
It's the day-to-day communication that makes your sort of relationship reliable and steady.
00:20:28.800 --> 00:20:34.130
And, um, trust, trusting, and I think, yeah, both of us treasure.
00:20:34.130 --> 00:20:39.404
Treasure it, because I have got friends that are solo founders and it is a big struggle, you know.
00:20:39.404 --> 00:20:44.143
It's isolating, it means that you don't feel as understood by your peers.
00:20:44.143 --> 00:20:53.792
There's there's a lot of positives as well, but I know from experience that having a co-founder is significantly better yeah, well, there's old old saying, isn't there?
00:20:53.813 --> 00:20:57.905
if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go further, yeah, go with others.
00:20:57.905 --> 00:21:17.153
When you look now at people and you know the role that you two have been able to play and the community that you found in the accelerator, yeah you've come both as students yeah and I think not it wasn't from a business studies background.
00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:22.387
No, no, I studied anthropology with innovation, Hazel studied physics with innovation.
00:21:22.387 --> 00:21:26.590
So you know we both had sort of creativity in our blood.
00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:45.883
You know we've been creating dens and go-karts and small business projects on the side all the time, but no, not like a business background necessarily the side all the time, but, um, no, not like a business background necessarily, and so what are some of the ways that you've got involved with the accelerator and how that's helped to to grow people into the?
00:21:45.923 --> 00:22:00.026
kind of business that it's becoming I think a big thing about the accelerator is sharing in the challenges that you're facing, um, because, like I mentioned, nobody else quite understands you like another founder does.
00:22:00.026 --> 00:22:13.488
Um, and sharing those struggles is like quite a vulnerable thing to do and if someone can help you in that, in that position, you'll, you know, you feel so grateful, you feel so supported and and backed.
00:22:13.488 --> 00:22:16.093
You know, I think there's this real feeling of fight.
00:22:16.093 --> 00:22:22.423
If you're a founder, you're constantly like come on, I want to create something, and it can be really difficult to create something.
00:22:22.423 --> 00:22:29.273
So if someone's got your back and says, hey, I can connect you with this person or hey, don't worry about it, I've been there and you'll get, you'll get through it.
00:22:29.935 --> 00:22:33.786
That is massive and it's not to be underestimated to have that support system.
00:22:33.786 --> 00:22:34.386
So.
00:22:34.386 --> 00:22:41.467
So for us, it was that greater support system underneath Piquil that allowed us to reach out to people and be like what did you do when you hit this wall?
00:22:41.467 --> 00:22:43.747
How did you get over that hurdle?
00:22:43.747 --> 00:22:47.180
And then us allowing us to do the same for others.
00:22:47.180 --> 00:22:50.150
If we could help others, we would pass that on and do the same.
00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:54.691
So would you say that, even if you have a founder, like you and Hazel have?
00:22:59.040 --> 00:23:00.231
being part of a broader community brings some benefits.
00:23:00.231 --> 00:23:01.019
The perspective, I think, is key.
00:23:01.019 --> 00:23:02.665
We always talk about perspective.
00:23:02.665 --> 00:23:09.493
If you're just working on your business and you're working from home quite a lot, you can be quite insulated.
00:23:09.493 --> 00:23:10.945
You can lose perspective.
00:23:10.945 --> 00:23:14.038
So when you come into spaces like this and you ask what's your business, what are you going through at the moment?
00:23:14.038 --> 00:23:14.402
Who are you talking to?
00:23:14.402 --> 00:23:15.344
So when you come into spaces like this and you ask what?
00:23:15.344 --> 00:23:15.734
What's your business?
00:23:15.734 --> 00:23:23.223
You know, what are you going through at the moment, who are you talking to, it kind of opens you up to be a lot more um, grateful.
00:23:23.223 --> 00:23:23.884
In a way.
00:23:23.884 --> 00:23:26.531
You sort of understand hey, let's celebrate these wins.
00:23:26.531 --> 00:23:29.104
You know, the London Marathon just happened, what like?
00:23:29.104 --> 00:23:31.690
We were dreaming of this three years ago, you know.
00:23:31.790 --> 00:23:40.729
So I think perspective is one of the most important things as a founder and, as you say, you've got the perspective of everyone here supporting you too, haven't you?
00:23:40.729 --> 00:23:49.561
I think that, uh, even as being on the podcast here, yeah, people are celebrating and in your corner it's wonderful to have you and hazel and, I guess, family and friends.
00:23:49.561 --> 00:23:56.807
What about the the mindset shift that you two are having to go through now?
00:23:56.807 --> 00:24:03.173
Because, as the company grows and you've got pitches out to investors and you're going to go for more.
00:24:04.854 --> 00:24:09.758
What are you having to think about differently now as an entrepreneur?
00:24:09.758 --> 00:24:12.087
Because it's not been that long, in fairness.
00:24:12.087 --> 00:24:15.691
I mean, you launched the first project in 2020, I think it was 2021.
00:24:15.691 --> 00:24:24.586
We're in 2025, so you've actually accomplished a huge amount in a short amount of time.
00:24:24.586 --> 00:24:25.326
Thank you, yeah, it's incredible.
00:24:25.326 --> 00:24:28.252
What mindset changes have you had to make and how are you making those?
00:24:29.761 --> 00:24:30.502
good question.
00:24:30.502 --> 00:24:35.489
Um, I think I'll.
00:24:35.489 --> 00:24:54.303
I want to rephrase it the mindset things I want to keep okay, um, because I think that's what has let, has meant the business continues is to sort of hold on to traits like the passion, the grittiness, these sort of like personal qualities that have actually enabled the business to keep going.
00:24:54.303 --> 00:24:56.165
Um, that's, those are the mindset qualities that have actually enabled the business to keep going.
00:24:56.165 --> 00:25:00.238
Um, that's, those are the mindset qualities that have really enabled our business to thrive.
00:25:00.238 --> 00:25:03.968
Because this grittiness you don't find it in lots of people.
00:25:03.968 --> 00:25:09.166
The grittiness that it takes to sort of do the really hard work that no one else wants to do.
00:25:09.166 --> 00:25:13.905
You know to be the last person at the end of the day, to to clear up the cups.
00:25:13.905 --> 00:25:15.730
You know to do the things nobody sees.
00:25:15.730 --> 00:25:25.369
I think you need that grit and that conviction, passion, and those are the things I want to have throughout my whole life, not just running this business but in every aspect of life.
00:25:25.369 --> 00:25:27.906
But, um, those are the things I want to keep.
00:25:27.906 --> 00:25:30.077
Sorry, I rephrased your question there.
00:25:30.097 --> 00:25:30.480
That's okay.
00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:39.134
In a way, that's probably, uh, the hallmark of why you're such a great entrepreneur, because you're staying very true to your core values.
00:25:39.134 --> 00:25:43.567
Right, it needs to be done, and you've got this higher sense of purpose.
00:25:43.848 --> 00:25:44.250
That's right.
00:25:44.250 --> 00:25:47.470
The purpose point is a really it's what drives us.
00:25:47.470 --> 00:25:50.708
It's not just clickbait, it's something that we really believe in.
00:25:50.708 --> 00:25:55.853
It really is what keeps us going and why, when it's so hard, we do keep going.
00:25:55.853 --> 00:26:04.413
And I think any business founder would agree that if you have purpose at the center of your business, it is that thing that keeps the engine going.
00:26:04.712 --> 00:26:21.749
Yeah, I think you're absolutely right, and the people that fall by the wayside are those who didn't really have a mission, but maybe had a motive, maybe self-interest or short-term interest, rather than the bigger picture which you've got, really just equality for women, you know looking at your website and watching the videos.
00:26:21.749 --> 00:26:30.890
But looking at the website or watching the videos, I can see the enthusiasm that women have for, frankly, the relief, right.
00:26:30.890 --> 00:26:32.445
I mean, they've been waiting a long time now.
00:26:32.445 --> 00:26:33.127
They don't have to wait.
00:26:33.520 --> 00:26:34.599
The relief is the right word.
00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:35.583
The relief is the right word.
00:26:35.603 --> 00:26:35.804
Yeah.
00:26:37.971 --> 00:26:43.824
How have you been marketing to those event companies?
00:26:43.824 --> 00:26:45.535
Because you've got some PR.
00:26:45.535 --> 00:26:47.580
Can I say PR?
00:26:47.789 --> 00:26:50.970
You've got some public relations just to qualify for that, see how many puns we can get in.
00:26:50.970 --> 00:26:52.336
Yeah, how many puns can we get in?
00:26:52.435 --> 00:26:52.857
one interview.
00:26:52.857 --> 00:27:01.163
But what about the marketing to those companies that are looking at?
00:27:01.163 --> 00:27:05.440
They've got an established port cabin provider.
00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:08.055
They've got a piece of the field that already comes to it.
00:27:08.055 --> 00:27:12.555
They sell the tickets, whether the women get a better urinal or not.
00:27:12.555 --> 00:27:16.063
You know people aren't voting with their wallets for that service.
00:27:16.063 --> 00:27:23.707
How are you getting the proposition for PQAL into the market to get people coming to buy?
00:27:24.249 --> 00:27:24.710
good question.
00:27:24.710 --> 00:27:30.407
I think we started with events that shared our values so glastonbury, for example.
00:27:30.407 --> 00:27:41.202
They're always looking to be more innovative, they're always looking to be more sustainable, they're always looking to bring something new, something fun into their event and obviously they set the bar.
00:27:41.202 --> 00:27:47.701
So we wanted to start the influential events and then it would just triple down into the rest of the industry and that's what we've seen happen.
00:27:47.701 --> 00:27:50.199
So that that was definitely the right move.
00:27:50.199 --> 00:27:54.714
But we do sort of angle our pitch to customers sometimes differently.
00:27:54.714 --> 00:27:56.461
So we do.
00:27:56.461 --> 00:28:06.385
We obviously create a better experience for the women, but we can also generate a lot more revenue for the events themselves, because when women aren't waiting in the queue, they're getting a drink.
00:28:06.385 --> 00:28:12.593
So you can see that we generate a lot more revenue for the event themselves and actually peak will pays for itself once it's there.
00:28:12.593 --> 00:28:19.692
So if a event is struggling to get more money every year, this is something that they can do too that's a good.
00:28:19.712 --> 00:28:20.134
yeah, that's good.
00:28:20.134 --> 00:28:21.856
So if they're not peeing're shopping, that's right.
00:28:21.856 --> 00:28:22.938
Which?
00:28:22.938 --> 00:28:26.785
With two daughters, and you know three sisters I think you're absolutely right.
00:28:26.785 --> 00:28:29.057
So maybe I don't want to have people.
00:28:29.057 --> 00:28:32.140
It costs me even more money when I take my daughters to it.
00:28:32.140 --> 00:28:45.490
But you said you got into Glastonbury, but there's a little bit missing that I do want to talk about, because, as an entrepreneur going, ok, you got to Glastonbury, but how did you get into Glastonbury?
00:28:45.490 --> 00:28:46.654
Because it's a huge event.
00:28:46.654 --> 00:28:50.170
They must have so many vendors pitching them, everything.
00:28:50.170 --> 00:28:53.259
So I would just love for someone to hear that might be listening to this.
00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:58.438
Ok, that is the practical step I would need to take to get the dream client.
00:28:58.438 --> 00:29:01.403
That would make the cascade of customers full.
00:29:01.403 --> 00:29:02.525
Yeah, the dream client.
00:29:02.586 --> 00:29:04.628
That would make the cascade of customers full.
00:29:04.628 --> 00:29:08.690
Yeah, so the way we approached Glastonbury was we were still students at the time and we reached out to them as, like research.
00:29:08.690 --> 00:29:11.576
We were like, can we get your advice, can we get your opinion on this design?
00:29:11.576 --> 00:29:13.436
We would love to provide this for you.
00:29:13.436 --> 00:29:15.758
What sort of size tank capacity would you like?
00:29:15.758 --> 00:29:18.077
What kind of colorful walls would you like?
00:29:18.471 --> 00:29:26.905
And actually involving them in the development process, enlisted them on the journey, and so we weren't, we weren't selling to them from the start.
00:29:26.905 --> 00:29:33.851
We were constantly keeping in touch with them and and sort of showing them the new design that we'd come up with what about this?
00:29:33.851 --> 00:29:34.894
What are your thoughts on this?
00:29:34.894 --> 00:29:48.182
And we were talking to the head of sanitation at the time and so, yeah, it was like a constant feedback loop and they gained more and more interest in Pequil and it meant that when we did have something to sell, they felt a part of ownership.
00:29:48.182 --> 00:29:51.599
They felt like, yeah, I want to see this, how this goes?
00:29:51.599 --> 00:29:53.076
I've fed into it.
00:29:53.076 --> 00:29:55.218
You know I've said that this tank should be this size.
00:29:55.218 --> 00:29:58.119
I've said that you know, women would want this kind of dimension.
00:29:58.119 --> 00:30:04.383
So that was definitely the way of getting the our first customer across the line.
00:30:04.383 --> 00:30:08.699
Um, and yeah, we, we really love our relationship with glastonbury.
00:30:08.699 --> 00:30:14.623
They, they always get all our stock every year and women absolutely love it at their events.
00:30:14.623 --> 00:30:17.212
So, yeah, that was how we sort of got that customer.
00:30:17.232 --> 00:30:26.162
It was just through relationship and through being keen okay constantly knocking on the door, and was that actually physically going down to see them, or we just found them on a website?
00:30:26.269 --> 00:30:33.191
In COVID, so it was just over the channels that we had, so it was email, phone, that kind of thing, great.
00:30:33.231 --> 00:30:39.194
So it's so important, I think, to go through the detail of how these deals get done, because for someone starting a business.
00:30:39.194 --> 00:30:42.085
It's often just that first step.
00:30:42.085 --> 00:30:45.817
That's the hardest and no one writes about.
00:30:46.218 --> 00:30:52.615
Yeah so true, I mean a lot of it is just calling people up, it's just doing the small bits and you just never know where it will go.
00:30:52.615 --> 00:31:02.558
I've got so many stories of like taxi drivers that knew an investor that they made an intro, or someone at the pub knew a manufacturer that linked me to another manufacturer that we went with.
00:31:02.558 --> 00:31:08.435
There's just so many ways of leads that you need to follow up on you have no idea where they can go.
00:31:08.809 --> 00:31:15.150
Exactly, and I think that's one of the joys of an accelerator program that you have mentors and people here.
00:31:15.150 --> 00:31:21.741
Are there any examples of how people within the accelerator community have supported you?
00:31:22.763 --> 00:31:39.820
Good question Definitely have had so many founders share their investor-like spreadsheets, A lot of them sharing networks, being like oh, I think I know this competition might be suitable for you or I know this mentor that could help tackle this problem.
00:31:39.820 --> 00:31:45.657
The network is definitely the huge advantage with this and we've benefited significantly from that.
00:31:45.657 --> 00:31:49.119
I think it's the openness founders have towards each other.
00:31:49.119 --> 00:31:53.357
It's like, if I can help you, I will, and yeah, I really love that.
00:31:53.809 --> 00:32:01.318
Okay, and I think also within NatWest, because everyone's kind of joined this community of people under the umbrella of NatWest.
00:32:01.318 --> 00:32:02.815
There's a sort of a security.
00:32:02.815 --> 00:32:05.335
People's guards are not up right.
00:32:05.335 --> 00:32:06.778
They feel like they're all part of a community.
00:32:06.778 --> 00:32:08.193
No one's trying to sell anybody anything.
00:32:08.193 --> 00:32:09.981
It's not a commercial arrangement.
00:32:09.981 --> 00:32:11.589
It's really a supportive arrangement?
00:32:11.609 --> 00:32:13.820
Absolutely, there's a lot of respect towards each other.
00:32:13.820 --> 00:32:15.106
Everyone's very respectful.
00:32:15.106 --> 00:32:21.817
Everyone knows people are working towards something or creating something that brings something good into the world, and I think you know.
00:32:21.817 --> 00:32:22.458
Can you ask for?
00:32:22.478 --> 00:32:27.565
yeah, to be surrounded by people that inspire you, motivate you and support you.
00:32:27.565 --> 00:32:30.333
Yeah, uh, that's a real dream as an entrepreneur.
00:32:30.333 --> 00:32:33.180
Speaking of dreams, amber, where in you?
00:32:33.180 --> 00:32:37.953
Where have you and hazel got in your mind for the next five years?
00:32:37.953 --> 00:32:38.634
For piqua?
00:32:39.296 --> 00:32:44.363
five years, um, so we've got lots of different potential options.
00:32:44.363 --> 00:32:52.491
Um, that will just be curious and, like we've done so far, just testing and seeing and seeing how it goes and if that's what we want to do.
00:32:52.491 --> 00:32:56.981
So there's no like hard plan but, um, we are hoping to go international.
00:32:56.981 --> 00:32:58.692
This is the next big thing.
00:32:58.692 --> 00:33:05.474
Uh, we've got so much inbound requests from the us, australia, the eu, like there's just so much possibility.
00:33:05.474 --> 00:33:15.541
So once we've manufactured the v5, we will be going to events in germany, in the netherlands, um, and so that will be where we'd be scaling up in the eu.
00:33:16.172 --> 00:33:26.363
So manufacturers in poland will be very well suited to international expansion and also working with toilet distributors to actually reach women much faster.
00:33:26.363 --> 00:33:31.537
So we could scale up in-house, we could do all the logistics ourselves and that's what we've done up till now.
00:33:31.537 --> 00:33:33.857
So, hazel and I, we've got forklift tickets.
00:33:33.857 --> 00:33:39.777
You know we've been driving the stock around site in forklifts, we've been doing the cleaning, we've been leading the teams.
00:33:39.777 --> 00:33:46.582
But actually, if we want to reach women as quickly as we want to reach them, we want this facility to be available for all.
00:33:46.582 --> 00:33:48.931
We need to start distributing with other people.
00:33:49.111 --> 00:33:54.732
So that's how we're looking at scaling up I will ask you the million dollar question, which is about ip protection.
00:33:54.732 --> 00:33:55.213
And there I go.
00:33:55.213 --> 00:34:06.515
I've got another p in there, sorry sorry, not sorry sorry ip protection, because one might think that that there's no software code, it's a design.
00:34:06.515 --> 00:34:12.181
How are you going to protect PQOL from being copied?
00:34:13.094 --> 00:34:15.250
We have multiple patents granted and filed.
00:34:15.250 --> 00:34:22.630
So from year one we filed a patent on our design, on the functionality of how it fits together, and that's been granted.
00:34:22.630 --> 00:34:24.615
That was in 2021.
00:34:24.615 --> 00:34:42.945
So that sort of you know, that sort of held us over from from the beginning and then, as our design has been developed, we've continuously filed more and more patents that have sort of broadened the umbrella of ip for peakwell, um, and that spans the uk, the EU, the US, china and Australia.
00:34:42.945 --> 00:35:05.909
So we're in a good position for IP and it's an important question because, you know, that is the next obvious thing copycats and what's the window of time before other people follow in our footsteps and yeah, that is very much on our brains to be like there is this window of time that we want to actually leap into and land grab there is this window of time that we want to actually leap into and land grab.
00:35:07.309 --> 00:35:07.791
That's great.
00:35:07.791 --> 00:35:17.719
I want to ask that question because there's been many an entrepreneur that has a great idea, commercialized it to some degree and a larger company an Armitage Shanks or someone could come along and, because they've got that heft, could steal it.
00:35:17.719 --> 00:35:34.630
So this idea of IP protection, either locally, regionally or internationally, is really important if you've got something that could be copied and actually it's remarkably low cost for the protection it gives you, even if it just creates a speed bump for anybody else, doesn't it?
00:35:34.750 --> 00:35:37.458
Yeah, that's right, that sort of barrier of protection is there.
00:35:37.458 --> 00:35:38.931
We're also building our brand.
00:35:38.931 --> 00:35:40.775
So that is another way we're protecting people.
00:35:40.775 --> 00:35:41.496
We're also building our brand.
00:35:41.496 --> 00:35:42.838
So that is another way we're protecting PQOL.
00:35:42.838 --> 00:35:56.083
We're becoming the go-to woman's urinal provider you know, the trustworthy, established provider out there and we're building relationships, not just with events but also the toilet distributors that would have fleets of toilet blocks, things like that.
00:35:56.083 --> 00:35:57.516
We're building those relationships.
00:35:57.516 --> 00:36:06.844
So, actually, when we do want to go international, we have these fully formed relationships that we trust and that we want to work together in an effective way.
00:36:07.331 --> 00:36:39.452
So, yeah, the brand, the IP and the relationships are the key to that of the company now growing and the sort of environment that you're in shaping, how you and hazel think of yourselves and where you see yourselves in the next few years um, I think we, we know that people has made an impact in the event industry, which is crazy to say and I, you know, pat yourself on the back for that.
00:36:39.452 --> 00:36:40.715
That that is something to celebrate.
00:36:42.018 --> 00:36:46.264
Yeah, so we 100% know that PQAL has made an impact already.
00:36:46.264 --> 00:36:51.802
I think in the future we are ambitious and we want to see policy change.
00:36:51.802 --> 00:36:58.090
So we want to make PQAL make women's urinals a standard facility for all events.
00:36:58.090 --> 00:37:03.753
So when you go to an event, you need to have X, Y and Z and women's urinals needs to be there everywhere.
00:37:03.753 --> 00:37:04.655
Toilets are everywhere.
00:37:04.655 --> 00:37:05.536
Male urinals are.
00:37:05.536 --> 00:37:07.342
Women's urinals need to be there too.
00:37:08.172 --> 00:37:25.172
Um, so, yeah, we're we're excited to be trying to tackle that challenge and try and change policy and guidelines around that yeah, and you're doing that, I think, with the support of hazel, both of you, together with investors, new investors and and, of course, this amazing community in the Accelerator program.
00:37:25.172 --> 00:37:40.297
Final question Amber, if there's an entrepreneur out there thinking about how to grow their business, thinking about whether to join an Accelerator or not, what would be your experience that you'd share?
00:37:40.858 --> 00:37:48.777
I think one quality hazel and I both have is using, being really resourceful and being really resourceful with our networks.
00:37:48.777 --> 00:37:54.885
So, like always thinking, who do I know that might know somebody else as a graphic designer, who you know?
00:37:54.885 --> 00:37:58.496
I wonder if this person would be able to do something for free, I wonder, you know?
00:37:58.496 --> 00:38:03.420
And and sort of utilizing the people in our network is the in the best way possible.
00:38:03.420 --> 00:38:07.260
You know, from the beginning our families have helped us out big time.
00:38:07.260 --> 00:38:17.934
You know we've got family, creative families that would sort of help us model some sort of part of the product and be able to, yeah, draw on their contacts and just sort of think creatively about the networks that we have touch points within.
00:38:17.934 --> 00:38:21.737
And just sort of think creatively about the networks that we have touch points within.
00:38:21.737 --> 00:38:24.179
So always think who do you know?
00:38:24.179 --> 00:38:30.143
And look there first before thinking I need to make a stranger become my best friend before I can do anything.
00:38:30.143 --> 00:38:33.007
Just think, oh no, I know someone that knows someone else.
00:38:35.929 --> 00:38:39.085
And what about an entrepreneur that's looking at the accelerator and going well, is that for me or not?
00:38:39.085 --> 00:38:39.869
Maybe I can go alone.
00:38:39.869 --> 00:38:43.952
What would be your advice to someone thinking about joining an accelerator?
00:38:44.994 --> 00:38:46.257
I think there's no harm in it.
00:38:46.257 --> 00:38:47.760
Hey, you know, like what?
00:38:47.760 --> 00:38:48.702
What have you got to lose?
00:38:48.702 --> 00:38:50.474
I think that's my attitude.
00:38:50.474 --> 00:38:52.461
It's like what could you gain?
00:38:52.461 --> 00:38:59.932
You know, there's either you continue doing what you're doing or you could continue and have this incredible support system.
00:38:59.932 --> 00:39:01.293
So why not?
00:39:03.615 --> 00:39:04.335
Amber Probin.
00:39:04.335 --> 00:39:05.077
Thank you so much.
00:39:05.077 --> 00:39:08.918
It's such an inspirational story and you're changing the lives of so many people.
00:39:08.918 --> 00:39:11.900
From here in Bristol, you're changing the world.
00:39:11.900 --> 00:39:13.222
Thank you so much for joining me today.
00:39:13.242 --> 00:39:14.061
No, thank you for having me.
00:39:14.061 --> 00:39:14.682
It's been really fun.
00:39:14.682 --> 00:39:15.722
Cheers, it's my pleasure.
00:00:00.782 --> 00:00:05.312
Amber, thanks for joining me today on the NatWest Unnoticed Entrepreneur Podcast Series.
00:00:05.839 --> 00:00:06.902
Well, thank you for having me.
00:00:06.902 --> 00:00:09.811
I'm really excited to have this great conversation together.
00:00:10.099 --> 00:00:25.083
Well, you are solving a problem that affects half the world, you know all women that struggle when it comes to large events, and the first urinal male urinal was invented in 1866.
00:00:25.083 --> 00:00:33.570
But you've got a solution now for women, so do you want to tell us what business you're building, and then we'll talk a little bit more about you and your background.
00:00:33.810 --> 00:00:34.250
Love to.
00:00:34.250 --> 00:01:02.935
Yeah, so myself and Hazel, we've created Piqua, and Piqua is the UK's first squat-and-go women's urinal, and what we do is we get women out of the queues and back to the event so they're not missing out on their favorite acts or delaying their start times for marathons, or having to go further afield and have a wild wee where it's a bit unsafe, you know, really creating equal access to facilities, and we consider women's time as equal to men's time.
00:01:02.935 --> 00:01:05.585
So that's why we're really passionate about what we do.
00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:08.287
Yeah, what a wonderful, wonderful mission that you've got.
00:01:08.287 --> 00:01:12.852
And I said as a father of two daughters, and I have three sisters and five nieces.
00:01:13.099 --> 00:01:14.426
Yeah, you know the problem.
00:01:14.781 --> 00:01:17.474
I know the problem of waiting around for them actually.
00:01:17.493 --> 00:01:19.527
That's right, so it's benefiting everybody.
00:01:20.780 --> 00:01:23.224
Piqul, tell us then the backstory.
00:01:23.224 --> 00:01:27.834
How did you and your co-founder, hazel, start the business?
00:01:27.853 --> 00:01:42.927
then we'll talk about some of the challenges that you faced along the way and successes you've been having so in our master's year at bristol university, haze and I collaborated in our fourth and final year and the project was to solve a real world problem.
00:01:42.927 --> 00:01:52.066
So in our summers we'd work at festivals and in our breaks we'd have to choose between going to the loo or getting food just because the toilet queues were that long.
00:01:52.066 --> 00:01:57.048
So you'd have to really compromise on what you needed, and so we thought surely there's a better way.
00:01:57.048 --> 00:02:03.391
Let's just see what we can do, push some doors, be curious and sort of see if there's any kind of solutions out there already.
00:02:03.391 --> 00:02:12.974
So when we did the project and we were going through the secondary death research, we just realized there was nothing out there and we're like, oh my goodness, this is a massive gap.
00:02:12.974 --> 00:02:15.963
There's no innovation, there's no investment assigned to this.
00:02:16.003 --> 00:02:23.367
There's huge taboo around women's sanitation and it's actually very unsexy and women are very linked to being sexy.
00:02:23.367 --> 00:02:26.260
So if you don't want to talk about it, it's this huge taboo around.
00:02:26.260 --> 00:02:27.944
You know women's sanitation.
00:02:27.944 --> 00:02:30.512
So we were like, gosh, someone needs to do something about this.
00:02:30.512 --> 00:02:31.441
So why not us?
00:02:31.441 --> 00:02:34.187
So that's sort of where it kicked off it was.
00:02:34.187 --> 00:02:49.950
That was very a big conviction point, and then, ever since then, we've been speaking to millions of women, hundreds and millions of women, about getting this, getting this to be a standard facility why do you think that women's urinals have taken this long?
00:02:49.971 --> 00:02:52.703
you said it's been um unsexy.
00:02:52.703 --> 00:02:57.350
Yeah, has it also been something that's not been interesting to you?
00:02:57.350 --> 00:02:57.491
Know?
00:02:58.353 --> 00:03:07.000
inventors to vcs yeah, so the one point is that you know we sexualize women, so we don't want that associated.
00:03:07.000 --> 00:03:10.028
We don't want any kind of bodily liquid associated with women.
00:03:10.028 --> 00:03:15.371
So even in our language we'd say I'm going to the powder room, you know I'm going to powder my nose instead of going to the toilet.
00:03:15.371 --> 00:03:21.884
Or you know, you see these slight changes in our language even to sort of disconnect women from sanitation.
00:03:21.884 --> 00:03:24.289
Um, so there's like taboo around that.
00:03:24.289 --> 00:03:42.628
But then there's also lack of investment in this space, because at the moment it's very obvious that a lot of investors out there are men and this problem doesn't impact them very much, so the investment is less funneled towards women's sanitation or women's health tech.
00:03:42.628 --> 00:03:47.401
Yeah, there's a big barrier there for female founders to get investment.
00:03:47.401 --> 00:03:50.752
So, yeah, for a long time now it hasn't been a priority.
00:03:50.752 --> 00:03:55.966
Um, there's lots of other barriers as well, but those are two main ones yeah, I mean.
00:03:55.985 --> 00:04:01.525
So you've got, I think, the statistically less than one percent of all funding goes to women.
00:04:01.525 --> 00:04:11.991
Yeah, when it comes to, you know, investments, plus, you've got the like, the unsexiness of women's sanitation, yeah, being not high on people's agenda.
00:04:11.991 --> 00:04:15.764
And I guess you can't use technology perhaps in the same way to get scales and so on.
00:04:15.764 --> 00:04:26.492
Yeah, why did you and hazel think that you could solve this problem where, in 160 years, no one else has even come close?
00:04:27.439 --> 00:04:41.451
I mean, I think it was that conviction that we had, like, when we realized there was nothing out there and it was like a bit baffling, you kind of surprised yourself and you sort of realized that this is a normalized inequality that us ourselves have been drawn into.
00:04:41.451 --> 00:04:50.360
You know, it's something that we know the problem we feel the pain waiting in the queues, but yet we've just stood about thinking, oh, someone else will do something about it.
00:04:50.360 --> 00:04:57.685
But then you get this conviction of, like gosh, something needs to happen, so let's see if we can do it, let's, why not us?
00:04:57.685 --> 00:05:01.112
That kind of attitude of why not us, if not us?
00:05:01.112 --> 00:05:01.392
Who?
00:05:01.392 --> 00:05:04.793
You know, that kind of the powerful, convicting language that you hear.
00:05:04.793 --> 00:05:09.709
It was that kind of moment, and then we just have been curious and been running with it ever since.
00:05:10.819 --> 00:05:20.312
Well, I think it's amazing that you found such a huge problem that no one had addressed, but also that the scale of the problem didn't intimidate you and Hazel.
00:05:20.819 --> 00:05:29.355
I think there was a bit of naivety at the beginning, to be honest, which was actually a protective thing, because if you knew what we were getting into, I don't know if we'd even started.
00:05:29.355 --> 00:05:35.576
But yeah, I think it is massive and sometimes it is intimidating to think about.
00:05:35.576 --> 00:05:48.567
We're actually changing industries, we're changing language, you know we're changing expectations and budget allocation and you know there's so many important things that people addresses and challenges, and so that's a big responsibility.
00:05:48.567 --> 00:05:56.910
So, yeah, I think the naivety I wish we had a bit more of that at the moment but yeah, it is a huge opportunity.
00:05:57.129 --> 00:06:00.649
You had a huge opportunity and we'll talk about how you got there in time.
00:06:00.649 --> 00:06:06.189
But just for anyone watching or listening, you have just served the London marathon.
00:06:06.189 --> 00:06:10.350
Yes, so you've had literally tens of thousands of people go through PCOR.
00:06:10.350 --> 00:06:21.531
So for anyone listening, this is a true story of a couple of women founders changing the way that events and even society operate.
00:06:21.531 --> 00:06:23.404
So I do want to call that out.
00:06:23.404 --> 00:06:25.091
So one listening goes wow, that's amazing.
00:06:25.091 --> 00:06:27.040
Let's stick around and listen to this story.
00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:40.273
So you and Hazel university find a real world problem, unlike just submitting your thesis and then getting jobs and say, well, we found the problem, but we decided not to tackle it.
00:06:40.273 --> 00:06:41.940
You have decided to tackle it.
00:06:41.940 --> 00:06:42.860
You have decided to tackle it.
00:06:42.860 --> 00:06:46.124
Can you just take us through the steps?
00:06:46.423 --> 00:06:57.271
the stages that you've gone from university thesis to actually delivering these P-Col urinals to the London Marathon.
00:06:57.630 --> 00:07:03.754
Sure, I mean, there's so many stages and so many things I could talk about, but to condense it down.
00:07:03.754 --> 00:07:07.418
So after university, Hazel and I did get full-time jobs.
00:07:07.418 --> 00:07:16.665
I got a job at an innovation consultancy and Hazel got a job with oh my goodness, I've forgotten the company now.
00:07:16.685 --> 00:07:20.632
An important company, Very important company sustainable company Sorry, hazel.
00:07:32.639 --> 00:07:33.401
And we did that in our days.
00:07:33.401 --> 00:07:39.108
And then we worked on Pequil in our mornings and our evenings to sort of keep going and keep pushing, getting more research, talking to more people, more customers, and so that was how we funded the sort of our work on Pequil.
00:07:39.108 --> 00:07:52.125
Right at the start, we were also applying for grants and competitions where you'd win 500 quid there, 200 quid here, so that would sort of tie us over, um right at the start.
00:07:52.125 --> 00:07:56.060
And then, um, we managed to get a grant from the University of Bristol that enabled us to go full-time, so we were able to quit our jobs, which is an incredible feeling.
00:07:56.060 --> 00:07:59.569
To you know, focus the best hours of your day on what you really want to do.
00:07:59.569 --> 00:07:59.629
Um.
00:07:59.629 --> 00:08:03.569
And then we made lots and lots of prototypes.
00:08:03.569 --> 00:08:11.052
So we were already making cardboard prototypes and 3d prints, but then we made two scale prototypes that we took to covid safe events.
00:08:11.052 --> 00:08:23.982
This was in 2021, um, and we took our large scale prototypes to get real feedback from women at these events, because you can talk about it all you want, but as soon as you go to an event, get your feet on the ground.
00:08:23.982 --> 00:08:25.584
That's when you get your real feedback.
00:08:25.584 --> 00:08:27.348
So it was fantastic.
00:08:27.348 --> 00:08:30.021
So the first one we went to was on the Downs in Bristol.
00:08:30.021 --> 00:08:36.277
Um, it was a comedy garden festival and, um, we had the BBC feature us.
00:08:36.277 --> 00:08:45.404
It was a fantastic opportunity because it meant that we won the front page of the BBC with this um made out of scrap material prototype.
00:08:45.445 --> 00:08:52.400
Basically because we had no money and that meant we had customers internationally reaching out to us saying how do we get you to the US?
00:08:52.400 --> 00:08:54.706
I want you in Malaysia, literally.
00:08:54.706 --> 00:09:01.489
It was incredible the demand that we were able to showcase and that was a big point for us because it meant that when we went for investment, we had all this sort of that.
00:09:01.489 --> 00:09:09.609
All these customers lined meant that when we went for investment, we had all this sort of that, all these customers lined up that showed the demand for our product like this.
00:09:09.609 --> 00:09:12.081
So lots of prototyping.
00:09:12.081 --> 00:09:14.567
And then the next step was raise investment.
00:09:14.567 --> 00:09:16.551
Um, and this was in covid.
00:09:16.551 --> 00:09:28.275
So lots of zoom meetings, lots of dodgy wi-fi, which was not fun, very triggering, but we did manage to raise 250K in COVID for an event-based business.
00:09:28.275 --> 00:09:32.985
So you know that's no small thing and we often think about that.
00:09:32.985 --> 00:09:33.948
How do we do that?
00:09:33.948 --> 00:09:37.320
But we had some incredible investors and that still back us today.
00:09:37.320 --> 00:09:46.197
And, yeah, that allowed us to manufacture the product in the UK and then be able to launch at Glastonbury in 2022.
00:09:47.480 --> 00:09:49.028
I could keep going but that that's Well, what an amazing story.
00:09:49.028 --> 00:09:58.653
So it sounds as though you managed to really tap into a zeitgeist where, although it hadn't been developed, everyone saw the need.
00:09:58.860 --> 00:10:16.621
Yes, that's right, and COVID actually helped in some ways, because it was a chance for festivals and events to rethink their sustainability and to look to switch up their solutions, and so people were a bit more open to change, a bit more open to trying new things instead of sort of the same old rigmarole.
00:10:16.621 --> 00:10:52.221
So, yeah, in that way it really did help us and also because we're so much more hygienic than portable toilets, it meant that because covid had just happened, everyone was looking for sanitary options, so it was another sort of arrow in our in our boat yeah, like for those people that aren't familiar with how a woman's urinal works, I I don't know whether it's possible to say paint us a picture in words yes, I try my best yeah, so that people can visualize, of course yeah, so it is a standalone facility so you don't have to hold anything.
00:10:52.260 --> 00:10:53.104
It's not a funnel.
00:10:53.104 --> 00:11:02.509
You just step into this facility and pop a squat, you pee into this thing called the pedestal, which is anti-splashback, and it's really comfortable for all squat heights.
00:11:02.509 --> 00:11:09.327
We've tested this thoroughly and there's a handle if you want support and you just pop a squat and pee, squat and go.
00:11:09.327 --> 00:11:10.211
It's that simple.
00:11:10.211 --> 00:11:23.484
It's a designated safe space for women to go for a wee, just like the equivalent of male urinals.
00:11:23.484 --> 00:11:23.644
Uh, it's.
00:11:23.644 --> 00:11:24.828
What's the key thing about peak quiz is the efficiency.
00:11:24.828 --> 00:11:27.980
So we've designed it to be 2.7 times faster than a portable toilet, which means women are in and out of those queues like no.
00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:32.270
Tomorrow means that you get back to the event without having to miss out on anything.
00:11:32.270 --> 00:11:34.543
Um and those, those, um.
00:11:34.543 --> 00:11:41.567
That efficiency has been made real because of things like the pedestal being just squat and go.
00:11:41.567 --> 00:11:43.592
You'd have to touch the thing, clean anything down.
00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:48.537
It's overlapping doors instead of like a lockable door and it's semi-private.
00:11:48.537 --> 00:11:49.740
This is the important thing.
00:11:49.740 --> 00:11:53.971
It means that when you're standing up, you can be seen from the waist up, so it's really fun.
00:11:53.971 --> 00:11:57.485
You can wave at your friends, um, but then when you're peeing, you're popping up.
00:11:57.485 --> 00:11:58.765
You can be seen from the waist up, so it's really fun.
00:11:58.765 --> 00:11:59.486
You can wave at your friends.
00:11:59.486 --> 00:12:00.889
But then when you're peeing, you're popping a squat.
00:12:00.889 --> 00:12:02.311
You can't be seen by anyone and that means you're fully private.
00:12:02.311 --> 00:12:03.471
It means that you're incentivized to just pee and go.
00:12:03.471 --> 00:12:08.001
You're not checking your phone, you're not doing anything else in the toilet, you're just peeing.
00:12:08.022 --> 00:12:19.730
You said something there which made me think of you and Hazel as engineers, which is about the micro moments and makes me think about the idea of the frictionless customer experience.
00:12:19.730 --> 00:12:27.309
We remove anything that's a bottleneck, and you've identified time as being the give back for the customer.
00:12:27.309 --> 00:12:35.888
How did you light upon what you're calling micro moments as being one of the keys to success?
00:12:36.890 --> 00:12:40.267
I think we just knew that we needed to make it more efficient some way.
00:12:40.267 --> 00:12:53.072
So we were trying to tackle what, what was it that was slowing this process down and then try to re-out, design it basically, um, and that's shown throughout our journey, because we're actually launching a version five next year.
00:12:53.072 --> 00:12:57.511
So, you know, not just version one, not two, not not three, not four, but five.
00:12:57.511 --> 00:13:04.653
And that's just micro improvements that we've made to make the product a lot more efficient, a lot more desirable for the user to use.
00:13:04.653 --> 00:13:10.072
So, yeah, it's just constant iteration and improvement to make it even more efficient.
00:13:28.419 --> 00:13:32.879
So let's talk, then, about the move from raising money and making these things yourself, these urinals yourself, to commercialization, because it's one thing to have a great idea and get people saying, hey, can you deliver it.
00:13:32.879 --> 00:13:47.808
It's another game altogether when there are two of you in Bristol and you're delivering urinals to Glastonbury, for example, or to the marathon in London.
00:13:47.808 --> 00:13:51.136
How did you and Hazel overcome the really the transition from idea and prototype into delivered commercial product?
00:13:52.381 --> 00:13:58.131
um, I think a big moment was when we started manufacturing from the UK.
00:13:58.131 --> 00:14:10.229
So it went from building the prototypes ourselves to an established rotational moulding factory producing the product for us, and that was the product that we had ready for Glastonbury.
00:14:10.229 --> 00:14:12.274
However, there is a story here.
00:14:12.274 --> 00:14:16.071
You know, one of those barriers that you, as founders, always have to come up against.
00:14:16.071 --> 00:14:21.508
Unfortunately, the manufacturers made half of the product, so they made the tanks but not the walls.
00:14:21.508 --> 00:14:26.211
So if we had just gone ahead, we wouldn't have been able to do Glastonbury that year.
00:14:26.940 --> 00:14:30.971
So, as gritty founders that we are, we were like no, this has to happen.
00:14:30.971 --> 00:14:32.860
How do we get to Glastonbury?
00:14:32.860 --> 00:14:34.547
How do we make sure that we do this?
00:14:34.547 --> 00:14:37.240
Launch Women access?
00:14:37.240 --> 00:14:38.102
How do we get to Glastonbury?
00:14:38.102 --> 00:14:38.924
How do we make sure that we do this?
00:14:38.924 --> 00:14:39.726
Launch women access, this product?
00:14:39.746 --> 00:14:40.649
So we got loads of our friends together.
00:14:40.649 --> 00:14:59.764
We, we ordered some scaffold, loads of allen keys and some foam boards and we basically built the walls ourselves I think over 300 walls over a weekend or two, and our you know, new employees they also gave up their weekends to join us, and it was just this big team effort that enabled these walls to be made.
00:14:59.764 --> 00:15:05.126
And we got to Glastonbury and we launched there and it was significantly successful.
00:15:05.126 --> 00:15:09.288
We were on Women's Hour, we sort of hit huge BBC outlets.
00:15:09.288 --> 00:15:19.972
It was incredible and we got to prove that this is something women love and really want to see more of, and that those walls we actually took throughout the whole of 2022.
00:15:19.972 --> 00:15:26.076
It wasn't just Glastonbury, so the manufacturers actually couldn't have produced those walls for any of the other events either.
00:15:26.076 --> 00:15:31.138
So it just shows you just have to really dig deep and think how can we actually make this happen?
00:15:31.138 --> 00:15:39.083
As a founder, you're like so stubbornly passionate about what needs to go next.
00:15:39.083 --> 00:15:39.504
So, yeah, that was.
00:15:39.524 --> 00:15:50.433
That was a really big moment of going from just prototyping to commercialization can I ask what went wrong with the procurement process that the manufacturer didn't deliver?
00:15:50.474 --> 00:15:52.182
because I wish I knew.
00:15:52.182 --> 00:15:54.589
Okay, there's multiple reasons.
00:15:54.589 --> 00:15:56.253
You know things that you can't help like.
00:15:56.253 --> 00:16:08.553
You know, one of the tool makers was sick for three weeks, delaying production, you know, or some a big order took longer than they anticipated before our order, pushing ours back.
00:16:08.553 --> 00:16:15.788
You know, there's just so many things that you can't control with manufacturing and so, yeah, that buffer time was just eaten up.
00:16:15.788 --> 00:16:23.393
But you know, we've learned a lot from it and you know we we do enjoy, um, not having to make ourselves.
00:16:23.393 --> 00:16:28.350
You know we do enjoy working with manufacturers that have those skills to make sure we can commercialize.
00:16:28.350 --> 00:16:34.067
But, um, yeah, we're excited to be producing version five in poland year.
00:16:34.067 --> 00:16:42.150
So we went out there last year and we absolutely loved it and it was a fantastic factory where they've got everything run to a T.
00:16:42.150 --> 00:16:47.191
We really enjoyed their business, their manufacturing.
00:16:47.370 --> 00:16:53.519
Okay, obviously it's a bit disappointing that in the UK you won't be able to find someone to deliver, that you've had to go to Europe.
00:16:53.519 --> 00:17:03.063
But what I will ask you is a cash flow question, because when you commercialize you've got the quarter of a million but you've got a team.
00:17:03.063 --> 00:17:04.146
You've got you and Hazel.
00:17:04.146 --> 00:17:10.171
How are you able to structure the cash flow to carry you through?
00:17:10.171 --> 00:17:24.923
Because if you have a manufacturer that doesn't deliver but you've probably got a commitment to glass debris, for example, yes for me, anyway, the stress is when I'm trying to arbitrage the relationships between a customer and a supplier.
00:17:24.963 --> 00:17:32.230
Right as an entrepreneur, you get stuck between what you promise one person you'll deliver and what someone else promised yeah, you'll deliver, and you're expressing how you.
00:17:32.230 --> 00:17:37.163
You bridge the gap by just sheer force of character and appetite of risk, isn't it?
00:17:37.163 --> 00:17:38.227
Exactly.
00:17:38.227 --> 00:17:55.906
Yeah, can you just take us through how you solved, how you dealt with that practically or emotionally, because I think often people look at entrepreneurs oh well, they, they were there and they got to there, but there's there's a lot of challenges, not just the physical but the financial.
00:17:55.988 --> 00:18:07.231
Yeah, I mean from a cash flow perspective, what we ask of our customers is 50 up front, so as soon as they book, and then 30 30 days before the event and then 20 seven days after.
00:18:07.231 --> 00:18:21.359
So we get a large percentage of the cash up front before the event actually happens, which means that we have that cash flow coming in significantly throughout the year and that really helps us sort of prepare for those events and tie us over.
00:18:21.359 --> 00:18:30.282
But we have raised a second round of investment with from since 2022 till now, and we are currently raising investment around now.
00:18:30.282 --> 00:18:33.592
So you know we are constantly looking for new investors.
00:18:33.592 --> 00:18:41.070
So if anyone's listening that wants to back people, please reach out to us, because we always want to start new relationships with new investors.
00:18:41.070 --> 00:18:44.375
And, yeah, see how we can get Pequil international.
00:18:44.721 --> 00:18:45.839
Okay, that's wonderful, amber.
00:18:45.839 --> 00:18:48.547
So let's think about investors.
00:18:48.547 --> 00:18:51.142
Will love the product, yes, and half the world.
00:18:51.142 --> 00:18:54.755
Let's face it half or over half the world needs what you're offering.
00:18:54.755 --> 00:19:00.874
But investors also look at the founders and the relationship between the founders.
00:19:00.874 --> 00:19:10.994
Can we just talk a little bit about how you and Hazel operate, because that can make or break a business.
00:19:11.819 --> 00:19:16.990
Yeah, I think well for PQOL, our relationship has made the business happen.
00:19:16.990 --> 00:19:20.690
So, you know, both of us would say we don't want to do this on our own.
00:19:20.690 --> 00:19:26.990
This is something that we've entered into together, this is something that we both really believe in, really want to see happen.
00:19:26.990 --> 00:19:29.144
You know the off the back of the London Marathon.
00:19:29.144 --> 00:19:35.664
You know we were collecting the urine to turn into fertilizer and we were there on the ground actually collecting the urine ourselves.
00:19:35.664 --> 00:19:39.330
And you know you have these moments of, like, shared experience.
00:19:39.330 --> 00:19:42.520
You're like nobody else understands me like you do.
00:19:42.520 --> 00:19:45.146
No one else gets the grind like you do.
00:19:45.146 --> 00:19:57.301
And it's this very rare relationship where you challenge each other, where you care for each other, where you really grind and see that strain with each other and try and support each other in the best way you can.
00:19:57.301 --> 00:20:01.853
Um, I don't know any other relationship in my life that's like this one.
00:20:02.560 --> 00:20:11.125
Um, but yeah, we, we shoulder each other, you know, and you have to be constantly communicating to to let each other know where you're at, even today.
00:20:11.125 --> 00:20:17.425
You know, communicating where our mood's at in the day, like, oh, I think I need to just have a break, have a drink, get a cup of tea.
00:20:17.425 --> 00:20:19.373
Um, disclaiming.
00:20:19.373 --> 00:20:20.917
You know, today I feel a bit rough.
00:20:20.917 --> 00:20:21.961
You know that kind of thing.
00:20:21.961 --> 00:20:28.800
It's the day-to-day communication that makes your sort of relationship reliable and steady.
00:20:28.800 --> 00:20:34.130
And, um, trust, trusting, and I think, yeah, both of us treasure.
00:20:34.130 --> 00:20:39.404
Treasure it, because I have got friends that are solo founders and it is a big struggle, you know.
00:20:39.404 --> 00:20:44.143
It's isolating, it means that you don't feel as understood by your peers.
00:20:44.143 --> 00:20:53.792
There's there's a lot of positives as well, but I know from experience that having a co-founder is significantly better yeah, well, there's old old saying, isn't there?
00:20:53.813 --> 00:20:57.905
if you want to go fast, go alone, but if you want to go further, yeah, go with others.
00:20:57.905 --> 00:21:17.153
When you look now at people and you know the role that you two have been able to play and the community that you found in the accelerator, yeah you've come both as students yeah and I think not it wasn't from a business studies background.
00:21:17.660 --> 00:21:22.387
No, no, I studied anthropology with innovation, Hazel studied physics with innovation.
00:21:22.387 --> 00:21:26.590
So you know we both had sort of creativity in our blood.
00:21:26.680 --> 00:21:45.883
You know we've been creating dens and go-karts and small business projects on the side all the time, but no, not like a business background necessarily the side all the time, but, um, no, not like a business background necessarily, and so what are some of the ways that you've got involved with the accelerator and how that's helped to to grow people into the?
00:21:45.923 --> 00:22:00.026
kind of business that it's becoming I think a big thing about the accelerator is sharing in the challenges that you're facing, um, because, like I mentioned, nobody else quite understands you like another founder does.
00:22:00.026 --> 00:22:13.488
Um, and sharing those struggles is like quite a vulnerable thing to do and if someone can help you in that, in that position, you'll, you know, you feel so grateful, you feel so supported and and backed.
00:22:13.488 --> 00:22:16.093
You know, I think there's this real feeling of fight.
00:22:16.093 --> 00:22:22.423
If you're a founder, you're constantly like come on, I want to create something, and it can be really difficult to create something.
00:22:22.423 --> 00:22:29.273
So if someone's got your back and says, hey, I can connect you with this person or hey, don't worry about it, I've been there and you'll get, you'll get through it.
00:22:29.935 --> 00:22:33.786
That is massive and it's not to be underestimated to have that support system.
00:22:33.786 --> 00:22:34.386
So.
00:22:34.386 --> 00:22:41.467
So for us, it was that greater support system underneath Piquil that allowed us to reach out to people and be like what did you do when you hit this wall?
00:22:41.467 --> 00:22:43.747
How did you get over that hurdle?
00:22:43.747 --> 00:22:47.180
And then us allowing us to do the same for others.
00:22:47.180 --> 00:22:50.150
If we could help others, we would pass that on and do the same.
00:22:50.740 --> 00:22:54.691
So would you say that, even if you have a founder, like you and Hazel have?
00:22:59.040 --> 00:23:00.231
being part of a broader community brings some benefits.
00:23:00.231 --> 00:23:01.019
The perspective, I think, is key.
00:23:01.019 --> 00:23:02.665
We always talk about perspective.
00:23:02.665 --> 00:23:09.493
If you're just working on your business and you're working from home quite a lot, you can be quite insulated.
00:23:09.493 --> 00:23:10.945
You can lose perspective.
00:23:10.945 --> 00:23:14.038
So when you come into spaces like this and you ask what's your business, what are you going through at the moment?
00:23:14.038 --> 00:23:14.402
Who are you talking to?
00:23:14.402 --> 00:23:15.344
So when you come into spaces like this and you ask what?
00:23:15.344 --> 00:23:15.734
What's your business?
00:23:15.734 --> 00:23:23.223
You know, what are you going through at the moment, who are you talking to, it kind of opens you up to be a lot more um, grateful.
00:23:23.223 --> 00:23:23.884
In a way.
00:23:23.884 --> 00:23:26.531
You sort of understand hey, let's celebrate these wins.
00:23:26.531 --> 00:23:29.104
You know, the London Marathon just happened, what like?
00:23:29.104 --> 00:23:31.690
We were dreaming of this three years ago, you know.
00:23:31.790 --> 00:23:40.729
So I think perspective is one of the most important things as a founder and, as you say, you've got the perspective of everyone here supporting you too, haven't you?
00:23:40.729 --> 00:23:49.561
I think that, uh, even as being on the podcast here, yeah, people are celebrating and in your corner it's wonderful to have you and hazel and, I guess, family and friends.
00:23:49.561 --> 00:23:56.807
What about the the mindset shift that you two are having to go through now?
00:23:56.807 --> 00:24:03.173
Because, as the company grows and you've got pitches out to investors and you're going to go for more.
00:24:04.854 --> 00:24:09.758
What are you having to think about differently now as an entrepreneur?
00:24:09.758 --> 00:24:12.087
Because it's not been that long, in fairness.
00:24:12.087 --> 00:24:15.691
I mean, you launched the first project in 2020, I think it was 2021.
00:24:15.691 --> 00:24:24.586
We're in 2025, so you've actually accomplished a huge amount in a short amount of time.
00:24:24.586 --> 00:24:25.326
Thank you, yeah, it's incredible.
00:24:25.326 --> 00:24:28.252
What mindset changes have you had to make and how are you making those?
00:24:29.761 --> 00:24:30.502
good question.
00:24:30.502 --> 00:24:35.489
Um, I think I'll.
00:24:35.489 --> 00:24:54.303
I want to rephrase it the mindset things I want to keep okay, um, because I think that's what has let, has meant the business continues is to sort of hold on to traits like the passion, the grittiness, these sort of like personal qualities that have actually enabled the business to keep going.
00:24:54.303 --> 00:24:56.165
Um, that's, those are the mindset qualities that have actually enabled the business to keep going.
00:24:56.165 --> 00:25:00.238
Um, that's, those are the mindset qualities that have really enabled our business to thrive.
00:25:00.238 --> 00:25:03.968
Because this grittiness you don't find it in lots of people.
00:25:03.968 --> 00:25:09.166
The grittiness that it takes to sort of do the really hard work that no one else wants to do.
00:25:09.166 --> 00:25:13.905
You know to be the last person at the end of the day, to to clear up the cups.
00:25:13.905 --> 00:25:15.730
You know to do the things nobody sees.
00:25:15.730 --> 00:25:25.369
I think you need that grit and that conviction, passion, and those are the things I want to have throughout my whole life, not just running this business but in every aspect of life.
00:25:25.369 --> 00:25:27.906
But, um, those are the things I want to keep.
00:25:27.906 --> 00:25:30.077
Sorry, I rephrased your question there.
00:25:30.097 --> 00:25:30.480
That's okay.
00:25:30.480 --> 00:25:39.134
In a way, that's probably, uh, the hallmark of why you're such a great entrepreneur, because you're staying very true to your core values.
00:25:39.134 --> 00:25:43.567
Right, it needs to be done, and you've got this higher sense of purpose.
00:25:43.848 --> 00:25:44.250
That's right.
00:25:44.250 --> 00:25:47.470
The purpose point is a really it's what drives us.
00:25:47.470 --> 00:25:50.708
It's not just clickbait, it's something that we really believe in.
00:25:50.708 --> 00:25:55.853
It really is what keeps us going and why, when it's so hard, we do keep going.
00:25:55.853 --> 00:26:04.413
And I think any business founder would agree that if you have purpose at the center of your business, it is that thing that keeps the engine going.
00:26:04.712 --> 00:26:21.749
Yeah, I think you're absolutely right, and the people that fall by the wayside are those who didn't really have a mission, but maybe had a motive, maybe self-interest or short-term interest, rather than the bigger picture which you've got, really just equality for women, you know looking at your website and watching the videos.
00:26:21.749 --> 00:26:30.890
But looking at the website or watching the videos, I can see the enthusiasm that women have for, frankly, the relief, right.
00:26:30.890 --> 00:26:32.445
I mean, they've been waiting a long time now.
00:26:32.445 --> 00:26:33.127
They don't have to wait.
00:26:33.520 --> 00:26:34.599
The relief is the right word.
00:26:34.759 --> 00:26:35.583
The relief is the right word.
00:26:35.603 --> 00:26:35.804
Yeah.
00:26:37.971 --> 00:26:43.824
How have you been marketing to those event companies?
00:26:43.824 --> 00:26:45.535
Because you've got some PR.
00:26:45.535 --> 00:26:47.580
Can I say PR?
00:26:47.789 --> 00:26:50.970
You've got some public relations just to qualify for that, see how many puns we can get in.
00:26:50.970 --> 00:26:52.336
Yeah, how many puns can we get in?
00:26:52.435 --> 00:26:52.857
one interview.
00:26:52.857 --> 00:27:01.163
But what about the marketing to those companies that are looking at?
00:27:01.163 --> 00:27:05.440
They've got an established port cabin provider.
00:27:05.440 --> 00:27:08.055
They've got a piece of the field that already comes to it.
00:27:08.055 --> 00:27:12.555
They sell the tickets, whether the women get a better urinal or not.
00:27:12.555 --> 00:27:16.063
You know people aren't voting with their wallets for that service.
00:27:16.063 --> 00:27:23.707
How are you getting the proposition for PQAL into the market to get people coming to buy?
00:27:24.249 --> 00:27:24.710
good question.
00:27:24.710 --> 00:27:30.407
I think we started with events that shared our values so glastonbury, for example.
00:27:30.407 --> 00:27:41.202
They're always looking to be more innovative, they're always looking to be more sustainable, they're always looking to bring something new, something fun into their event and obviously they set the bar.
00:27:41.202 --> 00:27:47.701
So we wanted to start the influential events and then it would just triple down into the rest of the industry and that's what we've seen happen.
00:27:47.701 --> 00:27:50.199
So that that was definitely the right move.
00:27:50.199 --> 00:27:54.714
But we do sort of angle our pitch to customers sometimes differently.
00:27:54.714 --> 00:27:56.461
So we do.
00:27:56.461 --> 00:28:06.385
We obviously create a better experience for the women, but we can also generate a lot more revenue for the events themselves, because when women aren't waiting in the queue, they're getting a drink.
00:28:06.385 --> 00:28:12.593
So you can see that we generate a lot more revenue for the event themselves and actually peak will pays for itself once it's there.
00:28:12.593 --> 00:28:19.692
So if a event is struggling to get more money every year, this is something that they can do too that's a good.
00:28:19.712 --> 00:28:20.134
yeah, that's good.
00:28:20.134 --> 00:28:21.856
So if they're not peeing're shopping, that's right.
00:28:21.856 --> 00:28:22.938
Which?
00:28:22.938 --> 00:28:26.785
With two daughters, and you know three sisters I think you're absolutely right.
00:28:26.785 --> 00:28:29.057
So maybe I don't want to have people.
00:28:29.057 --> 00:28:32.140
It costs me even more money when I take my daughters to it.
00:28:32.140 --> 00:28:45.490
But you said you got into Glastonbury, but there's a little bit missing that I do want to talk about, because, as an entrepreneur going, ok, you got to Glastonbury, but how did you get into Glastonbury?
00:28:45.490 --> 00:28:46.654
Because it's a huge event.
00:28:46.654 --> 00:28:50.170
They must have so many vendors pitching them, everything.
00:28:50.170 --> 00:28:53.259
So I would just love for someone to hear that might be listening to this.
00:28:53.259 --> 00:28:58.438
Ok, that is the practical step I would need to take to get the dream client.
00:28:58.438 --> 00:29:01.403
That would make the cascade of customers full.
00:29:01.403 --> 00:29:02.525
Yeah, the dream client.
00:29:02.586 --> 00:29:04.628
That would make the cascade of customers full.
00:29:04.628 --> 00:29:08.690
Yeah, so the way we approached Glastonbury was we were still students at the time and we reached out to them as, like research.
00:29:08.690 --> 00:29:11.576
We were like, can we get your advice, can we get your opinion on this design?
00:29:11.576 --> 00:29:13.436
We would love to provide this for you.
00:29:13.436 --> 00:29:15.758
What sort of size tank capacity would you like?
00:29:15.758 --> 00:29:18.077
What kind of colorful walls would you like?
00:29:18.471 --> 00:29:26.905
And actually involving them in the development process, enlisted them on the journey, and so we weren't, we weren't selling to them from the start.
00:29:26.905 --> 00:29:33.851
We were constantly keeping in touch with them and and sort of showing them the new design that we'd come up with what about this?
00:29:33.851 --> 00:29:34.894
What are your thoughts on this?
00:29:34.894 --> 00:29:48.182
And we were talking to the head of sanitation at the time and so, yeah, it was like a constant feedback loop and they gained more and more interest in Pequil and it meant that when we did have something to sell, they felt a part of ownership.
00:29:48.182 --> 00:29:51.599
They felt like, yeah, I want to see this, how this goes?
00:29:51.599 --> 00:29:53.076
I've fed into it.
00:29:53.076 --> 00:29:55.218
You know I've said that this tank should be this size.
00:29:55.218 --> 00:29:58.119
I've said that you know, women would want this kind of dimension.
00:29:58.119 --> 00:30:04.383
So that was definitely the way of getting the our first customer across the line.
00:30:04.383 --> 00:30:08.699
Um, and yeah, we, we really love our relationship with glastonbury.
00:30:08.699 --> 00:30:14.623
They, they always get all our stock every year and women absolutely love it at their events.
00:30:14.623 --> 00:30:17.212
So, yeah, that was how we sort of got that customer.
00:30:17.232 --> 00:30:26.162
It was just through relationship and through being keen okay constantly knocking on the door, and was that actually physically going down to see them, or we just found them on a website?
00:30:26.269 --> 00:30:33.191
In COVID, so it was just over the channels that we had, so it was email, phone, that kind of thing, great.
00:30:33.231 --> 00:30:39.194
So it's so important, I think, to go through the detail of how these deals get done, because for someone starting a business.
00:30:39.194 --> 00:30:42.085
It's often just that first step.
00:30:42.085 --> 00:30:45.817
That's the hardest and no one writes about.
00:30:46.218 --> 00:30:52.615
Yeah so true, I mean a lot of it is just calling people up, it's just doing the small bits and you just never know where it will go.
00:30:52.615 --> 00:31:02.558
I've got so many stories of like taxi drivers that knew an investor that they made an intro, or someone at the pub knew a manufacturer that linked me to another manufacturer that we went with.
00:31:02.558 --> 00:31:08.435
There's just so many ways of leads that you need to follow up on you have no idea where they can go.
00:31:08.809 --> 00:31:15.150
Exactly, and I think that's one of the joys of an accelerator program that you have mentors and people here.
00:31:15.150 --> 00:31:21.741
Are there any examples of how people within the accelerator community have supported you?
00:31:22.763 --> 00:31:39.820
Good question Definitely have had so many founders share their investor-like spreadsheets, A lot of them sharing networks, being like oh, I think I know this competition might be suitable for you or I know this mentor that could help tackle this problem.
00:31:39.820 --> 00:31:45.657
The network is definitely the huge advantage with this and we've benefited significantly from that.
00:31:45.657 --> 00:31:49.119
I think it's the openness founders have towards each other.
00:31:49.119 --> 00:31:53.357
It's like, if I can help you, I will, and yeah, I really love that.
00:31:53.809 --> 00:32:01.318
Okay, and I think also within NatWest, because everyone's kind of joined this community of people under the umbrella of NatWest.
00:32:01.318 --> 00:32:02.815
There's a sort of a security.
00:32:02.815 --> 00:32:05.335
People's guards are not up right.
00:32:05.335 --> 00:32:06.778
They feel like they're all part of a community.
00:32:06.778 --> 00:32:08.193
No one's trying to sell anybody anything.
00:32:08.193 --> 00:32:09.981
It's not a commercial arrangement.
00:32:09.981 --> 00:32:11.589
It's really a supportive arrangement?
00:32:11.609 --> 00:32:13.820
Absolutely, there's a lot of respect towards each other.
00:32:13.820 --> 00:32:15.106
Everyone's very respectful.
00:32:15.106 --> 00:32:21.817
Everyone knows people are working towards something or creating something that brings something good into the world, and I think you know.
00:32:21.817 --> 00:32:22.458
Can you ask for?
00:32:22.478 --> 00:32:27.565
yeah, to be surrounded by people that inspire you, motivate you and support you.
00:32:27.565 --> 00:32:30.333
Yeah, uh, that's a real dream as an entrepreneur.
00:32:30.333 --> 00:32:33.180
Speaking of dreams, amber, where in you?
00:32:33.180 --> 00:32:37.953
Where have you and hazel got in your mind for the next five years?
00:32:37.953 --> 00:32:38.634
For piqua?
00:32:39.296 --> 00:32:44.363
five years, um, so we've got lots of different potential options.
00:32:44.363 --> 00:32:52.491
Um, that will just be curious and, like we've done so far, just testing and seeing and seeing how it goes and if that's what we want to do.
00:32:52.491 --> 00:32:56.981
So there's no like hard plan but, um, we are hoping to go international.
00:32:56.981 --> 00:32:58.692
This is the next big thing.
00:32:58.692 --> 00:33:05.474
Uh, we've got so much inbound requests from the us, australia, the eu, like there's just so much possibility.
00:33:05.474 --> 00:33:15.541
So once we've manufactured the v5, we will be going to events in germany, in the netherlands, um, and so that will be where we'd be scaling up in the eu.
00:33:16.172 --> 00:33:26.363
So manufacturers in poland will be very well suited to international expansion and also working with toilet distributors to actually reach women much faster.
00:33:26.363 --> 00:33:31.537
So we could scale up in-house, we could do all the logistics ourselves and that's what we've done up till now.
00:33:31.537 --> 00:33:33.857
So, hazel and I, we've got forklift tickets.
00:33:33.857 --> 00:33:39.777
You know we've been driving the stock around site in forklifts, we've been doing the cleaning, we've been leading the teams.
00:33:39.777 --> 00:33:46.582
But actually, if we want to reach women as quickly as we want to reach them, we want this facility to be available for all.
00:33:46.582 --> 00:33:48.931
We need to start distributing with other people.
00:33:49.111 --> 00:33:54.732
So that's how we're looking at scaling up I will ask you the million dollar question, which is about ip protection.
00:33:54.732 --> 00:33:55.213
And there I go.
00:33:55.213 --> 00:34:06.515
I've got another p in there, sorry sorry, not sorry sorry ip protection, because one might think that that there's no software code, it's a design.
00:34:06.515 --> 00:34:12.181
How are you going to protect PQOL from being copied?
00:34:13.094 --> 00:34:15.250
We have multiple patents granted and filed.
00:34:15.250 --> 00:34:22.630
So from year one we filed a patent on our design, on the functionality of how it fits together, and that's been granted.
00:34:22.630 --> 00:34:24.615
That was in 2021.
00:34:24.615 --> 00:34:42.945
So that sort of you know, that sort of held us over from from the beginning and then, as our design has been developed, we've continuously filed more and more patents that have sort of broadened the umbrella of ip for peakwell, um, and that spans the uk, the EU, the US, china and Australia.
00:34:42.945 --> 00:35:05.909
So we're in a good position for IP and it's an important question because, you know, that is the next obvious thing copycats and what's the window of time before other people follow in our footsteps and yeah, that is very much on our brains to be like there is this window of time that we want to actually leap into and land grab there is this window of time that we want to actually leap into and land grab.
00:35:07.309 --> 00:35:07.791
That's great.
00:35:07.791 --> 00:35:17.719
I want to ask that question because there's been many an entrepreneur that has a great idea, commercialized it to some degree and a larger company an Armitage Shanks or someone could come along and, because they've got that heft, could steal it.
00:35:17.719 --> 00:35:34.630
So this idea of IP protection, either locally, regionally or internationally, is really important if you've got something that could be copied and actually it's remarkably low cost for the protection it gives you, even if it just creates a speed bump for anybody else, doesn't it?
00:35:34.750 --> 00:35:37.458
Yeah, that's right, that sort of barrier of protection is there.
00:35:37.458 --> 00:35:38.931
We're also building our brand.
00:35:38.931 --> 00:35:40.775
So that is another way we're protecting people.
00:35:40.775 --> 00:35:41.496
We're also building our brand.
00:35:41.496 --> 00:35:42.838
So that is another way we're protecting PQOL.
00:35:42.838 --> 00:35:56.083
We're becoming the go-to woman's urinal provider you know, the trustworthy, established provider out there and we're building relationships, not just with events but also the toilet distributors that would have fleets of toilet blocks, things like that.
00:35:56.083 --> 00:35:57.516
We're building those relationships.
00:35:57.516 --> 00:36:06.844
So, actually, when we do want to go international, we have these fully formed relationships that we trust and that we want to work together in an effective way.
00:36:07.331 --> 00:36:39.452
So, yeah, the brand, the IP and the relationships are the key to that of the company now growing and the sort of environment that you're in shaping, how you and hazel think of yourselves and where you see yourselves in the next few years um, I think we, we know that people has made an impact in the event industry, which is crazy to say and I, you know, pat yourself on the back for that.
00:36:39.452 --> 00:36:40.715
That that is something to celebrate.
00:36:42.018 --> 00:36:46.264
Yeah, so we 100% know that PQAL has made an impact already.
00:36:46.264 --> 00:36:51.802
I think in the future we are ambitious and we want to see policy change.
00:36:51.802 --> 00:36:58.090
So we want to make PQAL make women's urinals a standard facility for all events.
00:36:58.090 --> 00:37:03.753
So when you go to an event, you need to have X, Y and Z and women's urinals needs to be there everywhere.
00:37:03.753 --> 00:37:04.655
Toilets are everywhere.
00:37:04.655 --> 00:37:05.536
Male urinals are.
00:37:05.536 --> 00:37:07.342
Women's urinals need to be there too.
00:37:08.172 --> 00:37:25.172
Um, so, yeah, we're we're excited to be trying to tackle that challenge and try and change policy and guidelines around that yeah, and you're doing that, I think, with the support of hazel, both of you, together with investors, new investors and and, of course, this amazing community in the Accelerator program.
00:37:25.172 --> 00:37:40.297
Final question Amber, if there's an entrepreneur out there thinking about how to grow their business, thinking about whether to join an Accelerator or not, what would be your experience that you'd share?
00:37:40.858 --> 00:37:48.777
I think one quality hazel and I both have is using, being really resourceful and being really resourceful with our networks.
00:37:48.777 --> 00:37:54.885
So, like always thinking, who do I know that might know somebody else as a graphic designer, who you know?
00:37:54.885 --> 00:37:58.496
I wonder if this person would be able to do something for free, I wonder, you know?
00:37:58.496 --> 00:38:03.420
And and sort of utilizing the people in our network is the in the best way possible.
00:38:03.420 --> 00:38:07.260
You know, from the beginning our families have helped us out big time.
00:38:07.260 --> 00:38:17.934
You know we've got family, creative families that would sort of help us model some sort of part of the product and be able to, yeah, draw on their contacts and just sort of think creatively about the networks that we have touch points within.
00:38:17.934 --> 00:38:21.737
And just sort of think creatively about the networks that we have touch points within.
00:38:21.737 --> 00:38:24.179
So always think who do you know?
00:38:24.179 --> 00:38:30.143
And look there first before thinking I need to make a stranger become my best friend before I can do anything.
00:38:30.143 --> 00:38:33.007
Just think, oh no, I know someone that knows someone else.
00:38:35.929 --> 00:38:39.085
And what about an entrepreneur that's looking at the accelerator and going well, is that for me or not?
00:38:39.085 --> 00:38:39.869
Maybe I can go alone.
00:38:39.869 --> 00:38:43.952
What would be your advice to someone thinking about joining an accelerator?
00:38:44.994 --> 00:38:46.257
I think there's no harm in it.
00:38:46.257 --> 00:38:47.760
Hey, you know, like what?
00:38:47.760 --> 00:38:48.702
What have you got to lose?
00:38:48.702 --> 00:38:50.474
I think that's my attitude.
00:38:50.474 --> 00:38:52.461
It's like what could you gain?
00:38:52.461 --> 00:38:59.932
You know, there's either you continue doing what you're doing or you could continue and have this incredible support system.
00:38:59.932 --> 00:39:01.293
So why not?
00:39:03.615 --> 00:39:04.335
Amber Probin.
00:39:04.335 --> 00:39:05.077
Thank you so much.
00:39:05.077 --> 00:39:08.918
It's such an inspirational story and you're changing the lives of so many people.
00:39:08.918 --> 00:39:11.900
From here in Bristol, you're changing the world.
00:39:11.900 --> 00:39:13.222
Thank you so much for joining me today.
00:39:13.242 --> 00:39:14.061
No, thank you for having me.
00:39:14.061 --> 00:39:14.682
It's been really fun.
00:39:14.682 --> 00:39:15.722
Cheers, it's my pleasure.
