Hi Patrick, please tell me about the brains behind PLIQO.

If you mean me, I was a banker and frequent flyer for many years. It always bothered me that there wasn’t a great solution for packing your suit in cabin luggage, but back then I was too busy to do anything about it. I eventually quit the City, and after running a commercial writing business for a several years, I’d saved up the seed capital to launch into the R&D phase.

Design-wise, my ‘eureka’ moment came when I found a pair of folding sunglasses with two tiny hinges in the bridge. I applied this principle to a garment hanger, and ‘hey presto’, the PLIQO concept was born.

You’ve been trading for a few years now. What has been the greatest challenge?

To be honest, it’s the ‘Black Swans’ – the unexpected events that turn expectations on their head. Bizarrely, there have been two such in the five years I’ve been doing this. First, Brexit, which instantly put up my costs up by 20%; and now the coronavirus pandemic. This isn’t a great time to be trying to sell a travel-related product, obviously.

What is your top piece of advice for other budding entrepreneurs?

Sadly, there is no ‘silver bullet’, elsewise we’d all be successful entrepreneurs, right? What has worked for me is listening intently to what people tell you about your venture or product. Everyone has an opinion, and there’s a wisdom in the crowd if you listen hard and long enough to distil that out.

I’ve just watched you on Dragons’ Den. How was the whole experience for you?

Given the amount of preparation that’s required just to get on the show, there’s no way a normal person could go into the studio without being on edge. And in my case, it showed. Then it’s like a roller coaster – your expectations get slowly winched up, then suddenly come crashing down to earth.

Finally, when you actually get to see your pitch and the negotiations on TV, you realise the vast majority of the discussions don’t make the cut – which is a shame, because a great deal of the subtlety is lost. I guess that’s entertainment for you.

Despite not going ahead with any investment, how has Dragons’ Den affected your business?

There’s a bit to unpack here. In the short run, it did attract a lot of attention on social media, and there was a spike in sales, which was gratifying. And I have had approaches from institutions looking to discuss possible investment offers.

Perhaps as important, the exhaustive and exhausting process of applying and preparing for the show – and the pitch itself – taught me a huge amount about my business, and myself. It’s a little like doing your own ‘mini MBA’.

You must have learnt so much from the experience. What are your top tips for negotiating strategies?

Indeed so – and I found there are three lessons: first, to echo the above, know your business and your industry inside out. Second, negotiation isn’t just about the mechanics of your business idea. As an entrepreneur, you are critical ‘part of the package’. You need to demonstrate to potential investors that you’re authentic, credible, committed and resilient, amongst other thinks. Finally, don’t be afraid to walk away – if your product is fundamentally a viable proposition, investment will ultimately follow.

If you could choose a business mentor – anyone in the world – who would it be?

Paul Smith. An inspired designer, and a smart businessman – a winning combination.

A while back I sent out complimentary samples of my PLIQO bag to a number of frequent flying UK business leaders. Paul was the only one who acknowledged the gift, with a very complimentary hand-written card. A real gent!

How do you set yourself apart from other businesses in the industry?

We don’t have the marketing budget of the big brands such as Samsonite or Rimowa. But we have a simple formula – a unique product backed with excellent customer service. Our plan is primarily to rely on word-of-mouth: personal recommendations are marketing gold-dust. But it’s difficult to influence the process, and as a result sales growth has been gradual rather than exponential. I believe that moderate growth was one of the Dragons’ more serious quibbles with my valuation.

The PLIQO bag is a brilliant idea, have you got any other products in the pipeline?

Actually, we have a pipeline of PLIQO-variants, including a bag designed for active commuters such as cyclists and joggers. It’s basically ready to go, but now is probably not the ideal time to go to market. We’re also researching designs for a compact garment bag designed specifically for women travellers’ needs.

Other than your website, is there anywhere else we can pick up our PLIQO bags?

We have a multi-channel sales approach, which I think helps us in these challenging times. We export around 75% of production, making us a minor success stories. So, in many markets we have distributors. We also sell in the UK and across Europe on Amazon and niche luggage e-tailers.

We have an exclusive arrangement with the City of London’s only independent luggage retailer. It’s temporarily closed, and as it’s been hard for retail all around recently, we’re not really focusing on the High Street per se. That said, we see airport retail and duty free as very promising in the longer run.

What plans for you have for PLIQO in the future?

Ultimately, it would be great to build broader range of travel products – suitcases, backpacks and so on. But we are not going to do something ‘me too’ – our next innovation will have to bring something genuinely novel to the party. In the meantime, there’s still a seam of garment bag-related opportunities to mine.