An entrepreneur who shot to fame on Dragons’ Den has celebrated a bumper year for his firm – by taking all his staff on a luxury holiday.
Businessman Rob Law, the man behind the wheeled Trunki child’s suitcase, has seen his turnover soar to £5million despite being rejected by the panel on the BBC show.
He has doubled revenues in the last year thanks to major distribution deals in the US and Latin America.
To celebrate he has transported 19 employees from his company Magmatic to Ibiza for a three-night holiday.
Mr Law, 34, from Dings, Bristol, said: ”Five years ago I was working alone from home in Bristol.
”So to look around the office now at the team and all we have achieved together, I really appreciate how far we have come.
”Magmatic’s weathered a few storms – including the recent financial downturn – but we always seem to emerge stronger and more dynamic from every knock-back.
”In fact, continuing to buck the trend, last year we pretty much doubled turnover again.
“I could not have achieved this without my wonderful team or the close to a million people out there whose love for Trunki is evident in the countless emails, videos and photos we receive each and every week.
”I simply cannot thank them enough.”
The Trunki invention saw Mr Law create a unique ride-on child’s suitcase.
In May 2006 – now celebrated as the company’s birthday – the first Trunki container arrived and Magmatic began officially trading.
Mr Law, appointed MBE in the New Year’s Honours List in recognition of his contribution to business, took his Trunki idea into Dragon’s Den later that year.
But he was given a humiliating dressing down at the hands of the panel of judges who described the suitcase as ‘worthless’.
During the programme, Dragon Theo Paphitis managed to pull off one of the straps and Deborah Meaden declared there was no market for the case.
But the businessman had the last laugh and the product, which he first came up with as a design student, is now being sold in more than 60 countries across the world.