Member Article

Durham smartwatch entrepreneur aims for £60k investment

The Durham-based creator of a smartwatch brand is looking to raise £60k in a crowdfunding round to fund the launch of his latest model.

Paul Gill, who is founder and design engineer at Orsto has turned to Crowdcube to raise funds for the launch of his new x3 model.

The 52 year-old’s design packs the capability of a computer in the size of a 50p, and rivals other smartwatch designs.

Paul recieved £9,000 funding from Transmit Start-Ups to get a prototype off the ground for his smartwatcg - which is a combined phone and computer with a GPS signal and 8 mega pixel camera.

Paul, who has also invested around £75k of his own money in the project, said: “The Orsto x3 is different from many of the current smartwatches on the market as it does not need to be linked to a smartphone, this means the x3 has a much broader range of uses.”

Paul has a lengthy track record in research and development which started at Philips Electronics in Belmont, Durham, where he trained as an electrical and mechanical engineer.

Since then his career has taken him into a range of product design projects including a motor cycle racing exhaust system which ended up being sold and distributed worldwide, personal protective equipment and consumer products.

He added: “The X3 is the first smartwatch which will appeal to the design conscious.

“The luxury watch market is growing year on year but buyers have never been able to get a luxury smartwatch, to date smart watches have been the domain of the early adopter or function-driven buyers. The Orsto x3 is both a step change in function and design.”

Orsto have chosen Crowdcube to secure finance as this offers a quick and broad approach to securing early stage finance.

Sunderland Software City is supporting Orsto in their venture and business support manager, Billy Webber, said: “Crowd funding is now a really valid approach for companies to fund their new ventures.

“Orsto are looking at securing £60k for 7% of the business and their business plan offers significant returns for investors if growth in the smartwatch market follows recent published predictions.

“Success in securing funding through Crowdcube will mean yet another innovative business growing in the North East, and that is what the area needs for employment and economic growth.”

Richard Myers, director, Transmit Start-Ups said: “I could see the potential of Paul’s invention as soon as we met. The Orsto is definitely the most high tech timepiece I have ever seen and the potential for his business is incredible.

“Paul, like many of our clients, just needed a relatively small amount of capital to get their company or product off the ground and then the business is able to fly.”

The Sunderland Software City project is part financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), managed by the Department for Communities and Local Government.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .