0:00:02 > 0:00:03I wouldn't want to go down there now.
0:00:03 > 0:00:08Andrew Slorance was a teenager when an accident left him paralysed.
0:00:08 > 0:00:10From the age of about 17,
0:00:10 > 0:00:14I knew the wheelchair just wasn't as good as it could be.
0:00:14 > 0:00:16It was limiting.
0:00:17 > 0:00:19Nearly 30 years later,
0:00:19 > 0:00:22he's convinced he can create the perfect wheelchair.
0:00:24 > 0:00:26I wanted to do something really different,
0:00:26 > 0:00:29something that was going to make a difference to other people,
0:00:29 > 0:00:31and a difference to me in my own life.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35I want him to believe in himself
0:00:35 > 0:00:36and to have a stage in his life
0:00:36 > 0:00:40that he can look back and say, "That was just bloody fantastic."
0:00:42 > 0:00:46This might actually work. This might actually really work.
0:00:46 > 0:00:49But it's going to be tough getting the chairs manufactured...
0:00:49 > 0:00:52Andrew, this project has been so delayed, because of you.
0:00:52 > 0:00:53Because of me? Really?
0:00:53 > 0:00:55Oh, yeah. Oh, my!
0:00:55 > 0:00:57..finding investors...
0:00:57 > 0:00:58Just get them out there on the market
0:00:58 > 0:01:02at the price you think you can ultimately sell them for.
0:01:02 > 0:01:04..and getting the chair to market.
0:01:06 > 0:01:10I lie in bed at night just turning over what we do next,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12how we pay the next thing.
0:01:12 > 0:01:18I've put the children's lives on hold, so I'm...
0:01:20 > 0:01:23..living pretty dangerously, in my own kind of way.
0:01:29 > 0:01:36This programme contains some strong language
0:01:53 > 0:01:56What do you think when you see them do that?
0:01:56 > 0:02:00Do you really think, "God, that looks so enjoyable"?
0:02:00 > 0:02:02- You mean jumping in?- Yeah.
0:02:02 > 0:02:04No.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Even if I wanted to jump in there and go to the other side,
0:02:07 > 0:02:11the wheelchair would still be here. Got to get back to it again.
0:02:11 > 0:02:13- Yes.- I always think of the practical side.
0:02:13 > 0:02:14All the worries...
0:02:14 > 0:02:19It's just always there, you just want to get rid of it. It'd be quite nice.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25The biggest defining fact of me is, obviously, I use a chair.
0:02:25 > 0:02:28- Do you remember what it used to feel like?- Yeah.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31I'm not too keen on the term, "Disabled",
0:02:31 > 0:02:34because it just says disabled.
0:02:34 > 0:02:36It says, you know,
0:02:36 > 0:02:40like the bomb squad disable a bomb, they render it useless.
0:02:40 > 0:02:44I don't consider myself disabled, but I have to use the term.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Andrew Slorance was 14 when he fell out of a tree
0:02:52 > 0:02:54and broke his back.
0:02:56 > 0:03:02I remember falling through the branches, breaking them as I fell.
0:03:02 > 0:03:05I must have been paralysed instantly.
0:03:08 > 0:03:11Of course, at the beginning, I couldn't believe it.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13Thought it was all still a dream.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17But of course...
0:03:18 > 0:03:21..it's all true.
0:03:21 > 0:03:25ANDREW ON TV: 'The doctor said I broke my back, cos I jackknifed
0:03:25 > 0:03:27'when I hit the ground.'
0:03:27 > 0:03:31Whilst in hospital, he was filmed for a BBC documentary.
0:03:32 > 0:03:38It's the first time wife Mary and stepson Owen have seen the film.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41TEENAGE ANDREW ON TV: 'And I asked the nurse,
0:03:41 > 0:03:42'"Are my legs going to be OK?"'
0:03:45 > 0:03:50'And the nurse, at the beginning, pretended she didn't hear me.
0:03:50 > 0:03:52'And all the nurses did this.'
0:04:09 > 0:04:12- Goodness.- Six months on.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16- And then you're so matter-of-fact about it.- Yeah.
0:04:16 > 0:04:18'I think people that aren't used to being around people'
0:04:18 > 0:04:22in a wheelchair will find it, like, hard not to look at the chair
0:04:22 > 0:04:26or the person's legs or, like, ask questions
0:04:26 > 0:04:30or have thoughts in their mind about disabled people.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33Right, now. Come on.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35TEENAGE ANDREW: 'I don't like being pushed.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38'I don't like people seeing me being pushed around
0:04:38 > 0:04:40'like I was a pram.'
0:04:41 > 0:04:45It was very much a feeling at that age that it happened to me
0:04:45 > 0:04:48at a young age when I could adapt.
0:04:48 > 0:04:52That was the word that was used a lot. "You can adapt to this, Andrew."
0:04:52 > 0:04:57Makes you a good thinker. Suffering makes you a good thinker.
0:04:57 > 0:05:03You have a lot of time to digest and...
0:05:03 > 0:05:04consider.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11I think, in that way, being paralysed has helped me quite a lot.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16Helped me to see the world in a different perspective.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Wheelchairs are very limiting.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25If I take the wheels off, like I would if I was getting in and out of the car....
0:05:25 > 0:05:28There's lots of things that are wrong with the chair.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29The first thing is, they all look the same.
0:05:32 > 0:05:33'It's...'
0:05:35 > 0:05:37It's just a chair, that's all it is.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40It's actually quite heavy.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42I mean, that's about, on its own, probably about 7kg.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45This is a typical wheelchair wheel,
0:05:45 > 0:05:49basically just a bike wheel that's had the hub changed
0:05:49 > 0:05:51and had this bit held on. Added on.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54But it's really difficult to grip, so I have to push the chair
0:05:54 > 0:05:56all the time with my hand on the wheel, like this,
0:05:56 > 0:05:59which means you're just running your hands on tyres.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01The other thing about these aluminium rims
0:06:01 > 0:06:04is if I just rub my finger on there for a minute...
0:06:04 > 0:06:07it comes off on your fingers. Anything it knocks into,
0:06:07 > 0:06:09it will leave this black residue.
0:06:11 > 0:06:13And that's that, really.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16After 27 years of putting up with this,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19Andrew has designed his own wheelchair,
0:06:19 > 0:06:23a revolutionary lightweight model he's called Carbon Black.
0:06:23 > 0:06:27So here's a picture of the design as it stands right now.
0:06:27 > 0:06:30This isn't really going to change now till we've made the prototype.
0:06:30 > 0:06:34So here you can see the main difference is this single stem
0:06:34 > 0:06:37that runs just down the middle.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40That goes behind the user's legs, rather than what you'd normally have
0:06:40 > 0:06:44is the two straps going down either side.
0:06:49 > 0:06:53Why not have a wheelchair that, you know...
0:06:53 > 0:06:56is super, super-sexy looking.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01This shot shows how the backrest's got these big cut-outs in it,
0:07:01 > 0:07:02which make it very light.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05What's the weight, do you think, of your wheelchair?
0:07:05 > 0:07:07I'm aiming for about six kilos for the chair.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09The chair I'm using today is about ten.
0:07:09 > 0:07:13It's very hard to know, really, how it's going to be like.
0:07:13 > 0:07:19You know, we can see... We can see that it looks nice in the CAD,
0:07:19 > 0:07:22in the computer, but the day they actually bring the chair out and say,
0:07:22 > 0:07:25"There it is, that's it, this is what it's all been about,
0:07:25 > 0:07:28"this has been three years of work...",
0:07:28 > 0:07:31that's going to be a really big moment.
0:07:31 > 0:07:32I don't know.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Andrew and Mary are facing a huge challenge,
0:07:35 > 0:07:38which they're recording on video diary.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Three years ago, Andrew gave up his job as a film editor
0:07:40 > 0:07:43to concentrate on Carbon Black.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Without any experience in product design,
0:07:46 > 0:07:50they'll have to get the chair manufactured, tested and marketed.
0:07:50 > 0:07:51It's gone off again.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11Today, Andrew is heading to Milton Keynes
0:08:11 > 0:08:14to pick up the first working model, or prototype, of Carbon Black
0:08:24 > 0:08:26'I lie in my bed at night,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29'I look at the wheelchair sitting next to my bed.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31'And I can't help myself
0:08:31 > 0:08:35'but to replace the chair sitting next to my bed with Carbon Black,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38'and try to imagine, "What's this really going to look like?"
0:08:38 > 0:08:40'"Is it going to work?"
0:08:40 > 0:08:42'"Why has no-one else done a chair like this?"'
0:08:45 > 0:08:47FLEETWOOD MAC ON CAR STEREO
0:08:47 > 0:08:49You don't know that you've had a good time
0:08:49 > 0:08:51till you've listened to Fleetwood Mac, I tell you.
0:08:51 > 0:08:54And it sets you up for a good journey, doesn't it, love?
0:08:54 > 0:08:56It does. It's our anthem.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59MUSIC: "Go Your Own Way" by Fleetwood Mac
0:09:02 > 0:09:04'I'm nervous, I think, for Andy.'
0:09:05 > 0:09:09I just want it to go well. I want it to go well.
0:09:09 > 0:09:13I really want it to happen for him. And...
0:09:13 > 0:09:19Cos there's nobody that's struggled more...
0:09:19 > 0:09:22in my lifetime that I've known, except for Andy.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27You know, his life has been a constant struggle.
0:09:27 > 0:09:33I see it every day. And this time,
0:09:33 > 0:09:36I want him to believe in himself.
0:09:36 > 0:09:41You know, I may be the support, but, "No, YOU did this."
0:09:41 > 0:09:44And that's going to be a good day for me. It really is.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48# You can go your own way... #
0:09:48 > 0:09:51Scottish Enterprise are funding this first prototype.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56Andy always says to me...
0:09:56 > 0:09:59I don't remember this, but he seems to have it etched in his mind.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02Years, when he first started the idea of Carbon Black,
0:10:02 > 0:10:07I apparently, quote, said that, "It's never going to work",
0:10:07 > 0:10:09and he should just get a normal job.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14But no, I think you see Andy putting so much work into it,
0:10:14 > 0:10:15so much effort...
0:10:15 > 0:10:20I mean, you kind of have to believe it's going to work, you have to put that belief into it.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Inspired by one of the fastest vehicles on four wheels,
0:10:35 > 0:10:40Andrew's making his wheelchair from Formula 1 material - carbon fibre.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44So he's come to Prodrive,
0:10:44 > 0:10:48the company behind Aston Martin's racing team.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51That's light, isn't it? That's better.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58And the button's absolutely flush. That's exactly how we wanted it.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00It's incredibly rigid.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03Oh, I'm really chuffed with that. That looks great.
0:11:09 > 0:11:11It's going to look pretty funky, isn't it?
0:11:11 > 0:11:15- It's going to be awesome. - It's going to look pretty damn good.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20This first prototype is being made using a high-tech process
0:11:20 > 0:11:23which is hugely labour-intensive.
0:11:23 > 0:11:2628 parts have to be moulded separately and then glued together.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33It's really happening and it's dawning on me.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38This might actually work. This might actually really work,
0:11:38 > 0:11:41and I was absolutely buzzing about it.
0:11:41 > 0:11:45I'm seeing it completely come together as...
0:11:45 > 0:11:46as Carbon Black.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50It looks completely revolutionary, the wheels look fantastic,
0:11:50 > 0:11:52everything's fitting together properly.
0:11:52 > 0:11:57It's all just clicking together, so I'm really optimistic.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Two days later, and the chair is nearly finished.
0:12:14 > 0:12:17But there is a problem with the backrest.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19It's not latching.
0:12:20 > 0:12:21Or that needs to be higher up.
0:12:21 > 0:12:25The engineers have forgotten to leave a gap for the seat cushion.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32They improvise a solution, made from wood and electrical tape.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38British engineering at its best(!)
0:12:38 > 0:12:42I think it's the old Heath Robinson school of engineering, this one, isn't it?
0:13:00 > 0:13:02To compete with other chairs on the market,
0:13:02 > 0:13:05Andrew wants a six kilogram wheelchair.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07Some things are over-engineered...
0:13:07 > 0:13:09This one is over two-and-a-half kilograms heavier.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23Three years since the project began,
0:13:23 > 0:13:26he's about to see Carbon Black for the first time.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47HE EXHALES
0:13:52 > 0:13:54God, it's so weird to see it for real.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Done a really good job. Thank you.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05Just takes a little bit of time to get my head round it.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08It looks so different to the other chair, doesn't it?
0:14:08 > 0:14:10It does look really good.
0:14:10 > 0:14:16Next to this one, it's like a new generation, isn't it?
0:14:17 > 0:14:19That's what I... That's what I feel like.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39It's weird, it feels like it's moving, but maybe it's just flexing.
0:14:39 > 0:14:43Flexing, probably. Does it feel fairly-balanced?
0:14:43 > 0:14:44It does actually, yeah.
0:14:47 > 0:14:49That feels all right.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54Hey, I'm using it.
0:14:54 > 0:14:55I'm using it.
0:15:27 > 0:15:30What's the hold-up? What is he doing?
0:15:33 > 0:15:38Andy hasn't told me what he thinks about it, cos he doesn't, you know,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41he wants my reaction to be a surprise.
0:15:45 > 0:15:46Mary.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49- Yes, are you ready?- Yeah.- OK.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01Oh, my God!
0:16:03 > 0:16:05Stay still.
0:16:13 > 0:16:17God, it's... God, I can't believe it's real.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21- Fantastic.- Do you think so?
0:16:21 > 0:16:23- Oh, my God, can I have a look at the footrest?- Yeah.
0:16:23 > 0:16:25- I'll move your feet.- Yeah, go on.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30Oh, my God.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Gosh, it's really real.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40Oh, my God.
0:16:41 > 0:16:42I can't believe it's here.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Aw! SHE LAUGHS
0:16:54 > 0:16:57- Do you want to see it without me in it?- Yeah.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13A few minutes away from where Andrew now lives is his old family home.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16DOG BARKS Dogs do react oddly to wheelchairs.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22There's the house where I grew up, in this house here.
0:17:27 > 0:17:30Yeah, I spent a lot of time here getting used to being in a wheelchair.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34I think there's a picture of me on my first day back at school,
0:17:34 > 0:17:38back at Nairn Academy, after I'd been paralysed.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47I'll never forget it, ever.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51I felt guilt, anger...
0:17:51 > 0:17:53wishing it had been me.
0:17:56 > 0:17:59That somehow we had destroyed his life,
0:17:59 > 0:18:01he would never have teenage years.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06My bedroom was round the side of the house, on the other side.
0:18:06 > 0:18:11But after my accident, my bedroom was moved to that bay window,
0:18:11 > 0:18:15just above that roof there, that was my bedroom, cos it was bigger,
0:18:15 > 0:18:19and you could get a wheelchair round it, with a through-floor lift
0:18:19 > 0:18:23that you wound by hand. It took you up on a kind of platform.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27This is the only way of taking it up to my bedroom.
0:18:27 > 0:18:31Pull this down, and I just wind this handle, and I can go up.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36Soon, Andrew began to form ideas of a perfect wheelchair.
0:18:38 > 0:18:39I wouldn't call it an obsession,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43but he's had this idea in his head since his accident, really.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49He began talking about the chairs being big and heavy
0:18:49 > 0:18:53and ugly and industrial, and we just all thought it was a pipe dream.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03October, 2010,
0:19:03 > 0:19:06and the first prototype needs to be put through its paces.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10It's way lighter than getting the other one out.
0:19:13 > 0:19:17It's a chance to test out a design feature unique to Carbon Black.
0:19:17 > 0:19:19LEDs.
0:19:21 > 0:19:24- What does it look like?- It's so dark I can't actually see you.
0:19:24 > 0:19:28But they don't look stupid, doesn't look like a mobile Christmas tree?
0:19:28 > 0:19:31No, no, it's not like that at all. If you had more of them...
0:19:31 > 0:19:32- Strobing.- Yeah!
0:19:32 > 0:19:35They're quite bright from here.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37I think it's still promising. We can work on it.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40And I do. I think it's an excellent idea.
0:19:40 > 0:19:42Carbon Black. Showing you the way ahead!
0:19:42 > 0:19:45Carbon Black. Glow as you go!
0:19:45 > 0:19:46Glow as you go, that's good!
0:19:46 > 0:19:49THEY LAUGH
0:19:50 > 0:19:53- That was good, wasn't it? - That was good.- It's got to be said.
0:19:55 > 0:19:59And I'm looking, I don't know whether it's the tyres
0:19:59 > 0:20:01or it's actually the carbon wheels,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04but they're reverberating. Not too bad.
0:20:05 > 0:20:08Over the next few weeks, they test the wheelchair
0:20:08 > 0:20:10in everyday situations.
0:20:13 > 0:20:15It's actually not too bad. It's all right.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20It's still quite slow. But this is quite a good test,
0:20:20 > 0:20:24because I'm really pushing on the wheels quite hard.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27- Mm-hm.- There's a lot of resistance against them.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31- I think this is going quite well. - Are you happy?- Yeah.
0:20:32 > 0:20:37- I used to come down here as a kid. - Did you?- Come down here on my bike.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40If I can't do that, there's something seriously wrong.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44This is where I do get a bit scared, not because of going up a curb,
0:20:44 > 0:20:46just cos I hope the wheels can take it.
0:20:49 > 0:20:51'This is the start of...'
0:20:51 > 0:20:53These are really small curbs.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58'..you know, maybe the beginning of the business of it.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00'I'm positive. I'm feeling very positive.'
0:21:00 > 0:21:04It's a feeling of elation, but for me, there's, you know,
0:21:04 > 0:21:09there's a small little element of being scared,
0:21:09 > 0:21:12being scared of, "What does that mean for us?
0:21:12 > 0:21:14"What does that mean for us as a family?"
0:21:16 > 0:21:19- OK, OK.- OK.
0:21:19 > 0:21:24- You've got a front caster problem. - Yeah.- OK.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28I don't want to do much to it, because we're going to have to get you back, aren't we?
0:21:28 > 0:21:31- Yeah. Let's get back. - It's a minor hiccup.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33The front caster has come loose.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36OK. Do you want to take this one back?
0:21:36 > 0:21:38But there is a far greater issue.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42With such high-end manufacturing costs,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Carbon Black will have to sell for £20,000.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49More than eight times the price of the average wheelchair.
0:21:50 > 0:21:56I think if Carbon Black was priced at about kind of £4,000 or £5,000,
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I think we would be overwhelmed with people interested.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02But what I don't know is,
0:22:02 > 0:22:06are there 200 people that'll pay £20,000 for a wheelchair?
0:22:06 > 0:22:08The answer really has to be yes, but...
0:22:09 > 0:22:11..it's a gamble.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15And what would be the life span of the chair, then?
0:22:15 > 0:22:18I would replace my chair every two to three years.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23And I wouldn't expect someone to get more from Carbon Black.
0:22:42 > 0:22:43Too many cooks in the kitchen!
0:22:43 > 0:22:48Andrew, his three stepchildren and Mary are getting ready for Christmas.
0:22:48 > 0:22:50This is all mine. That's the only beer there is!
0:22:54 > 0:22:58The first prototype has thrown up issues with the front forks,
0:22:58 > 0:23:02the casters, and the backrest, which broke off completely,
0:23:02 > 0:23:05so he needs to make a second.
0:23:05 > 0:23:07But on top of the grants,
0:23:07 > 0:23:09he's already spent £50,000 of his own money.
0:23:11 > 0:23:14He can no longer afford to work with Prodrive.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20It's nearly three months to the day since we picked up the chair,
0:23:20 > 0:23:24and the project's been absolutely static for all that time.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26- That'll do, come round. - Christmas is ruined!
0:23:26 > 0:23:27GIRL: It's overdressed! >
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Why is that 100 shades of wrong?
0:23:30 > 0:23:32- GIRL: Cos it's too gold. - Cos you put red and gold together?
0:23:32 > 0:23:36It's two together, you can't do that, that's wrong.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40The couple have just been awarded a further grant by Highlands And Islands Enterprise
0:23:40 > 0:23:42to make a second prototype.
0:23:42 > 0:23:46But they'll have to find an extra £20,000.
0:23:46 > 0:23:50Andrew has no option but to remortgage the family home.
0:23:50 > 0:23:53I've now put in every penny I can find.
0:23:53 > 0:23:57So this is it, this is the last phase of the development,
0:23:57 > 0:24:01and what comes out at the end of this phase has got to be the end product,
0:24:01 > 0:24:05and it's got to be on the market very soon.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11- OK... - THEY CHEER
0:24:11 > 0:24:13That's nice.
0:24:25 > 0:24:28Andrew has found a new local manufacturer
0:24:28 > 0:24:31who has worked with some top names in Formula 1.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41James Urquhart says he can manufacture Carbon Black
0:24:41 > 0:24:44for a quarter of the price.
0:24:44 > 0:24:46How light is that?
0:24:46 > 0:24:50- It's pretty light, isn't it? - It's going to be lighter when you're done with it.
0:24:50 > 0:24:55This means Andrew could get the retail price down to £10,000.
0:24:55 > 0:24:57This is the moulds here.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59It's just basically all been bunged into a box, hasn't it?
0:24:59 > 0:25:02It's just been thrown in, yeah.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07- So that's the footrest, that's the top of the footrest?- Yeah.
0:25:07 > 0:25:09To help keep the costs down,
0:25:09 > 0:25:14Andrew has instructed James to use these original moulds, or tooling,
0:25:14 > 0:25:16created by the first company.
0:25:16 > 0:25:19In fact, there's more tooling than I thought there was.
0:25:19 > 0:25:21There is quite a bit of tooling here.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Expensive stuff.
0:25:23 > 0:25:26There's about forty grand's worth of tooling in there.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30But that's to Formula 1 prices.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34Yet the chair built using these is flawed.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37- It does looks on a bit of an angle. - It does.
0:25:37 > 0:25:42- OK, but that's an issue. - Yeah, that is one to check.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44With money tight,
0:25:44 > 0:25:49he's set James a deadline of 12 weeks to make the second prototype.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53- How it's looking, James? - Yeah, it's all right, yeah.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55Does it all makes sense?
0:25:55 > 0:25:57Yeah, just going to have to have a proper look through it all
0:25:57 > 0:26:02- and see how it all goes together, really.- Have a seat.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06The Enterprise Agency has also provided a business mentor.
0:26:08 > 0:26:11It's so light. That's the thing. It's absolutely so light.
0:26:11 > 0:26:14This is business start-up.
0:26:14 > 0:26:18This is business start-up at its absolute sharp end,
0:26:18 > 0:26:20and in the middle of a recession as well.
0:26:21 > 0:26:23Where I would be nervous for Andy
0:26:23 > 0:26:27is that he has got a very, very expensive product.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31That means that he has got to go and find the customers
0:26:31 > 0:26:34who are going to spend that amount of money, across the world.
0:26:34 > 0:26:38This place is dedicated to the chair, and that's really cool.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41I feel like I'm, you know, I'm now working with someone
0:26:41 > 0:26:44that's going to be really focused on doing the best for the product.
0:26:44 > 0:26:48- Yeah, sure.- Rather than trying to make the quickest buck.
0:26:51 > 0:26:56Carbon Black is finally on track for a launch in spring, 2011.
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Early February, and progress is proving painfully slow.
0:27:19 > 0:27:22Things are very up and down, you know.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26I'm confused, Andy's confused.
0:27:26 > 0:27:31Since Christmas, everything that could go wrong has gone wrong.
0:27:33 > 0:27:39Andy is spending copious amounts of time at the unit,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43trying to almost, you know, walk him through this.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47And that's creating an awful lot of pressure for the pair of us.
0:27:47 > 0:27:52This chair was supposed to be done for the end of March,
0:27:52 > 0:27:54beginning of April.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Have we got tape, James, or even your measuring...?
0:28:00 > 0:28:03Despite this, Andrew continues developing ideas
0:28:03 > 0:28:05for the second prototype.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07- You're going to want it... - 200, we said, wasn't it? Yeah.
0:28:07 > 0:28:11If there was a quick-release mechanism, you could almost...
0:28:11 > 0:28:13And then it would just click in there.
0:28:13 > 0:28:15'He's blaming me for the delays.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18'Although we're trying to push on and do the best that we could,'
0:28:18 > 0:28:22and there was a lot of changes within the stages that...
0:28:23 > 0:28:26Well, there were indecisive changes
0:28:26 > 0:28:31in terms of things were getting changed on the backrest etc
0:28:31 > 0:28:34that slowed the project right down.
0:28:34 > 0:28:36- Pivoted here...- Yeah.
0:28:36 > 0:28:37..on a screw.
0:28:37 > 0:28:39When things keep changing, it's hard to keep up
0:28:39 > 0:28:42when the goalposts keep getting moved.
0:28:43 > 0:28:47Plans to start selling the chair in seven weeks have to be put on hold.
0:28:49 > 0:28:53- We'll keep it fairly brief, cos it's too frickin' cold.- Yeah.
0:28:54 > 0:28:56We're nearly at February 14,
0:28:56 > 0:28:58and we're still not quite signed off stage one.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02- It's been quite a...- It's been a struggle up to here.- Yeah.
0:29:02 > 0:29:07I think both of us have perhaps not been as proactive as we could have been.
0:29:07 > 0:29:09And obviously, I'm having a bit more input...
0:29:09 > 0:29:11But timetables aren't the only issue.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14But I mean, if we're waiting on carbon coming,
0:29:14 > 0:29:19that's obviously a total basic fundamental we're going to have to have.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22It is. I'll make sure I'm ordering it at least six weeks in advance.
0:29:22 > 0:29:24Is that the lead-time, six weeks?
0:29:24 > 0:29:27I mean, I have seen it take up to six weeks before.
0:29:27 > 0:29:28I mean, that would kill us.
0:29:28 > 0:29:32We might need to think of a contingency plan.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46The decision to delay selling begins to affect everyone.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49SHE LAUGHS
0:29:55 > 0:29:57Oh, my God. Are you kidding?!
0:29:58 > 0:30:00'I worry about the stress levels round the family.'
0:30:00 > 0:30:05I lie in bed at night just turning over what we do next,
0:30:05 > 0:30:08how we pay the next thing.
0:30:08 > 0:30:12How long have I got before it becomes just too tough?
0:30:15 > 0:30:18Well, I thought I'd give those guys an advantage
0:30:18 > 0:30:22and get the best player to see if he can be just as good from a wheelchair.
0:30:22 > 0:30:24So that's what I'm doing.
0:30:26 > 0:30:28You're very limited for swing back.
0:30:31 > 0:30:34- HE GROANS - Right, OK.
0:30:35 > 0:30:37HE LAUGHS
0:30:39 > 0:30:42CHEERING AND GROANING
0:30:42 > 0:30:46Andy's put years into Carbon Black,
0:30:46 > 0:30:49and all of his focus is into it, so he hasn't had a job.
0:30:49 > 0:30:52And I mean, there's only so long you can go without working
0:30:52 > 0:30:56until, you know, money starts to run out and things start to get tight.
0:30:56 > 0:31:00Family life's kind of taken a back seat to the chair, if you like.
0:31:01 > 0:31:03I think Sophie, especially,
0:31:03 > 0:31:07she's in her last year of secondary school now, it's a big year,
0:31:07 > 0:31:12she's got exams, she's hoping to go to university after,
0:31:12 > 0:31:15and I kind of think that it's tough on her,
0:31:15 > 0:31:18because she's not getting help with her, well, not getting as much help
0:31:18 > 0:31:22with her studies from the parents as maybe she should be.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24They can't focus on her and the chair at the same time,
0:31:24 > 0:31:26and unfortunately, the chair's winning out,
0:31:26 > 0:31:30so she's kind of being left on her own a little bit, you know.
0:31:40 > 0:31:42March 1st.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46There has been little progress made over the last three months.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51I'm mad.
0:31:51 > 0:31:54I'm really, really upset about it.
0:31:56 > 0:32:01I expected the new company to be on the ball big-time.
0:32:02 > 0:32:06Hopes that James would manufacture a far cheaper Carbon Black
0:32:06 > 0:32:07haven't been realised.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14Had it. Absolutely had it.
0:32:14 > 0:32:18Had it with this wheelchair, I've had it with the whole project.
0:32:18 > 0:32:20Just sick to the back teeth of it.
0:32:22 > 0:32:27I was OK till this afternoon, and Mary got very upset this afternoon.
0:32:27 > 0:32:31And that's kind of pushed me over the edge a little bit.
0:32:31 > 0:32:33Cos I've just been bottling it and bottling all the stress,
0:32:33 > 0:32:36and she just cracked, totally cracked this afternoon.
0:32:36 > 0:32:38She just sat down on the sofa and just broke down.
0:32:38 > 0:32:40Said, "I can't do this anymore."
0:32:45 > 0:32:49Some of them are still with the pattern cutter,
0:32:49 > 0:32:53- so we'll have to get them sent back up.- I was kind of expecting that last week.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55Yeah, but he hasn't sent them up...
0:32:55 > 0:32:59You take everything out the box, and we'll put it back in the box.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01OK, two sets of LEDs.
0:33:01 > 0:33:04- There's three sets in there. - There's three sets.
0:33:04 > 0:33:05Quick releases, two.
0:33:05 > 0:33:09- Power strips. - Have the other switch come?
0:33:09 > 0:33:11Well, it's not arrived, but there's no need for it
0:33:11 > 0:33:16because you signed that off already, so it's what we agreed on.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18It's not what we agreed on at all, is it?
0:33:18 > 0:33:21I mean, last time I saw you, there were...
0:33:21 > 0:33:24you said they're sending the other one because they've only got...
0:33:24 > 0:33:26Well, I'm only telling you what they're telling me.
0:33:26 > 0:33:30- I'm pushing them to send stuff to me.- Bullshit.
0:33:30 > 0:33:34Andrew, you're talking... Andrew, this project has been so delayed
0:33:34 > 0:33:37- because of you. - Because of me? Really?
0:33:39 > 0:33:42Andrew and James have decided to part ways.
0:33:42 > 0:33:45But this is not the first company that Andrew has dealt with,
0:33:45 > 0:33:48or the second.
0:33:48 > 0:33:49In fact, it's the fourth.
0:33:50 > 0:33:53I don't think Andrew really appreciates actually how much
0:33:53 > 0:33:58we've put into this, you know, and how much extra effort
0:33:58 > 0:34:00behind the scenes that goes on.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02And I just feel that he doesn't see half of it,
0:34:02 > 0:34:04so he probably thinks there's not very much progress,
0:34:04 > 0:34:07when we're really actually doing quite a lot here
0:34:07 > 0:34:09to try and make this work for him, you know.
0:34:12 > 0:34:15I didn't know developing a new product was going to be
0:34:15 > 0:34:19as time-consuming, as expensive and as hard as this has been.
0:34:19 > 0:34:25You're totally reliant on the engineers and the designers and...
0:34:26 > 0:34:30..all the other people that are involved with this to do their bit.
0:34:30 > 0:34:34But it's not their project. They're just doing their job.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48With no manufacturer on board,
0:34:48 > 0:34:51Andrew decides to push ahead with the marketing.
0:34:54 > 0:34:56Today, he's having publicity photos taken
0:34:56 > 0:35:01by one of the UK's leading brand photographers, Richard Foster.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06Intriguing beast.
0:35:06 > 0:35:09Intriguing beast, that's a good name for it!
0:35:09 > 0:35:13It's actually a much more elegant piece of design
0:35:13 > 0:35:14than I was expecting.
0:35:14 > 0:35:19You can't give something first time out ten-out-of-ten, but I'd definitely give it a nine.
0:35:22 > 0:35:28Would you mind...? Yeah, keep going round. That's so much better.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30SHUTTER CLICKS
0:35:30 > 0:35:34I don't know the market he's selling to.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37I know sort of what's happened to me,
0:35:37 > 0:35:40but I don't know how many other people are in a wheelchair
0:35:40 > 0:35:41with the money to spend
0:35:41 > 0:35:44on that object of, you know, desirability.
0:35:46 > 0:35:48There's something very beautiful if you come down here
0:35:48 > 0:35:52and look at that. Really, you know, it's quite exceptional.
0:35:52 > 0:35:57You haven't held back. You've designed everything, even redesigned the wheel.
0:35:57 > 0:36:01I think it's designed for people with maybe a little more movement
0:36:01 > 0:36:04than myself. I think I'd fall out the back quite quick.
0:36:04 > 0:36:09So before your accident, would you have been running around doing all this yourself?
0:36:09 > 0:36:12Yeah, much better. I actually concentrate on the photographs now,
0:36:12 > 0:36:15- not running up and down. - It works quite well, doesn't it?
0:36:15 > 0:36:17Yeah. Far harder work...
0:36:17 > 0:36:20Richard Foster is the only other wheelchair user
0:36:20 > 0:36:22ever to have seen Carbon Black.
0:36:22 > 0:36:25Andrew has based the design on his own needs.
0:36:25 > 0:36:30Perhaps arrogantly, I feel I know what needs to be done.
0:36:31 > 0:36:33I am the market study.
0:36:33 > 0:36:37I've had 28 years using a chair, and my take on it is,
0:36:37 > 0:36:42if I have the problems I have with existing chairs, then so do others.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44There we go.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50I mean, words can't say enough, can they?
0:36:50 > 0:36:51Night and day. Chalk and cheese.
0:36:54 > 0:36:58It now doesn't matter whether I go to a user group
0:36:58 > 0:37:03and they tell me they don't like it, because I'll carry on regardless.
0:37:08 > 0:37:12- How are you doing, sir? - Hi, Gary.- How's tricks?- How are you?
0:37:12 > 0:37:16Nearly four years on, and Carbon Black is still not on sale.
0:37:18 > 0:37:22Andrew's meeting his business mentor Gary for some advice.
0:37:23 > 0:37:26Good bacon rolls, that's the main thing you get in here.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Get some products, get out there and show it to folk.
0:37:31 > 0:37:37- And even if it turns out to be a market research...- Mm-hm.
0:37:37 > 0:37:40..you know, sort of day out or two days out,
0:37:40 > 0:37:43where everybody comes on and says, "Well, yeah, I like, I'd buy it,
0:37:43 > 0:37:47"but I'd only buy it if..." And if you get 99 out of 100 people
0:37:47 > 0:37:50coming up and saying, "It needs this,"
0:37:50 > 0:37:52then at least you know that...
0:37:52 > 0:37:55See, I know there are things that it does need.
0:37:55 > 0:37:59I know that this backrest is too small for some people to use.
0:37:59 > 0:38:01That's what you think.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04What you need to do is go and find out what everybody else thinks as well.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07In case you have fundamentally misread the market.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11I think you're right. I think I've got quite bogged down
0:38:11 > 0:38:13in trying to reduce the weight,
0:38:13 > 0:38:15and keep the weight down and keep it down.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19The danger is you'll keep on trying to make it perfect in your own mind.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22You don't need the perfect wheelchair, just one 200 people a year will buy.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26That's it. It's come to the crunch.
0:38:26 > 0:38:28HE LAUGHS It's too scary!
0:38:28 > 0:38:30I know it's scary, but that's it, now you've got to go
0:38:30 > 0:38:33and find out if everybody else likes your baby as well.
0:38:33 > 0:38:34That's it.
0:38:34 > 0:38:38Urged by Gary, Andrew decides to launch Carbon Black
0:38:38 > 0:38:41at a major disability road show in just eight weeks.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46I do think it's easy for Gary to say, "Oh, just be there.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49"If you commit to being there, it'll all be good.
0:38:49 > 0:38:50"You'll find out."
0:38:50 > 0:38:52And he's right, but I've got to find the money to do it.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02After the fallout with James,
0:39:02 > 0:39:05Andrew started working with a new company in Leicestershire.
0:39:09 > 0:39:15It's a really exciting day that hopefully this is it.
0:39:15 > 0:39:21This is the second and final chair to be made
0:39:21 > 0:39:24before I can actually get Carbon Black onto the market.
0:39:26 > 0:39:30- Andrew.- Good to see you again. - You too, are you well?
0:39:30 > 0:39:32- Yeah, not so bad. - Safe journey down, good journey?
0:39:32 > 0:39:35Yeah, it was all right. Getting used to it again.
0:39:35 > 0:39:38- Yeah, well, this is it. - 535 miles this time.
0:39:38 > 0:39:39Well worth it, I think.
0:39:39 > 0:39:41There's a lot of progress since you were down here last time.
0:39:41 > 0:39:46Andrew wants to sell Carbon Black for £10,000.
0:39:46 > 0:39:49He's instructed Jamie Smith to make a second prototype
0:39:49 > 0:39:52from the original moulds made over a year ago.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55- There we are, eh? Fantastic.- Yeah.
0:39:56 > 0:40:02I think the level of finish can, well, without a shadow of a doubt, be improved.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05- Time frame now is just trying to get it...- Looks pretty good, though.
0:40:05 > 0:40:07..trying to get it done, basically.
0:40:07 > 0:40:10He's still hoping for a 6kg wheelchair.
0:40:10 > 0:40:12How light is that?
0:40:16 > 0:40:19The first prototype weighed 8.66 kilograms.
0:40:20 > 0:40:22Oh, no.
0:40:25 > 0:40:26Quirky.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29I'm surprised at that.
0:40:29 > 0:40:34It's actually not far off where we were before.
0:40:34 > 0:40:37At 8.77 kilograms, this prototype is heavier.
0:40:40 > 0:40:46- Still sticking to your 6kg chair? - Yep.- Yeah? In six weeks?
0:40:46 > 0:40:48- Yep.- OK.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51- If you can afford it, anyway. - Oh, that's the clause, isn't it?
0:40:51 > 0:40:53Yeah!
0:40:57 > 0:41:01Back in Nairn, he's discovered another problem.
0:41:02 > 0:41:06The bonding has cracked along the line there,
0:41:06 > 0:41:09which is exactly the same thing that happened to the first chair
0:41:09 > 0:41:10made by Prodrive.
0:41:10 > 0:41:13And although that's taking quite a lot of strength for me
0:41:13 > 0:41:18just to actually move that, I don't want to shear it off.
0:41:18 > 0:41:20I'm tempted to use the chair and see if it breaks,
0:41:20 > 0:41:22cos I need to be able to do that...
0:41:22 > 0:41:25I wondered whether it was like a design flaw, almost.
0:41:25 > 0:41:27Erm...
0:41:28 > 0:41:32I hope not. Hope it's not a design flaw, cos these parts are all tooled
0:41:32 > 0:41:35and to change them's going to be expensive.
0:41:35 > 0:41:38I thought that, you know, we'd just make the first chair
0:41:38 > 0:41:42and if I spent so much time designing it, it would all be hunky-dory
0:41:42 > 0:41:45and everything would be great. "Let's sell this thing."
0:41:45 > 0:41:48But actually, another...
0:41:48 > 0:41:50This second prototype's still got issues.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53A lot of the problems have been resolved, but...
0:41:53 > 0:41:54there's going to have to be third one.
0:41:54 > 0:41:58A third one before I can confidently say, "Now we're there."
0:42:01 > 0:42:05Andrew's back in London, looking for further investment.
0:42:05 > 0:42:08He's heard about a less labour-intensive manufacturing process
0:42:08 > 0:42:11that would make an even cheaper Carbon Black.
0:42:11 > 0:42:13But he'd need to buy new moulds.
0:42:14 > 0:42:18- Sorry, do you work in here?- Yes. - How do I get in here?
0:42:24 > 0:42:27I'll put the front wheels on and you can help up the step, OK?
0:42:27 > 0:42:30He's meeting top entrepreneur Deborah "Dragons' Den" Meaden.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32And one more... OK.
0:42:32 > 0:42:35- Oh, yeah. Oh, my goodness.- Yes.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39And I won't ask you to lift this one, but it's quite a lot heavier than that one.
0:42:39 > 0:42:43I might have to take my shoes off, because these high heels were not meant for lifting.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46Well, A - it's awkward to lift, because...
0:42:46 > 0:42:48- Because the seat just moves, it's just fabric.- Yeah.
0:42:48 > 0:42:50- There is a handle there. - Oh, is there? Oh, gosh,
0:42:50 > 0:42:52that's very different.
0:42:52 > 0:42:56And that couple of kilograms does actually make quite a lot of difference.
0:42:56 > 0:42:58It just feels like using a bus now.
0:42:58 > 0:43:03And that is, you know, that, to be absolutely fair,
0:43:03 > 0:43:05eight kilograms is pretty, you know...
0:43:05 > 0:43:07There are a lot of chairs around that weight.
0:43:07 > 0:43:09There are some that are less than that.
0:43:09 > 0:43:12Cos your target weight was six kilograms, wasn't it?
0:43:12 > 0:43:13The target is six.
0:43:13 > 0:43:16- I don't know that we're going to achieve that without new tooling.- OK.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19The carbon fibre company says we can do it,
0:43:19 > 0:43:23but we need to make it in once piece. But we need a good amount of money
0:43:23 > 0:43:24to make the tooling.
0:43:24 > 0:43:28- So, if you did have the new tooling...- Mm-hm.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30..you could sell this for...?
0:43:30 > 0:43:33I reckon we could sell it for about six.
0:43:33 > 0:43:36Just get them out there on the market for the price
0:43:36 > 0:43:39- you think you can ultimately sell them for...- Yeah.
0:43:39 > 0:43:41..and see how quickly they sell.
0:43:41 > 0:43:45And there's nothing like saying, "Do you know, three months, I've sold ten of them.
0:43:45 > 0:43:48"I've sold 100 of them. I've sold, two, three..."
0:43:48 > 0:43:51Whatever it is. That just helps me make my decision
0:43:51 > 0:43:53to say, "This isn't risky, there's a market."
0:43:53 > 0:43:55So right now, you would think this is risky?
0:43:57 > 0:44:00That's a difficult thing for me to hear right now.
0:44:00 > 0:44:03I am at a very scary time. I'm completely skint.
0:44:03 > 0:44:06To have someone in front of you that's got all that money
0:44:06 > 0:44:11and is an investor, I would have lapped it up, because I need it.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15If there is something that worries me about Andrew,
0:44:15 > 0:44:16I think he might be losing his nerve.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20The risk with losing confidence is when you're talking to people,
0:44:20 > 0:44:22they can feel it.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24And confidence is a very attractive thing.
0:44:24 > 0:44:27And if he's trying to raise funds, if he's trying to get investors,
0:44:27 > 0:44:30if he's trying to convince people to buy his product,
0:44:30 > 0:44:33now he needs to be very, very confident about it.
0:44:49 > 0:44:52With no investment from Deborah Meaden,
0:44:52 > 0:44:54the focus is now on the imminent launch.
0:44:59 > 0:45:03What happens on the day if we don't sell one chair?
0:45:03 > 0:45:06Or, you know, even if we didn't sell any chairs,
0:45:06 > 0:45:08but the interest is really low?
0:45:08 > 0:45:10Erm...
0:45:10 > 0:45:13You know, what effect is it going to have on me, on Andy,
0:45:13 > 0:45:16on our sort of confidence about the chair?
0:45:16 > 0:45:20And then, what effect is it going to have on us as a family financially?
0:45:37 > 0:45:41It's the evening before the public unveiling of Carbon Black.
0:45:46 > 0:45:49Andrew's come to Leicestershire to pick up three wheelchairs
0:45:49 > 0:45:51for tomorrow's London launch.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56- So is this the... Is this the good one?- Yeah.
0:45:56 > 0:45:59This is the fixed one? This is the good one?
0:46:01 > 0:46:02It's solid aluminium.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06It should have been carbon, really.
0:46:06 > 0:46:07You shouldn't actually see...
0:46:07 > 0:46:10The other one of these is silver, is gloss.
0:46:10 > 0:46:12Hasn't got any heavier.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16Weighing in at 8.3kg,
0:46:16 > 0:46:19the hope of a 6kg chair hasn't been realised.
0:46:19 > 0:46:21Cos this one hasn't got a break lever.
0:46:21 > 0:46:24But that's not the only issue.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30I'm trying not to find more problems with things
0:46:30 > 0:46:32that I think need to be sorted.
0:46:32 > 0:46:34But I'm seeing quite a few things.
0:46:34 > 0:46:36That's going to have to change,
0:46:36 > 0:46:38and that's going to cause a lot of problems.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44This chair's got to look absolutely spot on, and that doesn't.
0:46:44 > 0:46:47And it doesn't look like a £10,000 chair right now.
0:46:47 > 0:46:51Also, one of the three chairs, a lighter display model,
0:46:51 > 0:46:53has been damaged.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55HE SIGHS
0:46:55 > 0:46:57This is not happening.
0:46:59 > 0:47:03Well, I can't put this on a stand, on a turntable, under floodlights,
0:47:03 > 0:47:07with a cloth sitting over it because we've cracked it.
0:47:07 > 0:47:09Oh, Christ, it's chipped on the corners as well.
0:47:09 > 0:47:12This is the night before our show.
0:47:12 > 0:47:15Not only have we had a disaster with the other chair that's being done,
0:47:15 > 0:47:17the one chair that was absolutely immaculate's
0:47:17 > 0:47:19been dropped on the floor and cracked.
0:47:20 > 0:47:26And now we're trying to fix it with masking tape
0:47:26 > 0:47:27and bits of spray paint.
0:47:29 > 0:47:33Or drape a cloth over the crack to hide it.
0:47:36 > 0:47:39(What? What the fuck?)
0:47:45 > 0:47:47It's been the worst day of the whole project.
0:47:50 > 0:47:52HE SIGHS
0:47:54 > 0:47:57When Jamie said, "I dropped it, the display chair's broken,
0:47:57 > 0:47:59"you can't have it...",
0:47:59 > 0:48:01I thought he was joking.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03I thought he was going to say, "Ha-ha, just joking."
0:48:08 > 0:48:12For this to happen at this hour, on this night,
0:48:12 > 0:48:14is just more than disappointing.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16It's gut-wrenching, to be honest.
0:48:25 > 0:48:28If Andrew does get orders for Carbon Black,
0:48:28 > 0:48:31he will have to consider a completely new manufacturing process.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35- You want to retool?- Yeah.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39Yeah. I want to retool as well, but we need orders to retool.
0:48:39 > 0:48:43This is not, this is not in any state a part
0:48:43 > 0:48:48that you can go into production with for any kind of volume.
0:48:48 > 0:48:53No, we don't need to achieve any volumes with the tooling we've got.
0:48:53 > 0:48:58We just need to achieve orders and maybe a small run
0:48:58 > 0:49:02- of production chairs.- Yeah.
0:49:02 > 0:49:05If I come back from the show and I've got ten orders...
0:49:05 > 0:49:10If you do get ten orders, then it's imperative that you do retool.
0:49:10 > 0:49:11Mm-hm.
0:49:11 > 0:49:15- Because it'll make everything work much better, won't it?- Yes.
0:49:17 > 0:49:211.00am. With the launch just hours away,
0:49:21 > 0:49:24Andrew heads to London with the patched-up wheelchairs.
0:49:49 > 0:49:53After four years and almost £200,000 investment,
0:49:53 > 0:49:55Carbon Black finally goes on sale
0:49:55 > 0:49:59at one of Britain's biggest disability road shows.
0:50:05 > 0:50:07You know, I hope this exhibition goes well.
0:50:07 > 0:50:10I've put a lot of effort into it, posters and fliers
0:50:10 > 0:50:13and making sure the chair looks good, getting it sprayed,
0:50:13 > 0:50:15getting the photos out.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18And I don't even know how much work they put into this thing,
0:50:18 > 0:50:21but I'll tell you what I do know - how much stress it's caused.
0:50:23 > 0:50:26And you can really tell we're moving forward, just taking steps,
0:50:26 > 0:50:29steps to get this thing out in the market, get it sold.
0:50:29 > 0:50:32And that means cash, and everybody loves cash.
0:50:32 > 0:50:34I shall shift myself out of the way.
0:50:34 > 0:50:37This is the first time the public will get to see
0:50:37 > 0:50:40and try out Carbon Black.
0:50:40 > 0:50:44To woo buyers, Andrew is offering a 22% discount.
0:50:45 > 0:50:48But with a price tag of £8,000,
0:50:48 > 0:50:51it's still the most expensive wheelchair on sale.
0:50:52 > 0:50:56- This looks a grand old chair, I'm telling you.- Thank you.- Well done.
0:50:56 > 0:50:58Hat off.
0:50:58 > 0:51:02I wish I wasn't quadriplegic, I wish I could use one.
0:51:02 > 0:51:05But I'd lean and I'd fall out the side, so...
0:51:05 > 0:51:08I'm afraid, yeah, you wouldn't get the back support that you've got
0:51:08 > 0:51:11- with your chair.- No, but, oh...
0:51:11 > 0:51:14What are they retailing at? Are they expensive?
0:51:14 > 0:51:16The retail price, normal price would be £10,000.
0:51:16 > 0:51:18SHE SCREAMS
0:51:18 > 0:51:21But today's offer is £7,800.
0:51:21 > 0:51:22Wow!
0:51:22 > 0:51:27Well, you can certainly have a shot. Be a little bit careful with it.
0:51:27 > 0:51:30It's quite tippy because the centre of gravity on this particular one
0:51:30 > 0:51:31is set quite far forward.
0:51:34 > 0:51:37The push rim, well, this is the push rim here.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39- So basically, you hold...?- Yes.
0:51:39 > 0:51:41- Oh, right...- Oh!- Oh.
0:51:41 > 0:51:43Oh, I'm terribly sorry.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46If we just pull you up there. There we go.
0:51:47 > 0:51:49Move backwards. That's it.
0:51:49 > 0:51:51Are you all right?
0:51:51 > 0:51:54- Are you all right there?- I'm fine. - That's OK, you're...
0:51:54 > 0:51:56- Yeah, I'm going to... - Just lean forward.
0:51:58 > 0:52:00Stay with him, love.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02It's a unique look,
0:52:02 > 0:52:06and it's very tippy, because of...
0:52:06 > 0:52:08I'm not used to it,
0:52:08 > 0:52:12because the centre of gravity's different from what I'm used to.
0:52:14 > 0:52:17A couple of hours in, and there's a problem.
0:52:19 > 0:52:21A jammed axle, apparently, on this caster.
0:52:25 > 0:52:29I think someone's tried to put it back in again and has jammed it.
0:52:32 > 0:52:34So we can't let anybody try it now anyway.
0:52:34 > 0:52:35No-one can try it. All they can do is,
0:52:35 > 0:52:39I can hop out of this one and they can try mine.
0:52:39 > 0:52:41This one's going through some maintenance at the moment.
0:52:41 > 0:52:45Pick this one, cos people have been taking it apart. But this is a wheel, basically.
0:52:46 > 0:52:49- I'm actually getting my new wheelchair tomorrow.- Are you?
0:52:49 > 0:52:51- So I can't look at this now.- Oh, no!
0:52:51 > 0:52:54- It's costing a fortune. Next time. - Yeah.
0:52:54 > 0:52:58There we go, it actually comes apart. And then the wheels come off.
0:52:58 > 0:52:59It's amazing.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01Does look a bit like a space buggy,
0:53:01 > 0:53:03and it also doesn't look that secure,
0:53:03 > 0:53:05so I wouldn't want to buy it just now.
0:53:05 > 0:53:09- It's really, really good, isn't it? - It is, it's fantastic.
0:53:10 > 0:53:13Carbon Black gets a lot of interest.
0:53:13 > 0:53:15I thought it was very good, very light,
0:53:15 > 0:53:17seemed quite comfortable to sit in.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21Yeah, a lovely design as well.
0:53:21 > 0:53:26Well, we could do a different backrest. This backrest comes off.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29But for many, the chair needs adjustments.
0:53:29 > 0:53:31- Handles back.- Handles in back, OK.
0:53:31 > 0:53:35Just to give opening guards as well, cos I think that's really important.
0:53:37 > 0:53:40Maybe if you can do something for his leg...
0:53:40 > 0:53:44We would need to look into that and see what we could do.
0:53:44 > 0:53:48At last, Carbon Black is launched.
0:53:48 > 0:53:51- Are we happy?- Ecstatic. You've got to be ecstatic! Look at all that interest.
0:53:51 > 0:53:54- Yes.- Surely you've got to be ecstatic with the amount of press
0:53:54 > 0:53:56and the amount of feedback that we've had.
0:53:56 > 0:53:58For me, it's proven that wheelchair users like it.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04But Andrew and Mary leave with no sales.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11Naidex was a whirlwind.
0:54:13 > 0:54:16There's been so much preparation into getting it done,
0:54:16 > 0:54:20getting ready for it and whoosh, it's done.
0:54:20 > 0:54:23And now we're back home, in the cold light of day,
0:54:23 > 0:54:25trying to work out how we move forward from there.
0:54:25 > 0:54:32I think we need someone else to come in and give us cash and advice.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35That's quite a high priority now.
0:54:39 > 0:54:44Three months since launching, and Andrew has some great news.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49Carbon Black has been nominated for Product Design Of The Year
0:54:49 > 0:54:52by London's prestigious Design Museum.
0:55:04 > 0:55:07It's been nominated because it has a completely different approach
0:55:07 > 0:55:10to what you think a wheelchair should be.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14It looks beautiful, and it's very, very neat.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18I think it's about time the wheelchair had a bit of glamour,
0:55:18 > 0:55:21that it had a bit of wow factor.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24It's kind of surreal, really. This is it.
0:55:25 > 0:55:28Carbon Black in the London Design Museum, eh?
0:55:29 > 0:55:30Yeah, it feels pretty good.
0:55:32 > 0:55:34And if this wasn't enough...
0:55:34 > 0:55:37You can't stop touching it. It looks so cool. Amazing.
0:55:37 > 0:55:39- They sold one!- Yeah.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44..it's also got the interest of another former Dragon.
0:55:44 > 0:55:48What I will bring to the table for Andy is commercialisation.
0:55:48 > 0:55:51You know, he's got the fantastic invention.
0:55:51 > 0:55:52But, you know, as I've learnt,
0:55:52 > 0:55:56trying to get a product to market, no matter how fantastic the product, is very difficult.
0:55:56 > 0:55:59It takes a lot longer than you expect,
0:55:59 > 0:56:04so I would be bringing him capital and access to capital. Money.
0:56:05 > 0:56:07How do we do this?
0:56:07 > 0:56:10I mean, do you see us going to America very quickly,
0:56:10 > 0:56:13to our main market? Do we conquer Britain first, what...
0:56:13 > 0:56:17We would want to take this international as quickly as possible,
0:56:17 > 0:56:19but the first step is to prove it in the UK
0:56:19 > 0:56:22and to get the manufacturing price, cost, down
0:56:22 > 0:56:25and get the marketing function up, right up.
0:56:25 > 0:56:27So, I think we'll get there fairly quickly.
0:56:27 > 0:56:31I guess what you're bringing to the table for me
0:56:31 > 0:56:34is you're turning my product into a business.
0:56:34 > 0:56:37I've had to come to the realisation
0:56:37 > 0:56:39that what I've got is a great product,
0:56:39 > 0:56:41but it's not a great business.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45- I'm very pleased, really pleased to have you on board. - Cheers. Yeah, it's very exciting.
0:56:47 > 0:56:50But a deal with Richard Farleigh comes at a cost.
0:56:51 > 0:56:53He wants 50% of the business.
0:56:55 > 0:57:00I've been doing this for four years. I've put a huge amount of my money
0:57:00 > 0:57:04and Mary's money, which was our future, on the line,
0:57:04 > 0:57:06and I can't make a mistake now.
0:57:06 > 0:57:08I don't want to be the founder
0:57:08 > 0:57:11that ended up with the tiny little minority share
0:57:11 > 0:57:14of the thing he started while other people made all the cash.
0:57:20 > 0:57:23After 24 years of dreaming...
0:57:23 > 0:57:28But I don't like being pushed. I don't like people seeing me
0:57:28 > 0:57:30being pushed around.
0:57:30 > 0:57:33..four years of hard graft...
0:57:34 > 0:57:36..Andrew has his perfect chair.
0:57:36 > 0:57:39God, it's so weird to see it for real.
0:57:39 > 0:57:41I can't believe it's here.
0:57:45 > 0:57:49But without further investment, production is on hold.
0:57:52 > 0:57:56You watch Dragons' Den and, in the space of three minutes,
0:57:56 > 0:58:00a Dragon looks at an idea, talks to the entrepreneur
0:58:00 > 0:58:02and shakes hands and it's job done.
0:58:02 > 0:58:06Well, it's not really like that, not in the real world.
0:58:06 > 0:58:08I've got people registering on the website every day,
0:58:08 > 0:58:10wanting a demo of Carbon Black.
0:58:10 > 0:58:15And right now I've just got to tell them, "Please, be patient.
0:58:15 > 0:58:16"We'll get there."
0:58:33 > 0:58:36Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd