Walking away intact from the Dragons’ Den with £120,000 proved more difficult for entrepreneur Ralf Klinnert than negotiating a course around his Funky Moves, an interactive fitness game with “intelligent” blinking lights aimed at sports teams as well as combating obesity in children.

Neither task was intended to be easy – but in the end Klinnert left the Den with the money in his hands and two business partners on board.

“Standing in front of the Dragons was considerably more difficult than running around funky cones, I can assure you,” said Klinnert, who is originally from northern Germany, but has been in Scotland since graduating with an electrical engineering degree from Napier University in 1999.

Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones put up the cash in return for a 50% stake in Klinnert’s Funky Moves, which is based in the Alba Innovation Centre in Livingston, West Lothian.

The entrepreneur’s success, which came after a thorough two-hour grilling by the Dragons, was screened last night in the latest episode of the hit BBC programme.

Klinnert said: “It began as my worst nightmare. I thought I lost it a couple of times, especially after three of the Dragons pulled out.

“Then Theo said he liked the product. And Peter got out of his chair and started playing with the cones and said I had a fantastic product.

“They both offered £60,000 for a 25% stake each in the company and I eventually agreed.”

Funky Moves consists of a variety of “intelligent” cones – similar in appearance to those used in road works across the country – with each one containing what are known as “smart electronics”.

One of the many applications for the fitness game is an interactive running session where participants must move between the Funky Moves by following a sequence of flashing lights and sounds.

Klinnert said the games stimulate memory, attention and coordination, while improving agility and fitness. They are equally suitable for children of all ages, as well as professional sports training programmes for athletes and footballers.

A programmable wireless handset activates the selected application games mode.

Part of the £120,000 investment will be used to develop the Funky Moves into a mass consumer product and since his Dragons’ Den win in May, the process is already under way.

Klinnert said: “Within two years, we expect to be turning over around £500,000 and we expect to be marketing the product worldwide. We’re now preparing our pitch for international distributors – and although that won’t be any easier than standing in the Dragons’ Den, at least it won’t be televised and I won’t run the risk of public humiliation.”

http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/personal-finance/businessman-s-funky-moves-impress-bbc-dragons-1.1048722

A SCOTS-BASED engineer has scooped £120,000 from the Dragons’ Den for a game to tackle child obesity.

Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones invested £60,000 each for a 50 per cent stake in Ralf Klinnert’s Funky Moves firm.

They backed Ralf, who is originally from Germany, after giving him a two-hour grilling, part of which was screened on last night’s edition of the BBC2 show.

As he shook hands on the deal with his new partner, Theo heaped praise on the entrepreneur and said: “Ralf gave a really strong pitch for his innovative business. Peter and I felt like young boys in a toyshop about to choose a new game which we couldn’t wait to try.”

Funky Moves consists of cones, similar to traffic cones, packed with wireless sets which activate various games modes.

One game involves participants running between the cones following a sequence of flashing lights and sounds.

The concept stimulates memory, attention and coordination, while improving agility and fitness.

Ralf said: “I thought I had lost it a couple of times, especially after three of the Dragons had pulled out.

“Then Theo said he liked the product and Peter got out of his chair, played with the cones and said I had a fantastic product.

“They both offered £60,000 for a 25 per cent stake each in the company and I eventually agreed.

“That was an ecstatic moment. This was the breakthrough that makes all the hard work and struggle worthwhile.”

Part of the £120,000 investment will be used to develop Funky Moves, based in the Alba Innovation Centre, Livingston, West Lothian, into a mass consumer product.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2010/08/17/scots-based-engineer-wins-backing-from-dragons-den-tycoons-to-develop-fitness-game-for-kids-86908-22493283/

A Scottish company that failed to conquer television’s Dragons’ Den is looking to flourish in the real world – by handing over the reins to pupils in Scottish schools.

The business partners behind Dunfermline-based Tree of Knowledge, which supplies motivational educational materials and training, have been deluged with e-mails, CVs and orders for their products after their unsuccessful bid for funds on the programme aired last week.

Despite declining to offer the firm the £100,000 they were requesting, the five millionaire “dragon” investors lavished praise on managing director Gavin Oattes and director Alan Burton for the confidence of the pitch and the success of their existing business.

Now the firm is relying on some of its customers – secondary pupils from across Scotland – to take forward their business in a new initiative, called TOK Apprentice.

For eight weeks, schools will take over promotion and put on a training event for local companies, giving pupils a grounding in real-world enterprise skills while they help to grow the Tree of Knowledge business.

Any profit schools make by putting on events will be theirs to keep, the company says.

Launched just before schools broke up for the summer, TOK Apprentice already has three schools signed up – St Ambrose High in Coatbridge, Cardinal Newman High in Bellshill, and Earlston High in the Borders – which will kick off the initiative on Tuesday, August 24.

John Clarke, depute head teacher at Earlston High, said pupils at the school had been using TOK products and training for six years, so he was keen to get involved in the new project.

“Pupils will be working with business partners in the local area, getting experiences they wouldn’t generally have,” he said. “The company benefits by getting their wares shared with more companies without direct selling.”

Sixth-year pupils at the school are already planning the project, and with enterprise education an increasingly important part of the curriculum they will benefit from working for a real, live business, Mr Clarke said.

“It is a great project for the kids and it is bold of Tree of Knowledge. It is their own reputation on the line.”

Mr Oattes said he and his colleagues were excited about the new venture. “We will help pupils create a sales pitch and a business plan, find clients and build positive working relationships with local businesses. Meanwhile they are going to be responsible for helping make our company profitable. It fits the Curriculum for Excellence to a tee.”

l A Scottish entrepreneur who has designed a game to fight fat is to pitch it on Dragons’ Den tonight. The interactive fitness game, developed by Livingston-based Ralf Klinnert, is aimed at tackling obesity in children. It involves running between sets of flashing cones, and Mr Klinnert says it could also be used by professional athletes.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/pupil-power-helps-firm-prosper-after-dragons-den-rejection-1.1048438

AN EDINBURGH entrepreneur will face a grilling tonight when he pitches his fat busting product on BBC’s Dragons Den.
German-born Ralf Klinnert, 40, is seeking investment for his electronically controlled “Funky Cones”, aimed at encouraging youngsters to exercise and improve agility and fitness.

The electronic engineer, who has lived in the Capital for 10 years, is pitching for £120,000 investment in return for a 20 per cent stake in his company Funky Moves, which is based at the Alba Innovation Centre, Livingston.

To play the game, cones are laid out a distance apart and programmed to flash in various sequences.

Players have to memorise as they run between them touching the top of the cones which emit sounds if they have followed the pattern of lights correctly.

The show will be shown tonight on BBC 2 at 9pm.

http://news.scotsman.com/news/Entrepreneur-hopes-he-has-more.6476607.jp

Scottish company pitches for investment

A Scots based entrepreneur is entering the Dragons’ Den to pitch for investment in his interactive fitness game.

Ralf Klinnert founded Funky Moves in 2005 and is looking for s120,000 for 20 per cent of the business.

The German, based at the Alba Innovation Centre in Livingston, West Lothian, hopes the flashing the Funky Cones product can help to promote better fitness in schools.

The cones are programmed to flash in sequences which players have to memorise as they run between them.

Kinnert also believes the devices could have applications in professional sports training.

Funky Moves received Small Company Innovation Support to launch the product and has already sold into some Scottish primary schools.

The episode goes out on Monday August 16 on BBC2.

http://www.business7.co.uk/business-news/2010/08/13/funky-moves-in-dragons-den-97298-22485048/