Fishing At Derby For Big Ideas
3 April 2007
Matt with two of his BiOrbs.
I have set Derby’s Product Design students the challenge and there was plenty of excitement and interest as I made my presentation to them.
Matt Stevenson
His unique fishbowls have featured on Big Brother and other TV shows – and his company is now recording an incredible annual £5.8m turnover.
Now University of Derby graduate Matt Stevenson has returned to the University where his degree project first sparked the development of his BiOrb fishbowl in 1998.
He has set a challenge for today’s Product Design students at Derby to come up with further innovative ideas to help him take his exciting products to the next stage.
He said: “I had great memories of the University as it was here where my first fishbowl idea developed. I have always kept fish but it was for my degree project that I decided to look at how to try to improve traditional designs.”
Studying on the BSc Product Design Innovation and Marketing course, Matt used inspiration from giant aquarium tanks to develop a system of filtering and infiltration in smaller fish bowls.
Once he graduated he decided to follow the potential of his product and try to set up in business. He set up in his parent’s attic at their home in Norwich but convinced a handful of investors enough to invest in his project. He has not looked back.
His unique products offer excellent environments for fish and feature simple cartridges which collect waste, unique filtration from the bottom of the fishbowl where waste naturally settles and special ‘aquarium gravel’ made from ceramics which encourages biological filtration.
Today, his BiOrb is not only selling well in the UK and employs 35 people, but he has set up a company called Reef One Inc in America which will sell to major pet store outlets in the States.
And his BiOrb, an eyecatching round bowl is so stylish it has featured on numerous TV programmes. As well as the second series of Big Brother, it has also been on Blue Peter and the film Bend It Like Beckham. Celebrities such as Paris Hilton have also bought a BiOrb.
But Matt is an astute businessman and says: “I do not rest on my laurels. At present my product is in a niche market and there is only so much market opportunity out there. I want to see if there is a way of pumping the water out of tanks without manually having to do it.
“This way I think the product could appeal to even more people. It’s taking the product to the next stage. It is not as simple as just putting a pump from the bowl as the water needs to be treated first and in some of the bigger bowls 60 litres need to be siphoned out.
“I have set Derby’s Product Design students the challenge and there was plenty of excitement and interest as I made my presentation to them. I look forward to seeing some of their final designs. If someone comes up with ideas which are worth taking further I will definitely take it forward with them.”
Our Head of Product Design, Mike Veveris, was also Matt’s tutor back in 1998. He said: “It was wonderful to welcome Matt back and we are delighted he has decided to set this task for our students. It will not only form part of their final degree courses but could also result in taking Matt’s business even further.
“He has been a fantastic success story and it is a perfect example that with a good idea, business planning and vision how far you can go in product design. It is amazing to think what he has achieved since he graduated nine years ago.”
Things have changed. Today’s students have just moved into the new £20m Markeaton Street building where Matt studied in the former technology block at Kedleston Road which is now the Clinical Skills Suite.
But the University is so proud of one of its favourite sons it will proudly display one of the biOrbs in the reception area of the new building from September.
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For more details contact Simon Redfern, Senior Press and PR Officer, University of Derby on 01332 591942, or email s.redfern@derby.ac.uk.