Shortchanged in Dragons' Den - the real story of Sockitz

Richard Brook secured investment from two of the fiercest Dragons- Theo Paphitis and Deborah Meaden. However, the TV show didn't tell the full story behind the product. We invited Richard along to our Live Feed event in Rotherham to find out more.

By Gary Hayers & Joe Robinson
Thursday 31st October 2019

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Richards pitch on BBC Dragons' Den was edited from 3 minutes to less than 90 seconds. As a result, viewers missed out on the main product.

Richard developed his safety shield ten years ago. It was a new re-useable version which prompted a trip to the Den.

What inspired the creation of Sockitz?

It was Richard's time managing rewires in the social housing sector, which inspired the creation of Sockitz. Electricians needed to attend site multiple times during the rewiring process. Obviously, for the rewire itself, then another visit to loosen sockets and perform safe isolation for other trades. Painters, plasterers and tilers all need electrical accessories removing from the wall to allow them to create a high-quality finish. While this is not a significant issue in a new build, in occupied homes, tenants need power restoring as soon as possible.

This urgency created additional problems. "I'd often receive phone calls from tenants who had lost power. Fitting sockets on to newly plastered walls often lead to nuisance tripping of RCD's - meaning yet another visit to the site" says Richard.

Image courtesy: of Simon Billingham via twitter

VIDEO: The full pitch for Sockitz safety shield

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The Sockitz solution

Sockitz solves these problems. It's an insulating spacer which prevents access to live parts and allows trades to work safely around electrical accessories. They also enable a higher quality installation. Sockitz prevents the plaster from going into back boxes and creates a straight edge for tilers, so tiles don't overlap fixing lugs. For a rewire it allows for the first and second fix completion in one operation.

Although Socktiz is a temporary device, they still allow installations to achieve compliance with wiring regulations. They are designed to comply with BS5733 -General requirements for electrical accessories.

Richard has been selling the original Socktiz for several years. The original was design to be fitted by the electrician, then snapped out and disposed of when the installation is complete.

The new version is re-useable as it slots together in two halves. This new feature allows fitting on existing installations without touching the fixed wiring. For example, mounted to sockets during tiling or wallpapering.

VIDEO: Richard in action on BBC Dragons' Den

Electrical products in Dragons' Den

Socktiz joins a growing list of electrical and construction products which have secured investment in the Den. Some have faded away, and others continue to be successful. The current industry favourite is Syncbox from 2015. Syncbox is a recessed power and AV connector which hides the mass of connections to LCD TVs.