After waiting 20 years for a cable clip that can be fired from a gun to arrive, we discover how one trade professional decided to sink his fangs into the problem and create his own solution.
The biggest crying shame around the journey of any inventor or attempt to bring a new product to market is that 90% of cases will rarely see the light of day.
Whether it’s down to the money well running dry, production roadblocks and headaches eroding enthusiasm or potential stockists and end users not seeing the same value in the product as the individual whose brainchild it is, there are so many factors that can prevent a genuine ‘problem-solver’ from ever gracing the lives of those who it was designed for.
Breathing fire into the ViperClip
This could certainly have been the case for trade professional, David Gray, who found himself in a ‘make or break’ situation when attempting to bring his new invention – the ViperClip – to market.
He explains: “I, like many other professionals, am a big fan of products which make my job easier. The Scrulux Screw and battery powered driver are a good example of this and have been a great addition to my tool bag. I was, however, puzzled as to why I couldn’t find a cable clip that could be fired from a gun, rather than hammering each clip in one by one. As each year passed I looked for the introduction of this type of clip in wholesalers, but was always disappointed to find nothing had been launched.”
David continues: “When I met my wife, Julie, she offered to help me create the product I’d had in my head for so many years and together we were able to develop our unique cable clip which can be fastened with a battery powered stapler. A neat fit system with multi-sized, multi-function clips, ViperClip secures cables with a precise, rapid strike every time – keeping every cable snug, safe and secure.”
As is the case with so many other inventions, having a prototype or a fixed idea is simply where the fun starts, as David explains: “We soon found ourselves down to our last few thousand pounds, with no income and a product to get ready for production. It was at this stage that we decided to apply for the BBC show Dragons’ Den.
“It’s interesting to watch the episode back. We didn’t realise how nail-bitingly intense it was at the time, but seeing it again reminds us of the difficult decision we had to make. I suppose it’s constantly been a case of making choices – whether to apply, how much to ask for and if we were confident we could demo the product in front of millions of viewers using a 3D printed power tool. Knowing what we do now, it was absolutely the right decision!”
Indeed, that trip into the dragons’ lair has breathed new fire into the ViperClip offering, with the product now in full production, new stockists and distributors coming on board regularly and a growing reputation as a genuine time-saving product.
All clips are made from UV stabilised PP with a zinc plated steel nail. Fire clips include a steel metal bridge and are certified by BASEC to BS EN 50200:2015, aiding premature collapse under BS 7671. The ViperClip cable clip gun also includes two Lithium Ion 2.0Ah (36Wh) 20V d.c. batteries and offers a charge time of around 30 minutes.
Watch a demo video of the product in action here
