How it all began (PART 2)

Ok. So, as is often the case, the idea is the easy bit.

The next step was to develop the product.

Luckily I had a contact, and after a few weeks the first sample arrived.

Glenn had agreed to help with the testing (as he was a goalkeeper coach at the time) and off he went to see if we could really make this thing work.

First impressions were good. A little too sticky (with grass and dirt being picked up) but the principal worked.

It was clear, even at this stage, that the latex palm of a goalkeeper glove was the perfect material to absorb the gloveglu liquid but also act as a reservoir to “feed” the grip over a period of time.

Perhaps we were on to a winner.

Finally, after over six months of testing, we had a product.

Only one small problem.

It was highly flammable!!

This, of course, meant that it was going to be very difficult to ship gloveglu around the world (due to shipping restrictions on flammable liquids) and so it was back to the drawing board to see if our chemist friend could match the results we were now getting during testing but make it possible to ship globally.

At last, some six months later, we were good to go.

Samples were duly sent out to some external testers – English Premiership coaches and professional goalkeepers – coaches such as Jerome John at West Ham United and players such as Jamie Langfield at Aberdeen.

The feedback was fantastic.

“it would even make marigolds sticky” came the response back from Jerome with Jamie’s “it might just work” giving us a real boost at that stage.

So the product was ready.

Whilst the testing had been going on, my good friend – Steve Foote at Tin Racer Design – had been working hard on logos and packaging and I’d been working hard on trying to generate some interest from potential buyers.

Logos and mock up packaging were completed and I duly drive to one of the leading global goalkeeper specialists to present gloveglu for the first time.

Luckily Dave, Ian and the team at Just Keepers got it. They got what we were trying to do and could see the potential gap in the market.

The first order was placed for 100 bottles. We were off.