Focus: Media playing toy
Imran Hakim, 31
Company: iTeddy
Web: www.iteddy.com
After successfully securing a £140,000 investment from Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis during his assured appearance on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den, Bolton-based entrepreneur Imran Hakim has seen demand explode for iTeddy, the product he developed. Essentially the innovative combination of a cuddly bear and a media player, iTeddy has since performed impressively in UK stores. This resulted in the award of a global distribution deal with Britain’s largest independent toy company, Vivid Imaginations, at the end of 2007. iTeddy is now available in 45 countries across the globe, and is delivering revenues of £12m. Meanwhile, Hakim, who has won countless business and industry awards, also owns a variety of other companies, including a chain of optometrists in the North West.
