Meet Jacob Nyaudoh

Some founders build one business. Jacob Nyaudoh describes himself as an "idea-preneur": someone who is always coming up with the next idea. On Pitch'd or Ditch'd, he brought one of the most unusual inventions the investors have seen.

An entrepreneur with more than one venture

Jacob told the bench that he already has two apps running on a subscription model in Africa, and that he is always looking for new problems to solve. Through his company, Movara Group Limited, he has turned his attention to one that every dog owner knows: what to do with the mess on a walk.

The Movara Arbour Stick

A dog owner himself, Jacob designed the Movara Arbour Stick. It works as a walking stick, but at the press of a button it can also scoop up dog waste, sanitise it and convert it into fertiliser on the spot, fertiliser that could then go back into trees and green spaces. Rather than relying on bags, the idea is to turn a daily chore into something useful for the environment, an approach he linked to the growing push across Europe to cut waste.

A subscription business

Jacob was clear that the stick itself is not where the business makes its money. His model is built on refills: households would buy the stick and then subscribe to have it refilled every month or two. He told the investors that manufacturers he had spoken to estimated a cost of around £400 to make each stick, with a planned selling price of £300, and the refill subscription is what would make the numbers work.

The investors challenged him hard on those numbers, on the design and on how the process would work in practice, the classic questions any inventor has to answer before a product is ready for market. Jacob stood his ground and was clear that he believes there is a real need for what he is building.

Jacob Nyaudoh joined us on The Legacy Bench for Pitch'd or Ditch'd, "6 Entrepreneurs Pitch for £5,000 — Who Gets the Money?" — read the episode story or watch the full conversation.