Sharp, hard-working and thirsty for success, Imran Hakim is an example of the Muslims who move the country forward. Since he can recall, he was sure that he wanted to be an entrepreneur. His dream of running a business of his own became real at the early age of 15, thanks to his father’s aid of £2.000. It took him just some days to boost this project, not without effort: he had to trade in computers, convincing college teachers and his community (Bolton) to buy them.
When his college education was almost finished, he found himself caught in a dilemma. His plans to study Optometry at University did not seem compatible with his entrepreneurial initiative, but he was not willing to give up. He continued working on his academic career when work permitted it. This last one was his obvious priority. So, he had to miss some lectures when negotiating throughout the country (risking to be sanctioned with expulsion).
Eventually, Imran was capable of succeeding both at his job and his degree, completing his professional exams. During his practice in an optician firm, he learnt a lot from the founder, John Glover, with whom he developed some Internet business ideas. Imran returns then to the community where he grew up, this time to start his first practice. Collaboration with his University colleagues gave him a greater freedom to focus on new projects in this niche.
His acumen helped him to achieve contracts from the most powerful optical chains in the area while, at the same time, innovating in that marketplace. His next move would lead him to enrich his portfolio. Imran redefined optical frame distribution in his country and Ireland, dealing with major companies such as Reebok or Revlon. Thanks to the acquisition of his group practices’ lens laboratory, he improved his chain of optical retail practices.
His rise to fame came with his appearance in BBC2’s Dragons Den (2007) and the resulting media exposure. An original presentation (with his brother dressed as a teddy bear) and the idea of modernizing the traditional toy allowed him to get the required investment: £140.000 given by two members of the panel, Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis. The result: the iTeddy, a teddy bear upgraded with a MP4 player, whose songs and videos can be downloaded from the official site.
After a distribution in 45 countries (which generated about 10 million pounds), the iTeddy lies in the shelves of almost all British toy shops. Reinventing an everyday object has rewarded this precocious entrepreneur with numerous awards (Toy Inventor of the Year 2007, World Toy Innovation 2008 and Start-up Business of the Year 2008 among others). Apart from relevant business awards, he has added to his track record an Honorary Doctorate in Enterprise and Innovation from the University of Bolton.
Despite his youth, he has earned a place in the lists of the most successful British entrepreneurs and is now coaching others (with a focus in the NorthWest) to follow his path. His story will, for sure, inspire the future generations of entrepreneurs in the country.
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