“Anyone can be an inventor – all it takes is having a good idea to solve a problem”
Siana Zhekova
Siana Zhekova is an Engineering student. She is enthusiastic about using her creativity and technical knowledge. It’s also important for her to use these skills to come up with innovative ideas for engineering projects.
A passion of hers is to mitigate the damage inflicted by natural disasters. This is something that is likely to increase in intensity in the coming years due to climate change.
Siana used her STEAM skills to design a pioneering temporary bridge. This bridge allows for rapid deployment in a natural disaster and is now patented! The bridge allows for recovery relief to get to any area which gets cut off in an emergency.
“Celebrating women in innovation is crucial. It provides recognition and visibility to their contributions and IP endeavours in the field of engineering in which they have been historically under-represented.”
Despite Siana’s great ideas she struggled to know how and where to start in taking her ideas forward. Working with IP firm Beck Greener helped. Beck’s support guided Siana through the different stages of the IP pipeline. Finally, Siana was successful in filing a UK patent application for her temporary bridge which proceeded to grant in 2021 and helped her to receive a grant.”
Mandy Haberman
Children’s health and development and the practicalities of family life drive everything I do. Identifying a real-life problem, or unmet need, is the starting point of all my inventions.
Designing simple solutions to problems always gives me a buzz.
I became an inventor and entrepreneur when my daughter was born. She was born with a syndrome that made normal feeding methods impossible. I am a ‘mother of invention’! The Haberman feeder has been solving feeding problems around the world for over 40 years.
I remember taking the prototype of my Feeder into a hospital Special Care Baby Unit. A mum tried it out with her baby, who had been born with the same syndrome as my daughter. When I arrived, the mum was in tears and at her wits end trying to feed her baby. Once we tried the Haberman feeder, it was an instant success! 10 minutes later we were both in tears – but this time it was tears of joy. Solving problems and helping to improve families’ quality of life is rewarding.
I started my business from our kitchen table. Anywayup (my patented non-drip trainer cup) disrupted the nursery industry globally. The Haberman feeder has 50-60 million products sold each year. It provided a simple solution to a long-felt need and also saved a lot of carpets!
Breaking into the market (pre-internet) was a challenge on a small budget. Supermarket buyers get inundated with offers of new products. We needed our product to stand out from the crowd. To get the buyers’ attention we took an enormous gamble. We put an Anywayup cup, filled with blackcurrant juice, loose inside a shoe box. We mailed it to the chief buyer of Tesco. Then, included a little note to say “If this arrives as a soggy mess then we’ve shot ourselves in the foot. BUT, if it arrives without spilling, please give us a call”. She called us!
Catherine Bonner, Mandy’s Patent Attorney from Murgitroyd quoted:
“An inspirational entrepreneur. It has been a pleasure to have supported Mandy with her inventions and the journey to protect them. I continue to look forward to working alongside her. I will provide specialist knowledge and advice, ensuring that her inventions remain protected in all regions.”
