In this episode of the podcast, hosts Tom Constable and Phil Staunton engage in a deep conversation with Sarah Giblin, the founder of RiutBag. They explore Sarah's journey as a solopreneur, the challenges she faced, and the lessons learned along the way. The discussion covers the importance of customer feedback, the impact of burnout, and the role of social media in marketing. Sarah shares her experiences with crowdfunding, product development, and the significance of building a community around her brand. The episode concludes with insights on navigating external challenges and the importance of extreme ownership in entrepreneurship.

• The importance of listening to customer feedback in product design.
• Burnout can be a significant challenge for solopreneurs.
• Success is not linear; it involves ups and downs.
• Social media can be a powerful tool for marketing and engagement.
• Building a community around your product is crucial.
• Frugality can help sustain a business during tough times.
• Effective communication with manufacturers is key to product quality.
• Utilising platforms like TikTok can enhance visibility and sales.
• Extreme ownership is essential for personal and business growth.

Sarah Giblin is the founder of RiutBag, the revolutionary backwards backpack designed for safer urban travel. With no background in product design, Sarah turned a personal frustration into a global product, selling over 35,000 units through Kickstarter and beyond. She continues to run Riut as a solopreneur, hand-checking every production batch and sharing her journey with refreshing honesty. Explore her designs at www.riut.co.uk.

🔗 Connect with Sarah on LinkedIn

This episode is sponsored by MIKA Group – global experts in taking your product from concept to mass production. With over 45 years of experience in NPI, engineering, quality assurance, supply chain, and cost reduction, MIKA Group supports entrepreneurs and businesses with everything from design and tooling to final assembly and logistics. If you're serious about scaling your hardware product, visit rc-mikagroup.com to find out how they can help.

Phil Staunton is the founder of D2M, a product design consultancy with over 20 years of experience bringing physical products to market. He blends deep design knowledge with commercial realism:

🔗 Visit D2M Website

📸 Follow Phil on LinkedIn

📺 Check out D2M’s YouTube Channel

Tom Constable is a former British Army officer turned entrepreneur and podcast producer. Tom brings curiosity and challenge to every conversation, making sure no lesson goes unshared.

It’s Only a Prototype uncovers the real stories behind physical product innovation. No polish. No sugar-coating. Just raw, insightful conversations with people who’ve built (and broken) real things.

Perfect For:

• Product innovators & hardware entrepreneurs
• Founders scaling physical product businesses
• Heads of product, design and R&D
• Commercial leaders navigating NPD and manufacturing

🌍 Website:

In this episode, we sit down with Jez Williman, a British entrepreneur whose journey has seen him build a business from $3 million to over $100 million in sales across 120 countries and then lose a second venture after years of development and personal investment.

Jez shares a candid, unfiltered story of the highs and lows of product entrepreneurship: from building an iconic (if invisible) product seen in airports and films everywhere, to the brutal lessons of raising capital, dealing with lawyers, and losing control to an investor. This one is packed with wisdom for founders who’ve ever put everything on the line.

• How Jez scaled a niche product into a global industry
• What dyslexia taught him about resilience, learning, and creative problem solving
• The harsh realities of hardware development, investment, and prototyping
• Why big design firms aren’t always the right answer and what to do instead
• The devastating consequences of trusting the wrong lawyer
• How to validate your product cheaply (before spending big)
• The mindset and sacrifices needed to succeed across business and elite sport
• Why Jez is starting again with a new venture in smart crowd control systems

[00:00] Welcome and intro to Jez Williman

[01:25] From engineering apprentice to global entrepreneur

[04:30] School struggles and discovering the power of dyslexia

[13:32] Buying a company with nothing but a mortgage

[17:12] Lessons in entrepreneurship, capital, and exit planning

[26:35] Creating a new electric mobility product—and what went wrong

[38:21] The big mistake: trusting a major design firm

[43:33] Losing a business to a minority investor takeover

[57:11] Why he’s rebuilding the crowd control industry with smart tech

[1:02:59] Common threads between elite athletes and top entrepreneurs

[1:08:04] Final reflections on joy, purpose, and why he still builds

Jez Williman is a British entrepreneur who helped revolutionise the global crowd control industry. His work is embedded in everyday life, from airport barriers to supermarket checkouts. After selling his business for a significant exit, Jez launched a second venture in electric mobility only to lose control of it to investors. Today, he’s back building a smarter, digital-first approach to crowd control systems.

Phil Staunton is the founder of D2M, a product design consultancy with over 20 years of experience bringing physical products to market. He blends deep design knowledge with commercial realism:

🔗 Visit D2M Website

📸 Follow Phil on LinkedIn

📺 Check out D2M’s YouTube Channel

Tom Constable is a former British Army officer turned entrepreneur and podcast producer. Tom brings curiosity and challenge to every conversation, making sure no lesson goes unshared.

It’s Only a Prototype uncovers the real stories behind physical product innovation. No polish. No sugar-coating. Just raw, insightful conversations with people who’ve built (and broken) real things.

Perfect For:

• Product innovators & hardware entrepreneurs
• Founders scaling physical product businesses
• Heads of product, design and R&D
• Commercial leaders navigating NPD and...

In this episode, hosts Tom Constable and Phil Staunton sit down with industrial designer and AI consultant Rupert Warries to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping the product design process. From speeding up workflows and removing creative bottlenecks to addressing the ethical and legal concerns of AI-generated content, this episode is a deep dive into the opportunities and challenges AI brings to the world of physical product development.

• AI as a Design Co-Pilot: Rupert explains how generative AI is being used to augment – not replace – the creativity of designers by accelerating ideation, sketching, and 3D rendering.
• Managing Expectations: The realism of AI-generated imagery can lead to misunderstandings with stakeholders, who may think a product is closer to market than it is.
• Intellectual Property Concerns: Rupert unpacks the murky legal territory of AI training data and offers guidance for design teams navigating copyright issues.
• Avoiding Over-Reliance: Using AI as a tool to challenge and refine human thinking is critical; relying on it as a crutch can reduce critical design skills.
• Human Creativity Still Reigns: Despite AI’s capabilities, Rupert argues that human input and creative decision-making are still at the core of meaningful product design.
• Getting Started: Rupert shares practical tips and recommended tools (like Vizcom and ComfyUI) for designers looking to experiment with AI safely and effectively.

Rupert Warries is an industrial designer and AI consultant who helps businesses and design teams integrate generative AI into their creative workflows. With a background in cutting-edge AR design and a passion for the transformative power of AI, Rupert now works with clients to unlock new levels of creativity, efficiency, and innovation.

🔗 Connect with Rupert on LinkedIn

📧 Email Rupert directly to explore consultancy opportunities.

It’s Only a Prototype is a show for makers, entrepreneurs, and designers navigating the messy, exciting, and unpredictable journey of bringing physical products to life. Hosted by Tom Constable and Phil Staunton, each episode explores product development through candid conversations with industry experts.

[00:00] Introduction to the Podcast and AI in Design

[03:02] Defining AI and Its Role in Product Design

[05:53] Current Trends in AI Utilisation for Designers

[09:10] Challenges of Presenting AI-Generated Designs

[11:56] Balancing AI Use and Critical Thinking

[14:57] The Nature of Novelty in AI Outputs

[19:50] Enhancing Creativity with AI Tools

[24:13] Legal and Ethical Considerations in AI Design

[26:34] Navigating Copyright in AI-Generated Content

[30:10] The Designer's Dilemma: Embracing AI or Falling Behind?

[34:50] AI's Impact on Job Roles in Design

[37:44] Practical Advice for Designers: Tools and Techniques

[40:43] Working with Open Source AI Models

[42:51] AI as a Collaborative Partner in Design

[47:26] Future Predictions: The Evolution of AI in Design

Mentioned in this episode:

Sponsor for this episode: Strachan IP

We really appreciate Strachan IP's sponsorship of this episode. Vicki, founder of Strachan IP, offers a free initial consultation to discuss reviewing your existing IP portfolio or discussing the best way to protect a new concept. Use link to get in touch.

Strachan IP Sponsorship