we were tasked to solve a real world
problem.
in our breaks, we'd have to choose
between going to the loo or getting food,
because accused of the women's were just
astronomically long and it was unfair.
So yeah, first
prototypes were probably cardboard
and then we moved onto wood
and then metal structures
But a mentor of us
said, you just have to get out there.
So we did.
Peequal
is the UK's
the squat and go women's urinal.
We exist to get women out of those cross
legged queues and back to the event
they paid for.
So Hazel and I met at Bristol University.
And we'd worked together
on quite a few projects
before our fourth year Masters course.
But in this fourth year, we were tasked
to solve a real world problem.
So hazel and I over our summers
had chosen to work at festivals
And in our breaks, we'd have to choose
between going to the loo or getting food,
because accused of the women's were just
astronomically long and it was unfair.
And so we came back and we thought,
surely there is a better way to do this.
And that's what we set about researching
and we were like,
there's just nothing out there.
There's just
this is actually a serious problem.
Like I feel a bit outraged.
It's like someone needs to do something.
And so we thought, why not us?
So yeah, first
prototypes were probably cardboard
and then we moved onto wood
and then metal structures that were not
the right dimensions that we hoped for,
but we took that to our first.
It was a Covid safe event
where I think it was a Bristol comedy
garden and the prototype was
it was colorful,
but it was still made of scrap
metal and wood
and not quite the right size.
But a mentor of us
said, you just have to get out there.
So we did.
So before our first ever investment
raise,
we didn't have any kind of prototype.
So we didn't have anything to scale.
So that was our first key interaction
with CAD was that, we were able to pitch
to investors with these CAD models
on our PowerPoint deck.
And that was super important
because without that, they can visualize
what a women's urinal look like.
No one really can
until you show them a video.
Will you try and explain
it really well with descriptive language?
But that was a huge moment.
That meant people
sort of catapulted forwards
and meant that they could really
visualize it in a festival environment
or in a green space, and it was just
a fantastic way of communicating
something brand new to someone
that would invest their money.
And that led to us
raising 250,000 pounds in Covid.
So yeah, it was fantastic.
So one of the best things
is the assembly modeling.
pickle's flat pack.
So we need to map how it works on
haulage, on trailers,
how it's distributed across site,
how it will be put in different locations.
So we really need to model
different loads of different ways
our design can be set up and distributed.
It's yeah, that has been revolutionary.
And especially
when we're talking to our customers
before having the product ready,
we've been able to show them so much.
So they've been able to invest in us
again.
We've just the CAD designs.
The rendering is also been fantastic too.
having just CAD models
in a PowerPoint deck and getting 250 K.
In Covid sort of says it all.
It sort of shows that if we can present
something that's really professional
looking and really adaptable,
when it can sort of showcase
how something can work, how it can be
fitted together and the engineering
drawings off the back of
that is just incredible access.
And having those kind of skills
that we can pull on
when we need them
it just takes us to a whole new level.
So as mentioned, SolidWorks
did help us raise that first investment
round, which enabled us to manufacture
our product
to scale really professionally done.
And that then knocked on to us going to
Glastonbury in 2022 and launching there.
And that was a fantastic success.
We were two different locations and
we're now at 10 or 12 different locations.
So that just shows
how much that design has impact,
just one customer's
engagement with people.
So really excitingly, we are
going to be launching
our new version of peequal next year.
And so during last year
and this year, we've been developing
the design on SOLIDWORKS
And this has meant that we feel
really confident in releasing this product
out internationally
and be able supply
this facility to millions more women.
And so yeah, it will enable mass scale up.
It's not to be underestimated
the power of that.
And I think we're really excited to see
how this product can change women's lives.