Tech wallet start-up is back on track

A year ago, Mike Bagnall decided to found his own company, RedBear in Cardiff. He is now more ready than ever to make his business grow

In April 2017, Mike Bagnall decided to create his brand of secure high-quality wallets after falling victim to contactless card fraud. Next month will be RedBear’s one-year anniversary and Mike is looking forward to new and exciting opportunities.

Mike had the idea to create leather wallets that not only would look good but would also protect from contactless card fraud. To do this, the would-be entrepreneur thought of using a special lining that protects cards from radio frequencies. “After doing some research, I found that around £75m had been stolen through contactless fraud alone”, he says, “I already wanted to make nice wallets, so I thought ‘Why not make them secure?'”

Today, RedBear is providing high quality wallets to those wanting to keep their cards safe. But Mike has still many plans for the future. He would like to expand his range of products to include more items such as leather bags. More importantly though, he wants to focus on giving his clients peace of mind and make his products even safer. Mike says he would like his wallets to come with tracking devices, for example. He also hopes to participate in a BBC TV program that will bring more visibility to the brand. “There’s a lot happening and things are looking up,” he says.

Mike got his business off to a good start by enrolling in a support program called Entrepreneurial Spark. The company, originally from Scotland, opened a branch in Cardiff in 2016 and has been helping people like Mike find their way ever since. The program appears to be doing its job. Its website claims an 87% survival rate of businesses and has helped more than 3,000 start-ups since 2012.

Mike says, “They gave me a lot of support, contacts and one-to-one mentoring. In the space of seven months, I had my business up and running.”

Find out more about RedBear here