FT: Unlocking new markets

By Bob Sherwood

Not many entrepreneurs admit candidly that their product is hard to sell. Yet just like other entrepreneurs with an unshakeable belief in their inventions, John Kent (pictured above) is finding new applications and markets for his key management system.

“It didn’t take very long to realise the market is absolutely gigantic,” he says. “But we are still creating the market. We haven’t made the breakthrough in the consciousness of the market yet.”

His company, Traka, produces a solution to a problem familiar to any organisation that grapples with issuing and keeping track of keys for buildings, vehicles, lockers or equipment. Traka’s cabinets dispense keys only to authorised staff, using a swipe card or access code, and a computer system keeps track of who has each key, what it is used for and when it is due back. (more)