An entrepreneur with a 'life saving' product got the backing of a dragon on last week's Dragon's Den - but he wasn't interested in money.
Paul Westerman from Cambridgeshire pitched his product to dragons Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Touker Suleyman Sara Davies and new dragon, Steven Bartlett - ultimately getting backing from Touker.
He appeared on the BBC show with hopes of changing lives with his product, the RBR Legflow, after suffering a near-death experience himself.
READ MORE: Dragons' Den: Where you can buy 'lifesaving' product RBR Legflow
Speaking exclusively to the ECHO, Paul explained why he went on the show. He said: "We're not doing this to make money and I think that kind of confused some of the Dragons because when we do make profit we're helping to fund further research so it's going to be continuous research done on DVT.
"We're also supporting three thrombosis charities and our ultimate goal is to set up a dedicated counselling service for those who have survived or those who have sadly lost people to DVT.
"I know what I went through and I still have counselling and I still have issues. It would have been lovely to have had help sooner. But on the spin side, I can say I'm the lucky one because I had no idea what was going on - I was just lying there in a pretty dead state."
He explained how it was harder for his partner as he said: "But Lisa was there watching and having to deal with the paramedics and all of those things and that must have been horrific. I don't think I could personally cope with that if the roles had been reversed.
"That's the same for millions of others who have lost loved ones. These people need help."
Before creating his product, the RBR Legflow, Paul had no medical background whatsoever.
He told the ECHO how he came to create his product as he said: "Up to 2010, I was a marketing and communications director mainly in professional services.
"So nothing medical whatsoever. I always detested hospitals so I never really went to the doctor or anything like that."
He added: "Basically what happened was on March 23 I was playing tennis and I injured my right knee and it hurt so I went to hospital.
"They sent me away with some paracetamol and an appointment to see an orthopaedic consultant who strapped my leg up."
Paul thought he would be okay after that and thought nothing more of it until his health took a terrible turn for the worst as he collapsed and nearly died after suffering a 'massive bilateral pulmonary embolism'.
He continued: "On April 11, I was doing some work and felt bizarrely tired. Like a tired I had never felt before.
"I woke up in the morning and looked in the mirror and I looked grey and waxy. Basically I was dead - that's the only way I could describe it."
He explained that his last words were "oh I don't think I feel too well" before he collapsed and woke up in hospital in the intensive care unit.
Paul revealed that he had suffered from deep vein thrombosis (DVT) due to his tennis injury just weeks before, which led to him having to postpone his wedding to his partner, Lisa.
Dragon Peter Jones admitted that he understood how important the product could be as he ended up in hospital after a long flight due to not moving for a long period of time. He said since that he moves his legs all of the time and knows it can be a real issue.
Paul explained that Peter Jones speaking out on the issue could really help with awareness as he said: "[The show] was filmed last July and during the actual filming Peter [Jones] mentioned that he had a DVT and we talked about that for a bit. I thought please leave that in, because that is absolutely huge."
The incident was life changing for Paul, who now suffers from ongoing health issues as said at one point his right leg will probably need to be cut off due to poor blood flow.
Because of this, he started his research into DVT and what he could do to help prevent others from going through what he did.
Paul created the RBR Legflow device which is clinically-tested to significantly increase blood flow in the lower limbs.
Through three simple exercises, the RBR Leg Flow improves lower limb blood flow over 10-fold, helping to minimise the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis.
Once his product was on the market he kept getting called from the producers of Dragon's Den.
He told the ECHO: "I kept on not answering calls from an 0300 number and then one day my wife answered it and said you need to speak to these people Paul. And it was Dragon's Den."
"It was a surreal experience but it was mind bogglingly wonderful."
He spilled some show secrets as he said: "There are some companies that are approached and asked if they would like to apply but I think you can apply directly too. I think if they see or hear of something that's a little bit different they will contact you. There's still quite a lengthy application process to go through.
"I was there for about an hour and 45 minutes recording and they ask loads of questions about so many different things, chatting and dealing with any of their concerns."
Since appearing on the show, the impact on Paul's business has already been immense. He said: "As I was on TV doing the pitch, emails and orders were coming through via the website and I thought this is a lot bigger than I thought it would be!"
Where can you buy RBR Legflow?
The Legflow device which was seen on Dragon's Den comes from RBR Active Limited.
It can be bought from the RBR Active website for £12.99 and is a reusable product.
The product is also available from Amazon.
What does the RBR Legflow do?
The RBR Legflow device is clinically-tested to significantly increase blood flow in the lower limbs.
Through three simple exercises, the RBR Leg Flow improves lower limb blood flow over 10-fold, helping to minimise the risk of developing deep vein thrombosis.
The website describes it as: "The RBR Legflow is highly effective where long periods of inactivity are unavoidable.
"This can include travelling by air, working in an office, being hospitalised, online gaming, recovering from an operation or simply if you spend large amounts of leisure time sitting still.
"The RBR Legflow is a small medical device that sits on the floor under foot, incorporating two separate round domes with patented nodules®, each large enough to accommodate the user’s foot."
Dragons' Den airs Thursdays at 8pm on BBC One
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