Small business Entrepreneur Startup
Ashley Newland, inventor of the Scrubba.
An adventure holiday gave Sydneysider Ashley Newland all the impetus he needed to invent a way to revolutionise the camping industry.
His bright idea, the Scrubba washbag, is described as the 'world's smallest washing machine'. Since launching in 2012, the lightweight wash bag has sold to tens of thousands of travellers worldwide.
If we could make a flexible washboard in a sealable waterproof bag then we could actually change the way people travel.
Devised over Friday night after-work drinks with a travelling mate, Newland hatched the idea as an ultra-light luggage solution for an upcoming trip to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
'I really was only going to be able to take two or three changes of casual clothes, which meant doing washing every day or every couple of days and that led to the next problem of what I would do if there were no facilities, no sink,' Newland said.
'I thought I could get around the sink problem by taking a giant ziplock bag.
'A couple of days later I had the revelation that washboards have been around for centuries and they work, but they're not a practical item to take backpacking around the world.
'So I had the idea if we could make a flexible washboard in a sealable waterproof bag then we could actually change the way people travel.'
The idea took hold and Newland found himself trawling Adelaide's $2 stores to assemble a prototype. Using a flexible dishdrainer and a generous amount of glue, the early model Scrubba was born. Newland road-tested it in Africa and then later, Europe and South America.
'The first time we used it was in a small time called Moshi near the base of Mount Kilimanjaro,' he said.
'So we put our clothes in, some water, a bit of body wash and rubbed the clothes and were quite amazed when we tipped out the water and it was quite murky.
'That was the moment we realised we might actually be on to something here.'
Newland quit his job as a patent attorney in Adelaide and came home to Melbourne to work on Scrubba full time.
Friends thought he was crazy to exit a career in law for an unpredictable future as an inventor, but Newland was convinced there was an exciting future ahead.
However when his approaches to two major camping companies failed to produce a licensing agreement, Newland's outlook changed.
'At that point I realised we needed to prove this in the marketplace,' he says.
'We needed to manufacture, market, start distributing and then at that point we'd be able to go back to those companies and say, 'Hey this is working. Do you want to licence it now?'.'
To prove the product could hold its own, Newland launched a three-month crowdfunding campaign hoping to raise $2500. The result was a whooping $25,000, which allowed Newland to produce the first batch of Scrubba wash bags and invest in branding and public relations.
Newland also used his expertise in patent law to secure patents in Australia and New Zealand, and patents pending in another 52 countries.
Scrubba ticks all the boxes for uniqueness, solid branding and attractive packaging, according to INNOVIC's director of commercialisation Richard Milne.
INNOVIC is a non-profit organisation helping more than 1800 innovators each year turn their inventions and ideas into business realities. Yet despite the wealth of ideas from Australia's entrepreneurs, the road to success is found by only a few inventors.
'Less than 10 per cent of all inventions reach the final stages of commercialisation - it's difficult and risky,' Milne says.
'Innovators have to test their viability and validity of their concept, and work out whether it's new or someone else has already done it.'
Yet Newland remains confident camping retailers will see the value in his product and says Scrubba, which sells for $64.95, is on the verge of being picked up by big US camping retailers.
Brad Slater, general manager of Dometic, an international supplier of goods to the recreational vehicle and marine industries, says new innovations such as the Scrubba have dramatically changed the camping industry and will continue to do so.
'Portable showers, washing machines and refrigerators have all been game-changers,' he says.
'Once upon a time people might not have showered for days when camping but now they want to be comfortable, which has seen the rise in demand for portable showers and washing machines.'
Any new invention for campers, no matter how high-tech, has to be lightweight, Slater says.
'Compact design is key because you are taking it all with you. You cannot take a 75-kilo washing machine, so camping drives the need for compact, innovative products.'
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