My bright idea for a projected bike light has turned into a £1m business: Blaze designer sees sales boom

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Emily Brooke, the founder of cycle technology firm Blaze, is on target for sales of more than £1 million this year, but says she never planned to start a business.

Blaze sells an LED light that projects the image of a bicycle on the road up to 20ft ahead of cyclists to alert drivers to the fact they are coming. It tackles a common cause of accidents – vehicles turning in front of a cyclist they cannot see.

It was an idea Brooke, 29, had while studying product design at the University of Brighton and which led to her travelling to China to make the 109-component laserlight a reality.

Lightbulb moment: Emily Brooke with the light that projects the image of a bike on to the road to alert drivers

Last month she was awarded the New Generation prize at the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman Awards 2015. She said: 'The first time I saw the product in China I was very emotional. I thought 'I can't get over-excited – I have to pretend to be a boss'. To hold it after the blood, sweat and tears was very special.'

Brooke decided to go full time with Blaze when she heard of a fatal cycling accident in the news. 

She said: 'It was a slap in the face for me. I thought 'this is exactly the product that can tackle this problem – why aren't you doing it?'.' 

The firm now has seven staff and is based in Old Street in London's Tech City.

The £125 light is mainly sold in the UK through Blaze's website, but Brooke said: 'We have been shipping it abroad for the past year and are in 50 countries, including Vietnam last week.

'We are in every Evans Cycles and a few key retailers, such as the Design Store in New York. There will be new products in the autumn. I'm looking at Japan, the US and Germany this year.'

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