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Founder@ Interview
Interview with Richard Williams and Jane Williams
“Cash, cash, cash. You will always want to spend more, you can always spend less. ” – Richard Williams and Jane Williams
Today we feature Richard Williams and Jane Williams, the founders at Traveller Chair. We hear their story in their own words, their successes, their challenges and their insights.
Let’s start by getting to know you. Can you please tell us a little bit about you and what you do?
My name is Richard and I am the founder and inventor of Traveller Chair. I am a chartered engineer and have worked in management for the manufacturing industry for many years. I have always looked for solutions to overcome problems and the Traveller Chair was the solution to a very real problem that my wife Jane was suffering from. Traveller Chair is a carry-on bag that turns into a wheelchair. Traveller Chair helps people with reduced mobility to travel with freedom and independence with their innovative range of products.
It’s a revolution for travellers with reduced mobility – in particular anyone who has difficulty walking between modes of transport. So no more waiting at airport terminals for service providers to bring you a wheelchair.
A great introduction and start to this interview. Can you please tell us, how did you start, from what age, and what made you decide to change direction and start?
As husband to my wife Jane, I have experienced first-hand how stressful travelling can be for people with reduced mobility and their companions. We have been through the experience of our booked travel assistance arriving late, arriving in an unclean state, or not arriving at all! When myself and my wife Jane, who has cerebral palsy, were left stranded while we waited for assistance to get off a plane in 2019, I knew something needed to be done. So I decided to put my background to good use and designed the Traveller Chair.
Thank you for that insight. So can you tell us…What does your business do and where is your company based?
Traveller Chair is an innovative product answering a very real problem for travellers and we are based in Derby, UK. My goal is to help travellers become more self-sufficient. Those of us with limited mobility can often talk ourselves out of a trip because all they can see is the problems ahead of them. Traveller Chair is designed to make travelling easier and less reliant on airports and cabin crew. It’s actually a win-win-win solution for travellers and airports!
What’s the story behind your success? What led to your aha moment? how did you get to where you are now?
As husband to my wife Jane, I have experienced first-hand how stressful travelling can be for people with reduced mobility and their companions. We have been through the experience of our booked travel assistance arriving late, arriving in an unclean state, or not arriving at all! When myself and my wife Jane, who has cerebral palsy, were left stranded while we waited for assistance to get off a plane in 2019, I knew something needed to be done.
We’d had a lovely trip to Malaysia – and being stranded on the aircraft at 5.30am after a long flight was just horrendous. 45 minutes of waiting later, the crew still unable to get off, cleaners unable to come one. Eventually I was so fed up I got off the plane, looked around the airport and found an abandoned wheelchair.
I got back on and helped Jane off myself. We love to travel, but unfortunately Jane’s disability means she can only walk short distances, can struggle to communicate clearly and tires easily. The challenging experience of travelling through an airport with someone with restricted mobility begins from the moment you’re parking the car. You get dropped off roads away from the actual airport. You’ve then got to queue to see a person at the desk who’ll often tell you wheelchair assistance is at the extremity of the building. If you ask for help getting there you face a wait for that. You are then given a wheelchair. Sometimes, as an accompanying passenger, you’re asked to push them. Other times, one of the staff will push the chair. So, you either get pushed to the gate or you go on your own.
You’re then left without the chair in a nearby café and told the assistance will come back 20 minutes before boarding. Often, it doesn’t show-up or is late and if there’s a gate change at the last minute, it’s really stressful. For Jane, and others like her, it can be a physically painful experience. She’s been in tears in airports because of the pain, or because of having to be dragged along by me. I wanted to try to help her and others like her in creating the Traveller Chair.
Thank you for sharing that. What’s been your life’s biggest lesson so far?
My biggest lesson so far was to get the design correct. It needed to be lightweight, small enough for overhead lockers and easy to maneuver. There were many attempts, and my Wife who was my inspiration for the product was also my biggest critic/supporter!
I would have liked to have known Covid would hit! When we did the risk assessment, we missed spotting a worldwide pandemic that would freeze the travel industry for 3 years!
If you were to go back in time, what piece of advice would you give to your younger self?
My advice would be, do not let anything hold you back from making life easy. I never thought I would ever invent a product, but here I am and it is making a difference!
We’re nearly halfway through our interview so it’s a great time to ask how does your business run. What three tools make your business run better?
It goes without saying that the website, blogs and videos is a great shop front. We also understand the power behind Publicity and advertising to get word out about our products. We have a dedicated PR agency who is supporting us in sharing our story with the mainstream media and it is already opening doors.
What do you know now that you wished you had known before?
I would have liked to have known Covid would hit! When we did the risk assessment, we missed spotting a worldwide pandemic that would freeze the travel industry for 3 years!
What has been your greatest or proudest achievement or moment?
Getting delivery of the first saleable products and presenting one to my wife
What future life goals do you want to achieve and why?
To pass on Traveller Chair to a company with the reach and ambition to take it as far as it can go, in a much shorter time frome than I ever could
To finish our inspire questions…”We believe that sharing inspiring words can inspire others.” If there was one positive thing you would say to someone to inspire and empower them what would it be and why?
Cash, cash, cash. You will always want to spend more, you can always spend less.
“Thank you it has been great learning more about your founder story and Traveller Chair”
To learn more about Traveller Chair Visit www.travellerchair.com
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