Wednesday 9 November 2005
UQ-trained physiotherapist turned business owner Mark Alexander will feature on Channel Seven's new show Dragons' Den to be launched on Monday 14 November.
Contestants on the show pitch their ideas to a panel of Australian multi-millionaires looking to invest their own money in return for an equity share.
Alexander has already successfully pitched his self-treatment device for back-pain - BakBalls - to win $100,000 in University of Queensland Business School's Enterprize competition in October 2004.
He said, "My experience of Enterprize Pitch Day in October last year proved to be good training for Dragon's Den."
Alexander said BakBalls had recently been endorsed by the Australian Physiotherapy Association and was the first self-treatment device to be recognised in this way.
He said the Medibank Private decision was also an endorsement of the product.
"Medibank Private only lists a product as a rebateable item if they're confident it will improve people's health and wellbeing."
"Up to 90 per cent of Australians experience back-pain at some point and it's a huge cost to the economy in terms of reduced productivity. Now anyone with Medibank Private Extras cover can give BakBalls a go - at effectively no cost to them."
Dragons' Den screens on Monday nights at 9.30pm on Channel Seven.
Media enquiries:
Cathy Stacey
Marketing Development Manager
Phone (07) 3365 6179
Mobile 0434 074 372
Fiona Sutton
Mobile 0423 637 699
Email media@business.uq.edu.au
