# Dyson: James Dyson

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2018-02-12
- Length: 42m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-02-12-dyson-james-dyson

## Summary

James Dyson, founder of Dyson, explains how he spent five years and built 5,127 prototypes in his backyard shed to perfect a bagless vacuum cleaner using cyclone technology, after being rejected by major brands like Hoover and Electrolux. He details his journey from designing the Ball Barrow and a high-speed landing craft to securing a £600,000 bank loan to launch Dyson, eventually becoming the UK's best-selling vacuum brand. The episode also covers the origin of Impact Scientific, where chemist Theresa Stotesbury developed a synthetic fake blood product for police training based on her research into steel corrosion coatings.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-02-12-dyson-james-dyson#t=0) Introduction: James Dyson and the Vacuum Cleaner Idea
- [2:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-02-12-dyson-james-dyson#t=169) Early Life, Boarding School, and the Ball Barrow
- [8:36](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-02-12-dyson-james-dyson#t=516) The High-Speed Landing Craft and Learning to Weld
- [12:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-02-12-dyson-james-dyson#t=735) Inventing the Cyclone and 5,127 Prototypes
- [18:25](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-02-12-dyson-james-dyson#t=1105) Rejection by Hoover and Electrolux
- [24:38](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-02-12-dyson-james-dyson#t=1478) Licensing to Apex in Japan and Starting Dyson Ltd
- [30:06](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-02-12-dyson-james-dyson#t=1806) Selling to Mail Order Catalogs and John Lewis
- [33:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-02-12-dyson-james-dyson#t=1992) Entering the US Market and Expanding Product Lines
- [40:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2018-02-12-dyson-james-dyson#t=2413) Postscript: Theresa Stotesbury and Impact Scientific

## Topics

- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Dyson (company)
- Hoover (company)
- Electrolux (company)
- Ball Barrow (product)
- Impact Scientific (company)
- Theresa Stotesbury (other)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Bootstrapped to 800,000 Units Sold Worldwide: The Story Behind Rockit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/its-only-a-prototype/2025-04-17-bootstrapped-to-800-000-units-sold-worldwide-the-story-behind-rockit) (It's Only a Prototype)
- [Taming the Dragons whilst Saving the Planet](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/its-only-a-prototype/2025-05-01-taming-the-dragons-whilst-saving-the-planet) (It's Only a Prototype)
- [S2E41 The Hacksmith | James Hobson](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2021-09-24-s2e41-the-hacksmith-james-hobson) (Being an Engineer)
- [#010: Andre Brown - Principal Engineer on Amazon's Transportation Sustainability Team - Digital vs. Physical Prototyping, Creating Flat Hierarchies within Teams, Innovating Faster, Designing in Virtual Reality, Eggs and Vacuum Cleaners, Procedural Design.](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/designing-in-the-wild/2022-03-01-010-andre-brown-principal-engineer-on-amazons-transportation-sustainability-team) (Designing in the Wild)
- [Afterschool Podcast, Episode 11 - Marco Perry and Mark Prommel of Pensa (11/12)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/core77-podcast/2013-11-12-afterschool-podcast-episode-11-marco-perry-and-mark-prommel-of-pensa-11-12) (Core77 Podcast)

## Citing this page

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