Richard Longhurst started sexual wellness firm Lovehoney in 2002 with £4,500 savings after leaving his job as a magazine editor at Future Publishing in Bath.
By the time Richard, and co-founder Neal Slateford quit in 2019 after selling a majority stake to Swiss venture capitalists Lovehoney was a £1bn business and the largest of its kind in the world.
Now Richard, who confesses to be golf mad and plays off a handicap of two at Bath Golf Club, has swapped fun in the bedroom to relief on the links by inventing an easy-to-use gadget that could save golfers’ scores.
Pocket Timer is already a hit on courses across the UK – although its users are unlikely to realise that the mould used to make it was originally designed for a sex toy remote control.
Coin-shaped and roughly the size of a poker chip, the lightweight, bright red gadget is designed to help players find lost balls using the full three minutes they are entitled to under the sport’s current official rules.
Golfers simply click the timer in their pocket and it buzzes every 30 seconds, ending with a double buzz when the three minutes have elapsed.
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