A North East-born entrepreneur has moved his company from the US to the North East to become part of the region’s growing technology sector.
Paul Mawson, originally from County Durham, spent 10 years in California before being encouraged to move back to his home county.
He has now relocated his innovative firm Kunasan Ltd to the North East Technology Park’s (NETPark) in Sedgefield, in preparation for bringing its flagship product, new sleep aid system Frequen-ZZZ, to market in the 海角视频.
READ MORE: {}
Frequen-ZZZ is a piece of kit which aims to enhance the quality of sleep for users suffering from lack of sleep.
Kunasan Ltd initially opened a virtual office at NETPark but within a month it took a physical space within NETPark Plexus.
Mr Mawson explained how he set up in the 海角视频 after being encouraged by the 海角视频 Government’s Global Entrepreneur Programme to relocate from the US.
He said: “I was invited to attend a talk at Innosphere Colorado, USA in July 2017 given by Dr Alan Lowdon of the DIT Global Entrepreneur Programme and Visiting Professor at Durham University and Chair of the Innovation Board of the North East LEP.
“He explained that the North East’s technology sector was thriving and that it was the perfect time to relocate my business to the region. I had been considering moving back to the 海角视频 and saw this as the perfect opportunity to bring my business back home.
Most Read
“Following advice from Invest North East England I viewed a number of different spaces, but as soon as I viewed NETPark Plexus I knew it was the right location for me.
“I didn’t want to work in a city centre, as I’m much more creative when I’m in the countryside. I was also encouraged to see how many tech and pharmaceutical companies there were at NETPark, and knowing I could get support from the local business community was a decisive factor in choosing the location.”
Mr Mawson spent 10 years in the US researching frequency stimulation devices and it was here that he developed an interest in sleep technology.
He and clinical advisor Dr Roger Billica – formerly chief of medical operation at NASA – understand how sleep deprivation can have a negative impact on someone’s physical and mental wellbeing, and Frequen-ZZZ which will go to market in 2020.
Mr Mawson said: “Business Durham’s help in relocating to NETPark has been invaluable.
“Business Durham also facilitated an introduction to CPI (Centre for Process Innovation) on NETPark, who we are working with to help develop our product further, alongside Sarah Morehead at Northumbria University’s School of Design and Newcastle based Octo Design to ensure our sleep system, Frequen-ZZZ is ready to launch in 2020.
“We are also in talks with Prof Jason Ellis at Northumbria University about doing a clinical research trial about stress and sleep.”
NETPark manager Janet Todd added: “Kunasan has already got off to a great start by moving from a virtual office to a physical space at NETPark Plexus within a month, this is the quickest any virtual tenant has progressed from virtual to physical space and we’re hoping this is a sign of things to come for the company. We look forward to supporting the company further as it settles into NETPark.”