Emily Sophie Hastings Brooke MBE (born November 1985) is a British inventor, industrial designer and entrepreneur known for having developed the Beryl (formerly Blaze) Laserlights used for Santander Cycles (the London bike rental scheme).[1][2]
Emily Brooke | |
|---|---|
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Known for | Beryl Laserlights Founder of Beryl |
Early life and education
editBrooke attended Royal High School, Bath until 2003.[3] She began a course in physics at the University of Oxford but abandoned it to instead study product design in Brighton.[4]
Beryl Laserlights
editBeryl laserlights are bicycle lights which project an image of a bicycle onto the road ahead of the rider, to improve safety by alerting other users when the bicycle is in their blind spot or round a corner.[5] Brooke developed the laser as part of a project in her final year at the University of Brighton and was entered into an entrepreneurship programme in Boston (funded by Santander). After graduating in 2011 she developed the project further by listing the concept on Kickstarter, gaining attention from Transport for London as well as securing funding from the family of Richard Branson.[6] Her firm, Blaze, was then successful in securing support from Santander who now use the lights on all of the bikes within the Santander Cycles scheme.[2] In May 2018, following a lawsuit from a US registered company also with the name Blaze, Brooke changed her company name to Beryl.[5]
She was appointed MBE in the 2017 Birthday Honours;[7] "For Services to the Economy and Transport".[8]
Her company, Beryl, sells the "Laserlight" and a range of other cycle lights, and also operates dockless cycle sharing schemes in several cities around the UK.[9]
Revent
editIn 2021, Brooke was one of the founding partners of Revent, an early-stage venture capital fund aiming to support "Founders who share our belief that the greatest and most important opportunity is ... to tackle a problem that truly matters".[10][11][12]
References
edit- ^ "BBC News – The inspiration behind a new bicycle light". BBC News. 18 January 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ^ a b "TFL – Blaze Laserlights". Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ^ "Alumna Emily Brooke wins Trailblazer of the Year 2019!!". Royal High School Bath. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ Coleman, Alison (24 October 2019). "How Beryl Is Getting People Out Of Their Car And Onto A Bike". Forbes. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
- ^ a b Knowles, Kitty. "Blaze Becomes Beryl: How The "Bosch of Bikes" Turned A U.S. Lawsuit Into A Positive". Forbes. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
- ^ "The Guardian – Laserlight, the bright idea of a student behind a lifesaver for cyclists". TheGuardian.com. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- ^ "The Queen's Birthday Honours 2017". GOV.UK. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
A number of strong entrepreneurs and those supporting entrepreneurship are also recognised, including ... an MBE for Emily Brooke, Founder and CEO, Blaze
- ^ "No. 61962". The London Gazette (Supplement). 16 July 2017. p. B15.
- ^ "Designed in London since 2012". beryl.cc. Beryl. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ Butcher, Mike (16 February 2021). "New European early-stage VC Revent launches with an impact focus, and sights set on a $60M first close". TechCrunch. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "Revent - backing purpose-driven founders". www.revent.vc. Retrieved 11 July 2022.
- ^ "Revent Capital Investor Profile: Portfolio & Exits". pitchbook.com. Retrieved 11 July 2022.