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Meet the 21-year-old smart home entrepreneur who has signed distribution deals with massive UK retailers

A young tech entrepreneur who has developed a product line of smart light switches and plug sockets is launching a new crowdfunding campaign today after securing a string of distribution deals with big-name retailers.

Yasser Khattak, the 21-year-old entrepreneur behind tech startup Den, has officially launched the firm’s £1m crowdfund on Seedrs today ahead of the retail launch of its product line this September.

The smart home technology company is working on a range of light switches, plug sockets and extension cables that work together to allow users to control lighting and monitor real time consumption via its app.

Set to retail from £20 to £60 at the likes of Argos, Amazon and Sainsbury’s, Den’s range has been trumpeted for the ease with which existing fittings can be swapped out, potentially making it a key product for the mass adoption of smart home tech in the coming years.

According to Khattak, who is Chief Executive Officer and Founder at Den, the firm’s innovations will help to wipe out unnecessary consumption in UK homes and drive down energy bills across the country.

He said: “Most of us forget to turn the lights off when we leave a room, or to unplug our phone chargers when they are not in use. Unnecessary consumption amounts to over 16% of the UK’s annual energy usage, a figure that is large enough to power almost 2.5 million homes.

“At Den we believe our products could make a significant impact on unnecessary consumption, helping save our environment and reducing the cost of living and however bold it sounds, we aim to wipe out the existing standard of switches around the world over the next few years.”

With aspirations of hitting £2m in pre-order before its big launch in the Autumn and plans to launch in the UAE, the startup has some ambitious growth plans for the next few years.

To this end, Den has also announced it has appointed former Amstrad boss, Bob Watkins, as Managing Director, the veteran tech boss who worked with Alan Sugar at the UK technology company for over 25 years.

Following his appointment, Watkins commented: “I am delighted to join Den and build the business into a global Smart Home brand. By creating user-friendly solutions that bring together the largely separated standard non-wireless switching market and the home automation market, Den is on a mission to power millions of homes around the world.

“The brand potential in a mass-international is limitless and we are delighted to bring a host of new investors into the fold. The plan is to to drive Den towards a £100 million valuation by the end of 2018 in preparation for a successful acquisition by 2020.”