You will hear a radio interview with a businessman called Brett Porter, who developed a

product called Rainaway, a type of waterproof map.

For each question, 23-30, mark one letter (А, В or C) for the correct answer.
After you have listened once, replay the recording.
You have 45 seconds to read through the questions.
[pause]
Now listen, and mark А, В or C. [pause]

Woman: . . . and today we're talking to Brett Porter, whose company developed the hugely
successful all-weather maps called 'Rainaway'. These are waterproof maps that can be used
by people who ride motorbikes. Brett, welcome to the programme.

Man: Thanks.

Woman: You actually invented Rainaway – how did that come about?

Man: Well, anyone, like me, who rides a motorbike, understands the problem of ordinary
maps falling to pieces when it's raining or windy. There are three million bikers just in the
UK, who I knew would be willing to pay for a solution to this problem. Nobody had ever
produced something like Rainaway - I'd assumed it couldn't be done . . . that the costs were
too great. . . but I was disappointed that my needs as a consumer weren't catered for, and
people I knew kept encouraging me to develop and produce it as a business.

Woman: Was establishing the company difficult?

Man: In fact, I already had my own company - a motorcycle courier firm - but this was
completely different and involved setting up a new business. What I'd learnt about pricing
didn't seem to apply - I'd never dealt with a 'product' as such. But I knew I understood the
market better than most. If I could make the product, I'd be meeting a demand. However,
knowing where to sell and how to get it into the shops was another matter!

Woman: I see.
Man: But I was convinced the business would grow fast. I even entered the European Awards
Scheme for ideas for business start-ups. It had a first prize of one hundred thousand euros'
worth of software from Croner Consulting. The awards were sponsored by Alliance Business
Bank - and because I made the final shortlist, I was offered a two-per-cent interest loan from
them if I needed it. They organised a dinner for everyone on the shortlist, and I happened to
get chatting to their senior business consultant, who gave me some invaluable financial
advice. It really helped get me started.

Woman: Did you do any trial production of the maps?

Man: Yes. I knew what they should look like - a strong cover and small enough to flick
through quickly. But trials took six months. The difficulty was we had to use a really tough
kind of plastic for the cover, and this had to be fed into the printer sheet by sheet - fine for a
small output, but absolutely no good for large-scale production.

Woman: Did you have any trouble persuading a printing company to make Rainaway?

Man: I thought I would - it wasn't really in a printer's interest to make a long-lasting product.
The real difficulty, though, was my lack of a track record. They thought I was just planning a
one-off print run or a very small-scale operation, which wouldn't be very profitable for them.
Once I'd persuaded the boss of one firm that wasn't the case, he seemed willing to take a
chance.

Woman: Do you use someone else's maps to make Rainaway from?

Man: Yes, we use Herne Publishing's. Of course, given they know they're a crucial supplier,
there's a danger in a few years they might want to buy us out. But in the meantime, I have a
protected trademark, and the people at Herne Publishing realise it's better for them to let me
use my knowledge and contacts to establish the business. The alternative for them would
involve spending money on producing a rival product, which I know they would be reluctant
to do.

Woman: You must be pleased with Rainaway's performance?

Man: Absolutely. We launched Rainaway in September two thousand one, and sold two
hundred thousand maps in the first year alone. In the last couple of years, the company turned
over in excess of seven hundred thousand pounds, our best result so far, which isn't bad when
you consider our maps retail at ten to twenty-four pounds each.

Woman: Very impressive! What's next for Rainaway? Do you plan to extend your range?
Man: I already have plenty of other ideas for the longer term, but that's all I can say for now.
I've been devoting a lot of time recently to facilitating expansion by setting up a call centre to
deal with mail-order sales. That's just opened, with a staff of twenty-five. I now need to
concentrate on our advertisements - they've been very popular so far, but it's tough coming up
with new ideas to continue to attract attention.

Woman: I wish you luck.

[pause]
Now listen to the recording again. [pause]