Meet the Innovative Bagpiper Who Became an Entrepreneurial Success in His Teens
Omar Malik
Image Credit: BBC/Robbie MacIsaac
Bagpiper and engineer Robbie MacIsaac has certainly achieved a lot with his pioneering inventions for someone in his early 20s. Having garnered international acclaim for his innovations, the Falkirk-born business owner has since travelled the globe and appeared on hit shows to pitch his engineering breakthroughs.
Blether Magazine had a chat with Robbie about his immense success and how this led to his bagpipe technology company, FLUX Solutions, receiving global recognition. Robbie also offers his top tips on how fellow keen young people can propel their own passions into business endeavours.
Robbie’s journey within the bagpipe world began at the young age of 11, when he joined The National Youth Pipe Band of Scotland.
Despite leaving five years later to focus on other commitments, Robbie credits the organisation for providing him with numerous opportunities: “It gives you a lot of professional experience and builds your network amongst other young players that are on a similar musical journey. I got to play the bagpipes on various occasions such as tattoos - even taking me over to Switzerland.”
In 2017, Robbie proved he had the lungs for bagpiping by winning Pipe Idol - before travelling across the globe to showcase his musical talents, even closing the main stage at T in the Park! While these ventures did not directly relate to his future entrepreneurial pursuits, Robbie told Blether Magazine that they “perhaps gave me confidence in my ability as a musician and a piper to be in a credible position to endeavour in entrepreneurship at such a young age.”
Image Credit: Piping Press
The young entrepreneur then combined his musical passion with an emerging interest in engineering and technology - which he told us was “cultivated” at the renowned Strathallan School in Perth, which he won a music scholarship to attend.
Robbie subsequently took part in the Strathclyde Inspire and Accelerator programme - then known as Rising Stars - as he undertook his undergraduate degree. The programme allowed for Robbie’s entrepreneurial and pitching skills to be refined - while receiving support from keen investors.
The FLUX Solutions owner told us that he particularly credits his Rising Stars mentor, Alan Feighery, with boosting his business profile and expertise: “Alan helped me with applications and told me where I should be focusing my time to drive this idea forward and get that first product out there to market.”
But what did that breakthrough pitch entail? As a long-time bagpiper, Robbie realised in his early teens that condensation was becoming detrimental to the instrument’s playability: “Moisture is a massive issue for bagpipers - it degrades the instrument, affects the tone, and diminishes the stability and duration that you play for. So every bagpiper is essentially battling against their instrument.”
More worryingly, lung problems can occur among bagpipers from such moisture-related issues.
Despite testing out numerous moisture control systems that were on the market at the time, then 14-year-old Robbie found that nothing was working - and that spending all of his money on such products was unproductive.
The entrepreneur then put his engineering talents to the test: “I thought about how the blowpipe is an area of the bagpipes where there’s no, or very little, impact on the sound - so I saw if we could fit something in there. I started designing the concept for the blowpipe, taking charge of my school’s 3D printer to create prototypes - and that’s how the idea for FLUX came about.”
Bagpipe enthusiasts from across the world have since been purchasing the company’s products, and Robbie says that feedback has been overwhelmingly positive: “We’ve got retailers in Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Germany, France - and our customers tell us of how everything’s performing really well and how beneficial the FLUX Blowpipe is. One chap told us it had given him in excess of 5 hours of playing.”
Image Credit: BBC/Robbie MacIsaac
Last year, Robbie landed a coveted spot on hit BBC show Dragons Den to pitch the FLUX Blowpipe. “I thought that a lot of benefits could come from the show - putting myself on the spot and really levelling up everything in the business to be able to present on a platform like that. So it was definitely a good experience in terms of pushing myself,” he told Blether Magazine.
Robbie maintains that bagpipers comprise a niche market compared to that of many companies that find instant success following an appearance on the show.
Yet the long-term benefits of the televised appearance have been profound, Robbie tells us: “It’s been a more sustainable increase in sales and credibility. Since the episode’s airing, we launched another product which increases the stability, richness and health of the instrument - and revenue has increased massively. So it was a really positive and constructive experience.”
The innovative engineer believes that it’s not only the conventional academic route that can lead to entrepreneurial desires becoming a reality. “There’s a lot to come in leveraging your success from the next in order to get where you want to be. I’ve done that through business, engineering, academia - and a lot of different aspects of my life. But it’s about taking real pride in your success and utilising that,” Robbie stated to Blether Magazine.
Robbie advises Gen Z Scots to be proactive even at a young age: “It’s the perfect time to immerse yourself in entrepreneurship, because everyone wants to support you. So use the people that you know - and ask for advice, that’s a big driver for me. Shout from the rooftops about your successes so that people realise that you’re putting in the graft.”
2024 is an exciting time for Robbie’s company, with some incredible inventions currently being developed. While the entrepreneur didn’t want to give away too many spoilers, he did let us know about his endeavour to bring electronics to bagpipes!
Robbie has been awarded a plethora of national awards for his immense successes at such a young age - and last year he was a finalist at the Young Scot Awards, as well as being crowned Young Entrepreneur of the Year!
It’s great to witness such widespread acclaim and success from a young Scottish person - and Robbie is glad that so many budding inventors now find inspiration through his work.
Finishing our chat with Robbie, he made a final remark that we feel reflects why his company has been able to ensure the lasting support of loyal, demographically diverse customers: “We don’t do things twice; we do world firsts - so that’s the real goal.”