By Isabella Fish and Natalie Tipping

A 21-year-old who created a revolutionary piece of technology is set to launch the product.

Yasser Khattak was a troublesome pupil at Maidstone Grammar School when he was a teen, getting suspended 16 times.

In spite of this, he reinvented the light switch at age 15, and is now enjoying great success, having signed distribution deals with UK retailers including Amazon, Argos, and Sainsbury's.

Den, which is set to launch in September, allows users to switch lights and plug sockets on and off using their smartphone. It is designed to save energy, decrease electricity bills, and increase home safety.

The remote works within around 20m, with the app communicating with a hub via Wi-Fi, which then tells the switches to turn on or off.

The system can easily be swapped with existing switches and sockets, and will monitor consumption, save energy, and send safety notifications through the app.

Mr Khattak hopes to save the UK economy £1.7 billion in wasted energy costs.

The boy-genius also says the app will be able to recognise what is plugged into specific sockets, enabling users to easily turn off the iron or hair straighteners that they've left on.

In 2015, Mr Khattak was one of the final five candidates shortlisted for the London Innovators Award, sponsored by IBM.

This was after he raised £500,000 in just 32 hours on crowdfunding site Seedrs.

The entrepreneur said: "I didn't want to get up to turn the light off when I was tucked away in bed. I thought about how I could change that using a mobile app, and I quickly wrote it down."

The 21-year-old, of Metropolitan Wharf, London, has appointed Lord Alan Sugar's former Amstrad CEO, Bob Watkins, to be his firm's managing director, while he will hold the position of CEO.

This isn't the first time he has had dealings with Lord Sugar, getting through to the second round of The Apprentice with his wireless product idea, but failing to pass the second interview.

He said: "I failed to get through to the next round when I was asked by the interviewer to sell a staple on the table.

"Then in 2014 I ended up with 23p in the company bank account and thought to myself 'maybe I should have stayed in college'."

But after crowdfunding, the start-up is now expected to hit £2 million worth of pre-orders, with products retailing between £20 and £60.

The entrepreneur's mother, Ghazala Noreen, is incredibly proud of her son's achievements.

The 49-year-old, of Franklin Drive, Weavering, said: "I am an extremely proud mother, and so grateful for how humble Yasser has remained throughout the process of becoming so successful.

Den is expected to be worth £250 million by 2019, but the founder isn't letting this go to his head.

"My dream has always been to make £100 million and give it all to charity," he said.

"My outlook on life has completely changed since starting Den - I'd like to start building schools and help save rainforests. Life really isn't all about money.

"My biggest source of happiness is helping other people and the planet, that is what Den is all about. If we do good things for the Earth, then the Earth will do good things for us."