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Dragons Den UK S23E07

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00:00But this time the game has changed a fresh wave of fierce investors are out to shake things up and
00:07steal the deals
00:10Joining them tonight
00:12I'm Jenna meek. I'm a serial entrepreneur. I'm currently the co-founder and CEO of a five beauty Jenna welcome
00:19back to the den
00:19No, thank you for having me back. I'm excited for today
00:22When I look in the eyes of an entrepreneur, there's literally one thing I'm looking for
00:26It's their belief that their idea is gonna succeed. I can see in people's eyes if they're lying to me
00:32I know exactly what I can bring to a business. So if there's a fight for an investment
00:36I will be absolutely fighting for it. I love disagreeing with the dragons. I really really do
00:41I am not scared of any of the dragons if anything they should be scared of me
00:56My name is Laura and I'm from Northern Ireland
00:59My business is all about oats
01:03Instant oats
01:05ready-made oats
01:07Yeah, but they're kind of like exist
01:14So the dragons I'm looking for investment from would be
01:17Stephen Bartlett
01:19He would be really helpful with building that community brand, which is what we aim to do at Oak Hill
01:38Hello dragons. My name is Laura and I'm the founder of Oatco Superfuel
01:44Today I'm here to seek an investment of 50,000 pounds in return for a 5% share of my
01:50business
01:51Leading an active lifestyle and being a busy mum
01:54I found myself seeking nutritious convenience solutions
01:57and I was disappointed as to what was available on shelves
02:01This sparked the passion of me to create Oak Hill Superfuel
02:05Currently in our range we have our Just Add Milk overnight oat pouches
02:09Our ready-to-eat overnight oats
02:11And our small bites with big energy Superbites
02:15And at Oatco we aim to fuel the everyday whether it's a school run a busy day in the office
02:21or a gym workout
02:22We are currently delivering to a strong community of customers through our Shopify website nationwide
02:27As well as being stocked in over 150 retail stores
02:32And in the past seven months we've did 200k in sales with a 60% gross margin and 28,000
02:38in net profit
02:40Currently the market is more protein focused
02:44But we aim to disrupt the food to go market with natural energy that oats can provide
02:49And we've got both excuse the pun
02:53Now I've got some samples of our Just Add Milk pouches for you to try and I'd love for you
02:57to try them
02:57Thank you
03:01A range of oat-based food products is the offering from Laura Murphy
03:07That's what's that one vanilla?
03:08That's the vanilla chocolate chip, yeah
03:09Thank you
03:11She's asking for 50,000 pounds in exchange for a five percent stake in her business
03:17How much protein is in your original?
03:19So we're around six grams, so it's just the natural energy
03:22However, the other three we've added plant-based protein
03:27Laura claims her oats stand out from the crowd
03:31You will notice under your chairs as well there's also some other products
03:34But in a sector packed with healthy promises
03:38Peter jones is keen to know what makes this offering more than just a mouthful of marketing
03:48Laura hi hello
03:51So it's basically oats with bits in it to give you a super fuel is it so is it was
03:59it just protein or no so give me the
04:03So contents we aim to be different so how we feel at the moment is everything is protein-led
04:09However, we want to focus on the natural energy from the oats
04:13Okay, and in what way is this different is anybody else doing this?
04:18So I suppose it's difficult to say because we have three different products
04:22So there is three different competitors depending on which one we look at in particular
04:28In terms of the pouch product our point of difference is you actually prepare that in the pouch you can
04:34reseal take it with you
04:36And so that is the usp of the pouch product alone
04:40Okay
04:42Laura yeah, your balls are absolutely banging. Thank you. Um, when something tastes that good. I worry that it's not
04:51good
04:51For my health
04:53Yeah, and I was looking at the nutritional information on on this packet, but also on the on the balls
04:58as well
04:59Are those the best balls you've ever had?
05:01That is so good
05:04It's really good. Thank you so much. That's got to be like you say that's such a good point. It's
05:07got to be bad for you
05:08Yeah
05:09Well, some of the flavors are slightly more on the indulgent side
05:13But we're mindful of that and we're trying to appeal to that target consumer that still wants us to taste
05:19good
05:19But is mindful of their health
05:22On the balls. It says there's a
05:2420 grams of sugar per hundred grams. Yeah, and it is something we're definitely mindful about and we've had conversations
05:30recently on how
05:31We can improve and in our new product development
05:34We are taking that on board and 100% trying to make them as well-rounded as possible
05:39Okay
05:41Laura hi gotta tell you
05:43Um, yes, they're high sugar, but they're delicious. Thank you so much
05:49Um, so how much are they selling for and the potter holding retails for 3.79?
05:56Okay
05:57Um, and i've seen the overnight oats in tubs, but I don't think i've seen the this on top is
06:02that yours
06:02That's our usp. Yeah, okay. So that makes it quite unique and yeah, but if I was buying a sort
06:07of
06:08Standard overnight oats. Yeah, what would that cost me?
06:11Um, they would retail probably around the 2.99 3 pound mark
06:16Okay, and what about your retailers? You've got 150 stores. Who are they?
06:20Yeah, so we're mainly direct to store and it's a mix of spars, centras, apple greens is a big customer
06:26to us all based in northern ireland
06:28And this week, we're actually launching into tesco as well
06:32Our first super market. Tesco northern ireland or?
06:34Tesco northern ireland. Okay, and do you have any stores in the rest of the uk? Um, not as of
06:40yet
06:41Okay, thank you
06:44Laura hi
06:45Hello
06:46Um, i'm probably your customer here and I think that's what makes me quite different to the rest of dragons
06:51because i'm not
06:52Super educated around kind of what I need to put into my body
06:56Like I look at these packaging and the first thing I look at is calories because that's the world i've
07:00been brought up in
07:00I don't understand the rest so as a customer explain to me why I need your product
07:06So it's something substantial that you can eat and I eat it every morning and being a busy mum as
07:12well
07:12Like it it keeps me going throughout the day
07:15Okay, and then what is it you're looking for in a dragon to help with this business?
07:21Yeah, so um, like I want okko to be a household name in many regions particularly in the uk and
07:27ireland
07:27And I think with the dragon on board it gives me that platform to help achieve that
07:33Okay
07:35I'm going to tell you where I am
07:37I mean oats are a superfood. Yeah, they're incredibly good for your heart
07:42Yeah, um, you know control your cholesterol levels
07:45So so I think the oat story is very very strong
07:50And I tell you what you've done really well
07:51This is like one of the most hotly contested markets if you go in anywhere
07:55There are loads of blinking protein balls and energy balls
07:59So to actually stand out in that and that is absolutely
08:04delicious
08:05too delicious
08:06Scarily delicious exactly about I
08:09I meant to have just one little nibble. I've been back in three times
08:13um
08:14so
08:15um
08:16so so much to like about this business
08:20But there's a problem and it's the sugar
08:26Okay
08:27Um, I wouldn't eat that
08:30Because of the high content. Yeah
08:32Now I know I'm purist, but the direction of travel is a is against sugar
08:38So I'm really sorry. I won't be investing
08:40No problem. Thanks for the words anyway
08:42I won't be investing but I'm out
08:49Laura
08:50You are fantastic
08:53Um, but this is just a market that i'm i'm just not happy to invest in at the moment. I
08:58think it's
08:59hyper competitive and um, you're going to struggle with this at the moment. So i'm going to say that i'm
09:04out
09:09Laura i'll tell you where i'm at
09:11I think you're amazing. You're so investable
09:14There's a lot of work to do with actually defining the purpose and that kind of vision
09:18Like I know you want to own the natural energy market, but that's not a brand purpose. That's what just
09:23that's i'm like
09:24Why why like I still need to understand why what is natural energy?
09:28Why do I need it?
09:29And I think that needs to be laser focused and I feel like I could offer so much help in
09:34terms of that
09:34In terms of the branding in terms of the lifestyle in terms of the persona
09:39I don't know the food market and that's just me being completely transparent at all
09:46So
09:49I am going to make you an offer
09:51but
09:52It's a bit of a wild card because there isn't any other offers yet
09:56You asked for 50 000 pounds for five percent
10:00I'll offer you half of the money for seven and a half percent
10:04And i'd want to share with someone else that actually understands the food market because I know what I can
10:09bring it's fantastic
10:10Yeah, and you're a fantastic entrepreneur once you can get the branding spot on we can make it a cool
10:15on trend product
10:16We can get the persona perfect, but I want that help of the other side of the retail side as
10:21well
10:21Perfect. Thank you very much
10:27Laura
10:30I know retail
10:35And I do like what you presented today
10:40Um
10:42So I will also offer you half the money
10:45That's 25 000 for seven and a half percent if jenna wants to share
10:50Thank you very much
10:55Um laura i am i am such a big fan of you thank you
11:02um
11:03I have uh quite a lot of experience now in this industry um
11:07Have a brand that came into the den that's making tens of millions now in just a couple of years
11:11from retail
11:12And actually one of the most useful things I could do
11:15Is to sit you in a room with one of the investments i've made
11:21Who exploded in the uk market and really understand how they did that yes
11:28Um, so i'm gonna make you an offer because I think you're fantastic
11:33I'll offer you all of the money for
11:36Um
11:4317.5 percent of the business
11:48Thank you very much
11:52So
11:53So thank you so much firstly for all of the offers that it means a lot
11:57Um, so I suppose just stephen I did have a cap of 15 percent in my head and
12:04So, I suppose if you had the money paid back
12:08within sort of
12:10A two-year period would you drop to 10 percent
12:15To 10 percent
12:21Considering I came in for five percent
12:26Um, I i
12:27I'm not the biggest fan in the world of the deals that that drop because it's almost like punishment for
12:32success in a weird way
12:34I suppose 15 percent is what I said was was my cap and that's what i'm struggling with okay
12:44I'll do 15 percent you do 15. I'll do 15 percent
12:48Well, I'd love to accept
12:49Thank you so much
12:53Well done
12:54Thank you so much. I can't wait to work. Thank you
13:01Victory for laura after tough negotiations she secures stephen bartlett's backing
13:09Her oat empire is officially expanding
13:16Breathe i'm still catching my breath
13:21Amazing i couldn't have asked for it to go better really i'm delighted
13:26That's a great entrepreneur to invest in yeah she was so good so good so excellent and it is serendipitous
13:32you didn't you did look the same
13:34Yeah
13:52I think i kiss my hello
13:55My name's john o'donnell and i'm joined today with my son jamie and we created screwcaddy
14:03DIY
14:04Okay
14:05I could do with a few more diy things what have you got peter got a toolkit you've got a
14:14toolkit
14:15What's the last diy you did peter i think i've hung a picture up
14:22I believe deborah would show the most interest in our product just in the sector that it's in
14:28I feel like it would perk her interest the most so i'm definitely confident and ready to go
14:41Hi dragons my name's john o'donnell and i'm joined today with my son jamie and we
14:48form part of the family team who created screwcaddy
14:52Today we are looking for a 50 000 pound investment for a 40 stake in our business
14:59In 2020 during lockdown me and my mum were doing various diy projects in and around our home
15:05One of these projects in particular involved screwing a bracket to a fence for a hanging flower basket
15:11Through this we had many deflected screws and it caused several near-miss injuries
15:16So we went out to see if there was a product on the market that could solve our issue
15:21But we struggled to find anything to solve our solution so as a family we'd go at trying to create
15:26up a product of our own
15:28So dragging is a traditional method for uncertain screws is you secure the screw with your fingers while also trying
15:36to handle a power tool
15:38Which is particularly difficult and can cause possible injuries
15:42However
15:43However if you look at our product you can see that my fingers are away from the screw
15:48And it allows the DIYer to focus purely on the power drill
15:55As the screw head comes down it makes contact with the angle top side of the screwcaddy
16:01Screwcaddy pops off
16:06And the job's complete
16:08We were introduced to a third party who helped us a lot during the development stages of the product
16:14And we now have a manufacturing site here in the uk
16:18Screwcaddy is patent pending
16:19And we're looking for that dragon or dragons
16:22Who can ultimately put a screwcaddy in every DIYer's toolbox
16:27Thank you
16:28If you would like to come up
16:29The wood we have actually brought in is very very hard
16:33So just to make you aware you need to give it some welly to get in
16:40A lockdown invention that takes the pain out of drilling is the offering from john and jamie o'donnell
16:48So your fingers go to the side
16:50Yeah now i've got that i'm just doing that while i okay all the way down
16:55The inventive father and son duo are seeking an investment of 50 000 pounds in return for a 40 percent
17:03share in their business
17:05Yeah and then pull it off okay
17:09That's good thank you
17:11The product gets a nod of approval from the diy doyen of the den deborah meaden
17:18But it's tuka suleiman who's the first to drill down into the potential of the business
17:26john and jamie just so you know i've got no investments in diy
17:32this could be my first
17:35so um have you shown this to any major retailers
17:41Yes
17:43So the very first people we contacted was gml and he asked for costs and samples for up to 750
17:50000
17:51we have been to b and q and
17:54They've had samples so we have had a lot of interest but it's converting the interest to sales
18:01so it's been a blocker
18:03Have you turned over anything
18:0780 pounds
18:0980 pounds yes all right so 80 pounds turnover but i can see you want to give away 40 of
18:16the business
18:17yes
18:19so you you really want to entice a dragon yes
18:24jamie john
18:26um when i was watching deborah have a go at it
18:30it still looked it still looked quite dangerous to me
18:33i think because this screw when put in the biggest hole here is still really about five millimeters away from
18:38your finger still
18:39which means it could still you know hit the edge of the plastic and then hit your finger
18:45so i just wanted to see if you had a response on that point
18:48yeah
18:49i take your point um about the the apertures at the side of screw caddy you are a couple of
18:57millimeters
18:57do you agree with that because i don't
19:00sorry do you agree with that i mean it's your product and i'm about to defend it for you
19:05is there another answer to that
19:09he agrees with it so the danger is the wobble
19:16this stops the wobble okay so it's not the proximity to your thumb it's the fact that if
19:23the screw head wobbles to one side yeah then you're in danger that's holding it solid
19:30is that what you meant to say yes that's what he meant to say my other point was around the
19:36combination of metal and plastic so what i did is i took the screw in and out over and over
19:43again
19:43yeah repeatedly like this yeah and the plastic has has worn off so now it basically doesn't fit anymore
19:50so what we've what the third party who done the development work with us they tried to destroy it
19:56with the roughest screws they could find they worked out if you were using it the same aperture
20:03the same size you'd be talking and you'd get about 35 screws so one is 35 screws yeah
20:10and how much does this cost 4.99 okay the equation is not great there being able to do 30
20:17screws um
20:17before it breaks and actually i think the consumer will have a bigger expectation of longevity from the
20:24product why the question was about the the percentage yeah what's the current shareholding between you guys
20:31there's three shareholders it's me my wife and jamie and it's just a it's a third share each
20:36okay which means that the dragon would be the major shareholder yeah we would strain we would
20:41change your structure obviously to make it a 60 40 spot is keep it simple
20:48guys can i ask you what's your patentable step what's your claim um it's the way it holds the
20:56screw and it's the way it releases the screw it's the angled edge and it's the transfer of that vertical
21:01force the horizontal force forces the screw caddy off okay so it is quite specific as to why this
21:08works and what you're telling me is it wouldn't work if if you didn't have those angles right you've
21:14obviously been through lots of iterations yeah yeah okay thank you john jamie hi hi uh i think it
21:25looks really good i think it it does what you said it was supposed to do on the tin but
21:31i think it's
21:32really expensive at five pounds um you know you can get a pack of screws for five quid and you're
21:37selling your product that holds the screws for for the same price so i just wonder whether this becomes
21:43like a really considered purchase so i i don't really want to buy and spend five quid on it or
21:48is
21:49this something that frankly what you should really do is perhaps license this to the people that put
21:55these screw packs together and this could be a product that you see in the pack as a giveaway
22:01yeah i don't know until buying a bag of screws was something that we considered right at the very start
22:07um it's interesting though because i don't think it's attached to the screw i think it's attached to
22:11the drill the dangerous bit in this whole process is the drill and and the trouble is this product
22:17feels very expensive against a pack of screws it doesn't feel at all expensive against a drill
22:26john jamie um i i do think the price is probably an issue and it to me it feels um
22:36like you would like
22:37a dragon to to come in and run the business for you and i say that because you've not had
22:42any luck
22:43yet with sales and you're willing to offer the dragon the opportunity to be the single biggest
22:47shareholder in the business effectively and that comes with an obligation that i don't feel comfortable
22:54meeting so i'm going to say that i'm out but i wish you the very best thank you thanks
23:00um john and jamie hi hi and i'll just tell you where i am because i think where i'm stuck
23:06with this
23:06is given the 40 percent away it's no one is going to drive this business more than you two standing
23:13there and like i got 50 no's from a retailer and i think they even blocked my email address at
23:20one point
23:20because they were like this girl is so annoying but i was delusional and you have to be so delusional
23:26in
23:26your product that like a noise like a right i'll try another way i'll try another way and i'm just
23:33not feeling that so that's kind of where i'm at and i can only get behind something that you're more
23:39you need to be more delusional than me on this and right now there's no delusional here so well done
23:45but i am out okay thank you guys um to try and sell this product on its own
23:56will cost you a lot of money yeah you could make it into a set somebody comes in they want
24:04to buy
24:04that screw it's already in the packet and that's peter's idea i won't take it away from him
24:09but i would i would say this i'm not your right dragon for this so i'm gonna say that i'm
24:15out
24:15but i wish you all the best thanks thank you
24:20john jamie i really think it's genius that you came in and offered 40 percent
24:28because you want to make it attractive for a dragon yeah
24:32so as a dragon that really likes opportunity and never likes to miss out
24:36and bear in mind there is one dragon here that's had quite good little bit of success with diy
24:43i'm just going to pause for a moment and reflect
24:57so somebody stood in here about 10 years ago a couple stood in here jenny and martin and they had
25:05a
25:06genius diy product and martin said i'm an inventor um i haven't got a clue about business but i'm an
25:13inventor and i know it works and it's brilliant that was marksman pence they didn't know the numbers
25:20they haven't talked to the right people um but there was something about them and there was
25:25something about their product and apart from anything else i wanted to find out whether or
25:29not they really had something um and that product now we sell millions of um
25:43so i'm gonna make you an offer thank you very much thank you
25:51we haven't heard it yet
25:55so you asked for 50 000 pounds for 40 of the business i'm gonna offer you all of the money
26:06and i want 30 of the business whoa
26:12wow because it's your business and i don't want to be the majority shareholder
26:22so
26:26i think you guys are you're really great i think you've got a really good idea it's really neat um
26:34and i think that you've got the perfect dragon for this
26:39so i'm not going to make you an offer and say that i'm out
26:42but it'll be interesting when you reflect over there what your decision is
26:49do we need to reflect i don't think so
26:53we would love to accept your offer excellent well done guys well done you guys great success for the
27:02father and son team thank you very much thank you very much thank you well done can you be a
27:07little
27:07bit more excited seriously i'm more excited than you at the moment yeah thank you thanks very much
27:17the diy duo have secured their dream dragon and managed to achieve that rare feat of leaving the den
27:26having given away less equity than they offered
27:31i'm all over the moon that i've got deborah in the team i can't believe it it's absolutely amazing
27:37they seemed in shock
27:40that was like yeah thanks
27:45can't wait to tell mom i'm so proud of my dad because to see the whole journey come together like
27:50that's just unbelievable
28:04well here we are right then the den my name is fred parry and i'm from london look at this
28:11thing
28:12i can't imagine many people have been dressed as a chicken in in the den i am wearing a chicken
28:17costume because i built a game where someone hides in a chicken costume and i thought it was
28:22only right to put me in it today the dragons are probably going to guess for a birthday party fancy
28:31dress thing they're going to think someone's obsessed with chickens probably children's entertainer
28:38uh honestly is a really good chicken do you know what it's good to know you have a plan b
28:46sometimes
28:47in life you should always have a plan b
28:53i'm nervous this chicken costume seals in all the heat i'm going to be roasted in that den roasted chicken
29:01so
29:06one two three four five six seven eight nine ten
29:38i don't know what to do now i was about to applaud and then i thought maybe not
29:44oh please please wow scary please
29:54hello dragons my name is fred and i'm asking for 50 000 pounds in exchange for 10 of my business
30:00chicken rush we are a real world gps powered game of hide and seek teams race to find someone hiding
30:06in
30:07a pub or bar dressed as a chicken and use our app as a live radar along the way they
30:13complete silly
30:14challenges compete for points and submit photos and videos as proof it's team-based tech driven and
30:21utterly ridiculous in year one we turned over 55 000 pounds in year two we forecast 164 000 pounds we've
30:29had
30:29over 7 000 players across 50 countries with no full-time staff we've had over 5 million views on social
30:37media with barely any marketing spend i built the platform myself the tracking the booking system the
30:43scoring the lot it's scalable tech that can pop up in any city tomorrow i've proven it works now i
30:51want
30:51it to grow with your help we can achieve global chicken domination a real world game of hide and seek
30:59with a tech twist using gps and a custom built app fred parry is reinventing outdoor play for the digital
31:08age
31:08thank you thank you thank you see you the entrepreneur is seeking an investment of 50 000
31:16pounds terrifying in exchange for a 10 percent share in his feathered venture
31:24but will the dragons flock to the opportunity or cross the road to avoid it
31:33fred i can't work out whether you're looking for an investment or you're looking for a dragon to dress
31:39up as a chicken um very much looking investment to grow the game uh most of our games at the
31:45moment
31:46are team building games so someone dresses up as a chicken often the boss of a company perhaps um and
31:52hides okay so i'm trying to work out yeah what this business is um it's it's hide and seek for
32:01adults
32:01so one person hides a circle appears on a map that gradually shrinks around their location
32:07and then there's also challenges teams do while they're playing the game so it's not just about
32:12finding the chicken but you get 100 points for finding the chicken first okay so i want to know
32:19about you what's your background yeah you know you built this yourself i just want to know who am i
32:25invested in which chicken am i going to invest in yeah from the beginning um i was building online
32:30learning games for kids but over time and i think a lot of people now who are software developers find
32:37this they're not meeting people on the other side they're not seeing how their tech is used
32:41so i had a bit of a disillusionment with that so i i wanted to prove that i can build
32:47one bit of tech
32:48where i know that people were enjoying using it meeting the people playing the game this was like
32:53the perfect example and perfect case study for me being able to do it and then we hosted a public
32:59dating event for 40 singles to get it off the ground which is a bit strange like there's one thing
33:04a chicken chasing game and then there's also a date involved with it well people want to be
33:09distracted by the fact that on the first date so turns out our dating events became really popular
33:13and we had a wait list of over 2 000 singles in london all the single people yeah wanted to
33:19come
33:20and play this game to meet somebody else people have found love while hunting chickens yeah
33:27right so let's look at the serious part of this situation the business part so how how do you
33:35monetize this how do you organize it yeah just want to know yeah um so there's two types
33:43you uh you get the tech and you play with your friends for 15 pounds per person
33:47in a team building setting or just for fun or sometimes with large companies they've got a big
33:53budget they just want to hassle free someone to come here hand over a chicken costume explain the
33:58rules and then you play the same game fred um how does this how does this get big what does
34:05big mean to
34:11you um big is getting into definitely at least every city in the uk as well as any city which
34:18has
34:19enough hiding spots in them and what does in terms of quantifying big what does that look like uh the
34:25the number i've had in my head is 100 games a day and if you did 100 a day what
34:30does that look like in
34:30terms of revenue um it's 30 grand revenue a day yeah okay
34:40fred hi hello have you forgotten by now that you're dressed as a chicken
34:46you do start to if you wear it enough times okay so so what next i i mean i you
34:54know it's it's a cool
34:57funny eye-catching idea um and i can imagine my corporates would who were desperate to find the
35:04next thing and not do the old paintballing thing for corporate events so i can imagine them thinking
35:10oh that looks new and different um but if you're really going to leverage this business you need to
35:15become the place to look to the innovative ways of building teams don't you you know um so what what
35:22next what's your plans um at the moment my core focus is just grow outside of london with your
35:28investment though it's about scaling the casual games so birthdays stags and hen do's easter easter
35:35turkey hunt for christmas um all of these things but at the moment it's just been me working on this
35:41so i just had to focus on one small thing at a time okay so you're on your own at
35:46the moment yeah
35:47are you just going to keep moving yourself around the country for the next year with that would be
35:52our main focus it's you uh yeah but we'd have part-time help um brought in for each event
36:00fred hi i love adding the crazy into business but then on the flip side i hate organized fun
36:08yeah um i love the dating idea i think that's genius but i think where you're almost missing that
36:14trick is actually making this a thing before you pigeonhole it into the corporate world into the
36:21dating world and it's like if that wasn't on in bentbrite in london yeah and you got everyone in
36:26london like hey do you want to go to pilates today do you want to go get coffee or do
36:30you want to go and
36:30do this crazy thing i just saw got chicken rush like you get everyone doing it and then you pigeonhole
36:36it
36:36into corporate dating whatever you want and it's like yeah how do we make this bigger and
36:44how many people come back so once they've done chicken rush do they then delete the app or do
36:48they stay on do they do another one like yeah what so um as far as numbers are concerned five
36:54percent
36:54in year one of our corporates came back um and then ten percent of the people that came to one
37:00of our
37:00events came back uh some have played over five times i'm like i'm really um i'm really into
37:19businesses that are able to bring people into the real world yeah and find ways for them to to connect
37:25and especially businesses that are a platform to scale that globally so what am i investing in here
37:31am i investing in a platform that has scale that's that's really the pitch that i think really would
37:37have swung me is something like that we have built that events platform in the background so a huge part
37:42of it is for all our dating events the thing you pitched to me today was a chicken game where
37:47people
37:48hide in pubs so true if it sounded different if it started with the the big picture the
37:55macro loneliness epidemic people despairing at dating apps letting them down so we're building
38:00the platform for social competitive in real life games i would have been like oh here we go i rewrote
38:06that on sunday but then i got worried that you wouldn't understand what the game was so the whole pitch
38:11was uh all around us pubs are closing there is a loneliness epidemic that was the pitch that was the
38:18pitch the whole thing was the pitch the the key to the the key to pitching for me is you
38:22start with the
38:23why pubs have closed loneliness epidemic i would have been nodding like a dog yes yes yeah and then
38:28you build it up and say that was our whole story made this and i go oh interesting but what
38:32you did
38:32is you started with the what you started with the chickens hiding pubs and i'm like the my my original
38:38pitch was just that exact story it might be the story but it's not the business either that you have
38:44that's the difference is it well it's not this is one this is a this is a chicken game with
38:50a gps
38:50tracking device yeah we get hundreds of people outside interacting um the whole aim and ethos of
38:59this is just try and get people outside and playing and meeting new people that's why i set it up
39:04anyway
39:05yeah fred well i think you've it's great i think that it it's a tough one to invest in
39:13it really is um and sadly i'm going to say that i'm out but but good luck to you thank
39:20you peter
39:25um i do think you need an investor but i think um i think it's going to be tough for
39:29you to get an
39:30investor based on what your pitch was today okay the chicken thing because it is it's really really fun
39:35and but it's also quite distracting uh in a way where an investor is trying to understand the
39:40potential and the scale of this business the coming in the way that you came in with the
39:45the chickens and that deborah meaden and uh peter jones's face i mean that was distracting but
39:49the whole thing kind of diverted me from the real problem you're trying to solve here which i've
39:53managed to tease out of you which is loneliness connection bringing people together in real life
39:58in an increasingly digital world that is it um that's a that's an inspiring proposition but the
40:05proposition i saw today wasn't was it wasn't wasn't that so um i'm going to say that i'm out but
40:13i wish
40:13you the very best fred um i think you need investment because you need people around you
40:24my issue is that i can't personally see how i can spend the time that you need in this business
40:34so i won't be investing i'm out thank you deborah
40:41fred i'm gonna say where i am i'm not interested in chicken games at my age um i'm gonna say
40:50i'm gonna go back to my little cage yeah not invest and i'm out thank you then
41:00hi fred hello um sorry i just panicked i got your name wrong i was like no no i just
41:08think you're
41:08great i think you're great and i think you're amazing and for me i feel like there is something
41:14in this chicken play but i think this needs to be blown up stronger make it massive and then you
41:21cash in with corporates with dating once you've made this chicken game a bigger thing i do generally
41:29feel that if i came on board i would just be giving you the same advice i've kind of given
41:34but i would love to help you and however i can so i'm not going to be your business partner
41:38but i can
41:39be that person to call and this is going to be huge and you're going to be huge i think
41:42you need
41:42to keep going um but i am out but i wish you all the best but i will definitely help
41:46you thank you
41:47good out fred good luck cheers thank you thank you cheers sadly for fred he's failed to land any of
41:55the dragons though he has managed to secure a wing woman in jenna meek i love the idea of getting
42:03everyone out together and creating something that just wasn't something enough jenna was really
42:12helpful she gave me some advice about how to have mainstream appeal so expect to see more chickens
42:18popping up in other cities tonight maybe
42:33i'm richard williams i'm from a small town in lancashire in the north of england and my business
42:39was born on the top of of a mountain in the french alps a nice bright packaging lip creams it's
42:48a lip
42:48brand definitely a lip brand it's been a long journey and many many people said you'll never make it
42:56in this industry and being a northern girl i kind of thought wow well i'll show them so i did
43:03so um so
43:05yeah i feel quite proud i got here
43:17hello dragons i'm rachel i'm a physiologist and i'm the founder of albus and flora
43:23a specialist award-winning skincare brand that provides targeted support for the lips and skin
43:31around the mouth i'm here today to ask for 50 000 pounds in return for 15 equity in my business
43:42lines and wrinkles around the mouth thinning lips chronic dryness cold sores sunburn and lip cancer
43:50affect the confidence and comfort of millions of men and women every day uv exposure and sun damage
43:58are known to impact on these concerns however uv lip protection is not always used on a daily basis
44:06in people's skin care routines we've launched two products so far lip shield which is an spf lip balm
44:14and lip facial which is an exfoliating and plumping treatment mask we currently provide products to
44:22370 aesthetic clinics spas and beauty salons we also supply direct to our customers via our website
44:32today we have delivered 695 000 pounds worth of accumulated turnover and we want to develop
44:39a clinic and consumer brand that can be accessed globally thank you oh i can breathe now breathe
44:48i can breathe
44:53products which both prettify and protect the lips are the offering from rachel williams in the large
45:01square box you've got a part of the lip facial and then in the smaller boxes you've got the spf
45:06lip shield
45:09she's looking for a 50 000 pound investment in return for a 15 share in her business
45:16can i just tell you when you do your lipstick you only have to put it out about that much
45:20to even
45:20not even that much just to fill the end that's it rachel believes her targeted approach fills a gap in
45:28the
45:29ever-growing skin care market how does it look no that's good but will the dragons be convinced
45:36by her pouch focused pitch
45:42so so have i got this strength that this is essentially the unique selling point of this
45:47business is that it protects my lips from sun damage yes and people don't realize how how much
45:54damage you can get from from daily uv and the lip is so thin and delicate and that means it
46:00dehydrates quite quickly and then so is this the health product versus a a beauty product per se
46:07the spf is is a lifestyle product you know everybody's got a pair of lips and we need to look
46:12after
46:13them and how is this different from a lip balm because it's a broad spectrum uva uvb protector so
46:19it is what does that mean for a muggle like me that there's nothing about uv anything so it's going
46:24to
46:24protect you against the damage that uv rays can do because uv would come into the skin and it can
46:29impact on
46:30the cell's physiology and function and sometimes that uv damage is is accumulated through your
46:37lifetime so it is like a lip sun cream then yes the the lip balm is yes because i put
46:43some of this
46:44lip balm on but what's weird this lip balm i've got a bit tingly and it feels that feels like
46:49my bottom
46:49lips going thicker so so that that isn't a lip balm so that's the advanced treatment it's not a lip
46:55balm
46:55no so the lip balms are in the in the sticks so what is this what's that supposed to do
47:00so the lip
47:00facial is an exfoliating and plumping treatment mask it's plumber so that is a product that we use
47:09so that's why that feels it's getting thicker it's swollen up could i ask you a question yeah
47:15while you're playing with each other no we're not playing i'm just asking some very important
47:19questions just tell us about your qualifications in this sector well qualifications um i've been a
47:25physiologist for many years and supported british teams in three olympic cycles really looking at
47:32the impacts of environment on health and you know physiology so my interest is so you know i own the
47:40trademark lipstick okay and i'm about to go retail with it later in the year cool so this is of
47:48interest
47:48yes cool just want to make sure you've done 695 000 turnover in total yeah so can you break that
47:55down to get an idea so the last three years in um 2022 we did 139 000 with a net
48:04of 41 which obviously
48:06gave us a 29 net profit and then in 2023 we did 143 turnover and 27 000 net um and
48:19then in last year we did
48:21again 140 140 and a 15 000 net profit profits profits have been going down yes is that because of
48:31marketing no it's a strategic decision by me because when we had that 20 29 net profit i knew that
48:39the
48:39decision to become a really specialized focused brand you know really supporting the professional
48:46retailers was working but i'm you know a single entrepreneur um with not a huge amount of working
48:53capital yeah and i needed therefore to prepare the business to scale so i wanted to put in foundations
49:00in the last two years to help me do that so i've got a new office i'm a part-time
49:05member of staff
49:06we launched the new product we did a rebrand and a refresh because i wanted to make sure the image
49:12was
49:12right for both um clinic market as well as retail look you've done you've done quite well i mean the
49:20product looks really great thank you we we do have it just so happens an experienced expert in the den
49:30today with jenna my question is actually not just to you because i don't know a lot about this market
49:37but it'll be to jenna is are these sort of types of products widely available is this already out
49:42there yes i guess that was hi rachel and i think that's what i'm trying to struggle with is
49:48i can probably already find something similar yeah because it's a very crowded market i think one of
49:55the things that's um confused me a little bit is that kind of vision of where you see the brand
49:59going
50:00so like is this going to be spf everything will be focused around spf or will it be more focused
50:06around lips like how does the product range build from here so we've got a few collections planned
50:12so the spf products are all part of the daily care range the lip facial is also in the daily
50:18care range
50:19there's then the targeted care range this range will focus on supporting clients who've got inflammation
50:25you know when they're on acne medication solution based you're gonna yeah daily for everyone a solution
50:31based yeah range and then and then third one would be targeting sort of 40 and upwards okay so if
50:39you
50:39had a magic wand what beauty retailers do you see this branding just i understand the vision yeah so i
50:45think
50:45the the more premium end definitely sort of liberties selfridges space nk sephora but i think for you know
50:53sephora we would need to increase you know our kind of digital footprint first
51:00um do your customers love the product yes they do do they tell people about the product
51:05they do um i'm not very good at sharing so they they love the product and they tell people about
51:11the
51:11product so why for the last three years has the revenue been stagnant i've almost never seen numbers
51:18like this where it's almost exactly the same for three years 140k in revenue three years in a row
51:23super consistent and the reason being that i've invested in the infrastructure and the operations
51:29to get ready and i've not been able to do that at the same time as put money into um
51:35the sales and
51:36marketing okay so one of the things investors look for in businesses when they're trying to invest is
51:41this thing called the growth profile and the growth profile is essentially the history of the business
51:45business and how the how it looks from a revenue or profit growth perspective yeah if it's flat it
51:53kind of suggests that the future could be flat um and i like businesses that have a good growth profile
51:58which is a challenge a lot of entrepreneurs faces when you're a solopreneur on your own
52:03you have decisions you have to make it's trade-offs and the trade-off that you you made was to
52:08focus on
52:08infrastructure and those things first versus the growth profile of the business i think it's quite
52:14important to make a different decision which is to focus on that growth profile because that will
52:18give an investor the confidence that they have enough growth to get a return from the business in
52:23future but the growth profile of the business is an amber flag for me and i find it hard to
52:29see
52:29based on the last three years in the current year how an investor would get their 50k out and a
52:34multiple on the money so for that reason i'm going to say that i'm out but i wish you the
52:38very best
52:38thank you i'm rachel i'm going to be the same um you've created a great product um i'm struggling
52:45to see the size of the opportunity so sadly i'm going to say that i'm out um but yeah congratulations
52:54on creating a great product thank you rachel i think you've hit a market and you really really
53:03know your stuff and you explain it really well um but the truth of the matter is you are in
53:08a highly
53:09contested space this is readily available for me and i i buy it so i'm afraid it's not an investment
53:16for
53:16me i'm out thank you rachel hi hi um i think i mean obviously i know what it's like to
53:27develop a beauty
53:28product so just please well done thank you the packaging is lovely the branding is lovely um it's
53:34it's really really just stand out i think in terms of investment where i'm at is it's not something i
53:42feel
53:42like i want to invest in many because it's probably too close to my current business um but more because
53:48i can't necessarily see the the bigger vision in terms of everything you want to do yeah um but i
53:54would like to throw you a lifeline because i do think this is a good product i will help you
53:58get
53:58this product in front of selfishers space and care sephora in the uk so that you've got that step to
54:05entry because you can tell how passionate you are i'm not going to invest i am out so i'm sorry
54:11but
54:12yeah i will help you do that step and you'll be able to take it from the rest okay thank
54:15you
54:16that's an amazing great offer yeah it's an amazing offer thank you so much rachel um you are
54:23investable but that's not okay and that's where i'm torn and i'll tell you why i'm torn um i am
54:31launching a lipstick retail concept later in the year okay um lip care is definitely a sector
54:40that could be included um what i'm interested in is your knowledge and trying to think how i can
54:50kill two birds with one stone here how you can help me with the knowledge and help you your business
54:55yeah yeah yeah that would be exciting so your offer was 50 000 15 percent yes
55:05i'm willing to give you the 50 000 pounds
55:11but i would want 35 percent
55:16um 35 obviously is is quite high for me as a brand and i know that i've most likely going
55:23to be
55:24multiple rounds to move forward to take the brand to where i want it to go so that's quite challenging
55:30would you be prepared to reduce that offer if you got your money back well if i got my money
55:36back within
55:3612 to 18 months down to 25 percent okay um would you be prepared to drop to um 20
55:5730 percent i'll go down to 25 when i get my money back
56:05okay that's a fantastic offer um i would be happy to work with you excited to work with you and
56:12definitely happy to accept your great great great great great great we're going to be yeah we can do
56:18it's a win for rachel thanks for all your time well done thank you she walks away with an offer
56:25of
56:26support from skincare savant jenna meek but it's touka sulyman who's put his money where his mouth is
56:34securing a stake in the business really excited
56:40just fabulous to get investment from tuka and yeah also absolutely lovely you know offer from jenna
56:48so i'm super grateful and humbled
56:53how exciting
56:55it was her that i really loved i'm investing in her as an entrepreneur well you've got an expert
57:13dragon's den will return later in the year perfect i think this is the first time in the den
57:19there's been more females than men i think this is what i've been looking for for a long time i
57:26just
57:26came out of being your worst nightmare i'm about to go back in again you're sassy i'm like oh go
57:31on
57:31go sell more is that the way you work is that what you guys do as investors i think this
57:36is a wonderful
57:36opportunity and that's why i'd like to talk to tony hello peter i was hoping you'd say that am i
57:42happy to
57:43share with peter my businesses tell me i should not invest but my heart tells me i should
57:50you're setting us all off come here mates so i'm proud of you wow gary you teed that up as
57:56if we
57:56were teammates and then that's the most guilty i've ever felt in my life yeah no it's great to have
58:01you back gary noses from amazon t-shirts and homeware from tk maxx and homesense visit bbc.co.uk
58:12forward slash red nose day for more pretty good at this
58:19you
58:23you
58:25you
58:31you
58:32you
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