Sport and Adventure Pocket Money Pitch

Imagine a year's worth of

pocket money up for grabs just waiting for kids

like you from across the UK to come up with a winning business pitch.

-I live in Newcastle.

-I'm from Sunderland.

Could you spot a gap in the market?

My business idea is called My Perfect Library. It's an app.

What's your big idea?

Our idea is for a healthy fast-food restaurant.

Or are you the next Branson, Sugar or Dyson?

Our business idea is...

A multicoloured icing pen.

Now budding entrepreneurs are entering

the Pocket Money Pitch-off.

All are hoping to secure that valuable pot of cash

and the priceless help of our top industry gurus to kick-start

their businesses.

They will have just one chance to call for help - and this is it.

The Pause My Pitch button.

One guru to impress, only one idea can come out on top.

This is Pocket Money Pitch.

Pocket Money Pitch-ers, it's time to go head-to-head. Present your pitch.

-The pitcher...

-I've chosen...

-Is...

We have searched the whole of the UK to find the best young

business talent.

Every week, six businesses battle it out.

Today's pitchers want to hit it for six in the sport

and adventure market.

It's an industry worth around £1.5 billion.

Only three of them

will get the chance to pitch to today's guru, John Graham.

He is the ultimate adventure-seeker and turned his love of sports

into one of the UK's most successful outdoor retail chains.

Our pitchers can improve their chances of impressing John

by winning over the buddies.

These guys are high-flying entrepreneurs who are out to

spot businesses that are in a league of their own.

So they are our buddies, who are our pitchers?

In our first head-to-head, are friends, 13-year-olds Holly

and Lauren, and 11-year-old Ellen from Newborough.

-If we had three words to describe us, it would be...

-Creative.

-Hard-working.

-And unique.

They'll go up against 14-year-old Max from Birmingham.

I like tech.

I like making videos. I like editing videos.

But more importantly, I'm going to be a great businessman.

The two businesses will go head-to-head and whoever gets

the most votes from our buddies will go through to pitch to the guru.

First up, the Geko Girls.

Geko bands are unisex survival bracelets that

come in a range of colours and sizes.

We use top-quality paracord 550, which can hold up to 39st in weight.

We also use buckles with whistles,

so that you can attract attention in times of need.

"Argh! Help! I'm stuck up a mountain!"

SHE BLOWS WHISTLE

Our handmade Geko bands have proven to be very popular with both

boys and girls.

We have already sold over 125 bands so far.

-G-E.

-BOTH: G-E-K-O.

-Geko, Geko.

-Purple.

-Geko, Geko.

-green.

-Geko.

-Red.

-Geko.

-Blue.

ALL: It's really up to you!

They certainly know how to put on a show.

But have the girls done enough to sell their multipurpose bracelets?

Next up, Max.

My product is a coat, but it's no ordinary coat.

My product has small flexible solar panels on each shoulder

and on the arch of the back.

The solar panels transfer power to the thin power pack

and then it charges your mobile phone.

In the lining of the coat there is an integrated mesh, that

at the flick of a switch, will warm you and make a nice temperature.

Thank you for listening.

A powerful pitch, but will the buddies go for

the survival bracelets or Max's solar-panelled jacket?

First to vote, online expert Ben.

Because of the use of technology and the way you've embraced it,

I'm going to vote for Max and Survival Of The Fittest.

Next Amber, recently voted one of the UK's most influential

young entrepreneurs.

My vote is with Geko Survival Gear.

It is neck and neck, with one vote each.

Next is top chef, Luke.

Guys, really great job but I'm going to be going for Geko Survival Gear.

The Geko Girls now have two votes.

If product designer Emily votes for them,

they will go through to pitch to the guru.

My vote is for Survival Of The Fittest.

Oh, two votes each!

It's all down to designer and entrepreneur Emma-Jayne.

Such a tough one. They're both fantastic.

My vote is going to go with Survival Of The Fittest.

So close, but it's Holly, Ellen and Lauren who are going home this time.

We have had a great time

and we're definitely going to carry on the business.

Max is now in control.

He can pick from the buddies who voted for him,

Emily, Emma-Jayne and Ben all want him to choose them.

As a girl that is constantly cold and constantly with a flat battery,

I think it's brilliant.

I would love to help advise you on how you can take it to market.

I would enjoy advising you on retail places you would be able to

sell your product,

look at the manufacturing and the supply chain of how you

would get your product straight to market.

I really like how your product is looking at new technology.

It's something I love and something which is going to be the future.

I'd really like to help you refine a new technology.

A tough choice.

Max needs to pick a buddy whose skills

and experience will help him the most.

I'd like to go with...

Ben.

Ben!

Ben is made up and heads off to work with Max.

Time now for two more sport and adventure ideas.

Hoping to wow the buddies, we've got 12-year-olds Mia

and Lydia from the Isle of Wight.

We're best friends. We go hiking together in the summer.

It's a great team-building exercise to do.

They're going head-to-head with football fanatic,

11-year-old Ben from Halifax.

In football I do a lot of communicating with other people.

That's why I think I'd be a really good businessman.

Top online entrepreneur Suleman joins the buddies for our next

head-to-head.

Baboton, you're going to start us off. Take it away.

-My name is Mia.

-My name is Lydia and our idea is studded welly boots.

As you can see from our design, there are eight metal studs

located on the bottom of the shoe, like on a football boot.

These are detachable by unscrewing,

giving you the option depending on the weather and ground conditions.

We plan to do two different ranges to appeal to people's

different lifestyles and personalities.

These included a simple design for horticultural

and agricultural people.

Our other range will be a more glamorous range,

with different colours and patterns with a star-shaped stud.

This will be for the mid-to-higher end of the market

and festival-goers.

There are currently no products like ours on the market

so we feel it fills a gap.

Thank you for listening to our pitch.

Well, there was plenty of welly in that pitch,

but will Ben match up with his brand, Ludus?

Hello, my name is Ben.

This is my brand, Ludus.

It is a football boot mixed with a normal trainer

and a running shoe.

The shoe itself will come with two different packs of 12 spikes

and 12 studs.

The blanks will already be in.

I plan for my business to be developed further down the line into

more different types of shoes, like blade at the bottom for ice skating.

Thank you for listening to my pitch.

The final whistle.

Will it be Ben's multipurpose trainers or the girls' wellies

that run away with it?

First up, Emma-Jayne.

I think they're both very interesting ideas.

My vote will be going with Baboton.

Next is Suleman.

Both very good pitches, but the one I'm going to go with is Babotons.

The first two votes have gone to the girls.

If Amber votes for them, then they will win the head-to-head

and it will be Ben who goes home.

Well done to both of you

but I feel like I can add the most value to Babotons.

You've made it through to the next round.

You are going to be going to the vote. There are still two buddies.

-Let's find out what they thought.

-Luke?

For me, it would be Babotons.

Emily?

My vote's for Babotons.

You've got a clean sweep there.

It's a win for Mia and Lydia,

but Ben is not giving up on his fancy footwear.

I think I'm going to stick at it

and you haven't seen the last of Ludus yet.

Now the tables have turned and Mia

and Lydia have all five of the buddies to choose from.

(Imogen, I'd say.)

(Luke...)

The buddy they pick will help them polish up their pitch

and be on hand to rescue them if things get tricky with the guru.

This is a crucial decision.

SHE WHISPERS

OK.

-Have you decided?

-Yes.

Go on, tell us who. BOTH: Amber. Amber!

A very happy bunny off to work with Mia and Lydia.

Now it's time for our final head-to-head.

First, brothers from London, Gary, Max and Leo -

aged 9, 13 and 8.

We play for a hockey club in Redbridge and I'm in the under-14s.

And I'm in the under-10s A team.

And I'm in the under-10s B team.

They'll be up against nine-year-old Freya

and 12-year-old Christian from Guildford.

Bill Gates inspires us because he influences a lot of people's lives.

He gave lots of the money he made to charity.

-We have a new buddy on the panel, it's Bianca.

-Hello!

First to pitch is Stick Length.

Stick Length is a revolutionary stick or racket extension band

that will come in half, one and two-inch segments.

They will be attached onto the end of a hockey stick or sports

racket, like so.

Stick Length is very eco-friendly.

Why throw away your stick or racket you love

when you can use it for longer and help protect our planet?

Stick Length is very cost-saving.

Parents, schools and clubs simply can't replace equipment

all the time.

This is a problem we feel strongly about.

Stick Length is unique. There's nothing like it in the market.

Right, I think we're done now.

-So, thank you for listening to our...

-ALL: Pocket-money pitch!

I thought it was going this way.

Ah, what a trio!

Next up it's SportyKids World.

SportyKids World is a sports magazine

written by children for children.

Here you can see an idea of a front cover and a contents page.

There'll be an online network or an app where children can give us

their own writing and some pictures they've taken,

and we set it out in a magazine format.

The unique points are, nothing like this exists.

It encourages kids to do sport and also to write.

And a percentage of any profit, fingers crossed, will go to charity.

Thank you for listening.

A headline-winning pitch.

But have they done enough to beat the London boys?

The buddies can only choose one of the businesses.

First to vote, Emma-Jayne.

They are both fantastic ideas.

I will be going for Stick Length.

Next, Suleman.

Stick Length, that was a perfect pitch,

so I'm going to vote Stick Length.

With two of the votes already,

if Bianca goes for Stick Length, then they will win the head-to-head.

Stick Length, I thought your pitch was amazing...

But actually I'm going to go for SportyKids World.

Next is Luke.

I really enjoyed both the pitches but I'm going to be going for...

..Stick Length.

Stick Length, you have got three of the buddy votes,

that means you're going through to the next round.

But let's find out what Emily thinks.

I love that you're both actually answering a real need.

But for me, it's Stick Length.

Freya and Christian have done a cracking job,

but they haven't made it through this time.

We're not going to give up. We're going to keep making the magazine.

Stick Length now need to work out who

they should buddy up with out of the four that voted for them.

They have control.

They could pick Emily, who's launched a sports product herself,

Emma-Jayne who could help them with the design,

Suleman, who could advise them on strategy,

or Luke, experienced in growing a business globally.

-I'm not sure. What do you guys think?

-I don't know.

I think we should go for Emily.

-We'd like to choose Emily.

-Emily!

Emily will now help them prepare to face the guru.

So six have become three.

Survival Of The Fittest, Baboton and Stick Length.

They now need to get as much advice as they possibly can

from their buddy before they face today's guru, John.

John is an adventure legend who has scaled the heights

of the outdoor leisure industry, but he's not stopping there.

The secret to my success is I just love my market.

I am one of my own customers. I love selling to outdoor people.

So what will John be looking for in the vault?

I'm looking for people with vision, energy,

people who you know are going to get the job done.

I'd love to meet a business where they show me

something absolutely new to the market.

That would be so exciting.

Hello, lovely to meet you. Well done.

Hi, Max. A massive well done on what you've done.

Hey, guys.

Only one business will win time with John

and get a year's-worth of pocket money.

That's £322.40 to invest in their business.

I love the idea of it being something

we can add on to the stick and also make it quite cool.

We want to make it colourful so that people would like to have it.

Exactly.

The young entrepreneurs will need to get as much as they can

from their buddy time.

They've got big business brains to pick.

If you start to release more products,

you want to be able to say we are still the same brand and this is us.

Oh, so don't call it, the solar coat - call it a solar brand.

-I could call it Panel Power or something. Because it's solars.

-Yes.

Yeah.

-Have you looked at manufacturing?

-Not really.

Obviously, the more you order, the better price you'll get.

The two really key points about the product is that it's eco

and it's saving parents and clubs and schools money as well.

Now, while the pocket money pitchers get ready, the vault

is preparing for the final showdown -

the mission to win over the gurus.

But, if at any point the pitchers get stuck,

they can press this - the Pause My Pitch button.

The guru will be locked away and the buddy will be able to run on

and help them.

But they need to choose their time wisely with this

because they can only Pause My Pitch once.

John is looking for a vision, energy and a product he's never heard of.

Not asking for much there, then(!)

First to pitch is Max, with his buddy Ben rooting for his team-mate

backstage.

Good luck. Present your pitch.

My name is Max and I bring you Panel Power. My product is a coat.

But it's no ordinary coat.

My product has small flexible solar panels on each shoulder

and on the arch of the back, that provide

a source of power to the thin power pack

in the lining of the coat.

The pocket, with a USB port, can be adapted to charge any phone.

Another function the coat performs is that it warms you.

This coat will cost to the retailer £99,

and I believe they will sell it somewhere in the region of £180.

This is the Panel Power experience.

The must-need accessory for your best survival time.

Thanks, Max. It sounds very exciting.

My first question is, is the jacket waterproof?

-The jacket is waterproof.

-With taped seams?

-Pardon?

-With taped seams?

-You know where the seams are in a jacket?

-Yes.

Unless you put a tape behind those seams, the seams will leak.

Max's idea could be coming apart at the seams here.

He needs the help from buddy Ben.

Time to Pause The Pitch and lock the guru away.

Well done, Max. You're doing really well.

I think because it's an electric component you've got

in the pockets of your coat, it probably is worth having it.

-Yes.

-Obviously, you don't want the power pack getting wet.

Obviously, that is what makes it fully waterproof.

-OK. Thank you.

-Good luck.

The seams are taped, yes.

The battery pack, you don't need to worry about that being

harmed by the rain as it is covered in Gore-Tex material.

-OK. So, a retail price of £180?

-Yes.

How likely is it that your average participant will spend that

sort of money on a jacket?

As my coat is a luxury product, for people who want to be warm

and make sure their phone is charged..

As much as £180 might seem expensive,

you get a lot for your money.

-Thank you. It's a very exciting idea. Thank you.

-Thank you.

A watertight pitch there from Max.

He's held his own in the face of John's tough questions.

'Next, Mia and Lydia, who are hoping to make a splash in the vault.'

John, our guru, is ready to hear your pitch. Good luck, girls.

-My name is Mia.

-My name's Lydia and our idea is studded welly boots.

As you can see from our design,

we have metal studs located in the bottom of the boot.

These are detachable by unscrewing.

Our idea came about after a conversation with a local farmer.

He told us about his farm being on a hill

and how it sometimes gets slippy.

Because of this he wears football boots, but his feet still get wet.

This sparked the idea of combining wellies

and football boots to offer comfort, stability and protection.

We plan to do two different ranges to appeal to people's different

lifestyles and personalities.

These include a simple design for horticultural

and agricultural people.

Our other range would be a more glamorous range for the mid-to-high

end of the market and festival-goers.

It would cost around £10-£15 to manufacture the boot.

It will cost £24 as a wholesale price and £45 as a retail price.

This gives an excellent profit margin.

Thank you for listening to our pitch.

If you have any questions, we'll be happy to answer them as best we can.

-Thank you. That was a great pitch. May I have a look?

-Yeah.

Shall I come to you?

No slip-ups so far, but how will they cope with questions?

So, if I didn't want to wear the studs,

can I just take these out so it's more comfortable to walk in?

-You just unscrew them.

-Right. That's very nice.

-So, what's the size of the welly market? Any idea?

-Um...

Oh, it looks like the girls are stuck in the mud here.

The guru is locked away and Amber comes in.

Hi, girls.

You've done such a good job so far.

So we know that the population of the UK is 60 million,

and less than 20% live in rural areas.

So we don't know the specific size of the welly market,

but we know that your product solves a problem

and it's a growing industry, so you guys are doing a great job.

-So good luck, you're going to smash it.

-Thank you.

We estimate there's around 60 million

people in the UK at the moment.

So we estimate that under 20% of the people live in rural areas.

We don't know the specific size of the welly market at the moment.

But we know that our welly solves the problem

and it's also a growing industry.

-So basically, it's a lot of people want wellies...

-Yes.

-..is what you're saying?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

So, in terms of your marketing plan, how would you let people

know about your revolutionary and very exciting stud idea?

So we'd market it in three different ways - online video websites,

-sponsorship...

-And product placement.

-Well, thank you very much.

-Thank you.

-Thank you very much indeed.

Next up to face the guru is Max, Guy and Leo,

who have changed their business name to Grow-A-Grip.

Grow-A-Grip is a revolutionary sports equipment extension

brand that will be attached onto the end of the piece of sporting

equipment like so.

Grow-A-Grip is very eco-friendly.

Why throw away a stick or racket you love

when you can use it for longer and help protect our planet?

Grow-A-Grip is very cost-saving.

Parents, schools and clubs simply can't replace equipment

all the time.

Millions of people play sports across the world and around

half of them are children, which is where the money comes in.

There are around 25,000 junior hockey players in the UK,

and let's say each of them

needs a new segment each year as they grow, costing £5.

That's a potential turnover of £125,000,

and a profit of £100,000, which is a profit margin of 80%.

Just imagine the possibilities of that.

-Thank you for listening to our...

-ALL: Pocket money pitch.

-And remember, Get-A-Grip and grow a grip!

-Thank you, gentlemen.

-Do you have a working prototype?

-Yes. This is our prototype.

Can I have a look?

It's a well-rehearsed pitch.

-Now time for questions.

-How does it attach?

We'd use rubber that would fit very tightly across the stick.

You think people would pay £5 for one?

Yes, because if you imagine hockey sticks can cost over £100...

-What do people currently do?

-They will just get a new hockey stick.

A new hockey stick?

And schools, do schools buy the equipment for the children?

Yes, some schools provide...

So schools would like the fact that they could keep the sticks

going for longer. So tell me about marketing.

How would you tell everybody who doesn't

know about this that they need one?

Well...

Buddy Emily to the rescue.

Guys, there's three ideas I've got.

One, I'd say you partner with some online retailers.

Two, celebrities idea.

Maybe get some famous sports people to use it?

And, three, I'd take it to lots of schools and clubs

and hand it out so people can try the product. Good luck, guys.

For the marketing, we would, number one,

partner with big online retailers so they can get it out there.

Or, number two, you could do it the celebrity way.

Or, number three, you could give it to lots of clubs and schools.

-Do you mean give it free of charge?

-To try out.

-To see the product?

BOTH: Yeah.

Gentleman, very good idea. I thank you very much.

The final pitch is done and Max, Guy

and Leo have kept John gripped with their idea.

Our three businesses have done all they can to impress the guru,

but John can only choose one to receive the pocket money.

In truth, I thought all three pitches were very good indeed.

Max, I think what you've got is something that everybody wants.

And it's something I can see selling well in my business.

Baboton, I thought your presentation was really clear.

The product is very easy to digest

and that makes a product very easy to sell.

And gentlemen, you did a very dynamic pitch.

You are your customers.

You are experiencing the problem

and you have come up with a solution.

But as you know, only one business can be chosen by John,

and now that decision is with you.

And, Steph, the pitch I've chosen today is...

Baboton.

Oh, well done, ladies.

Let's have a formal handshake, as you do in business. Well done.

I went for Baboton because the idea is so simple, but it's global.

You know, everybody suffers from slippy wellies.

It has such a wide audience. It could do exceptionally well.

Obviously disappointed, but we know from the feedback we've got

we can go far with this project.

I said everything I've wanted to say..

It's a shame not to win, but you can't win 'em all.

Now, Mia and Lydia have a year's worth of pocket money.

-Good morning, girls.

-Good morning.

And time with John to develop the idea.

If you're developing a product for the outdoors,

you have two test the products to destruction. Let's go and do it.

And they have an important question to ask.

We would like to know if you would

consider investing in our business.

Find out what happens at the end of the series.