Pitches to Riches Dragons' Den


Pitches to Riches

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It has the jeopardy of a game show.

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If this offer isn't good enough for you, I'm absolutely not interested.

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It has the characters of a drama.

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I became jobless, penniless and homeless...

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SHE EXHALES

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But the secret ingredient of Dragons' Den is that it's all

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happening for real.

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So exciting!

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Real people with real dreams,

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meeting real investors with real money.

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Hey!

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I'm Richard Osman. Now, I'm no budding entrepreneur.

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I haven't invented gluten-free tattoos

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or an espresso machine for dogs.

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But I am a huge fan of Dragons' Den.

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For years now, I've been mildly traumatised

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by Deborah Meaden's death stare...

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..sent letters of complaint about Peter Jones's put-downs...

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That looks about as practical as an ashtray on a motorbike.

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A ladder for a carpet fitter. An ejector seat in a helicopter.

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'Now, I'm the big man...'

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-What do we think?

-Richard's taller.

-Ah!

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Is that because of the hair, though?

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'And it's my turn to interrogate the Dragons, to see how THEY like it.'

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-Did you begin to worry that you weren't going to get any deals?

-Yeah.

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-You don't know your figures?

-I don't know my numbers as well as I should...

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You've come in here, you're on a documentary and you haven't done your figures.

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'Tonight, I'm going to relive some jaw-dropping pitches...'

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This is the most disrespectful pitch...

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I remember just feeling my heart in my throat at that point.

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'..find out what happened next to the businesses that walked away

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'with the Dragons' cash...'

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Hey! There we go.

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'..discover the secrets of the Dragons' success...'

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It's all gut feeling.

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This is genuine, we want to find out how this business works...

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'..and we'll find out if pitches really can lead to riches.'

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Today, the company is worth £10 million.

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Wow!

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So, to make it rich,

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the first thing you have to do is simply call the lift.

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Then compose yourself...

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..then have the bottle to walk out the other side,

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and crucially, hope it doesn't all fall apart

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when you come face-to-face with the Dragons.

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On my first day, I walked into the Den...

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Before I sat down, I went to the lift, turned round,

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walked in and stood on that point.

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There is a moment when the entrepreneurs

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walk through the doors...

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I kind of feel for them a bit, I mean, this is a big moment.

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It is tough.

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Really, really tough.

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I'm looking for an investment of £100,000 for a 12.5% share...

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I'm sorry, I've really lost it, I do apologise.

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HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

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You've got three minutes to make your pitch

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and that puts a bit of pressure on.

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I'm here to tell you about my new company, Golfer's Mate,

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and my new product...

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And I've gone blank again. I'm so sorry.

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We...also supplied...

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Um... We also... Excuse me.

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We also supplied, um...

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You can generally hear it in the voice, you can

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hear nervousness in the voice when they first start to speak.

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Oh, God...

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You are looking for that escape route,

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you're looking for the hole in the floor that you can get into,

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crawl up and just say, "This never happened."

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Children can choose from... Oh...

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Sorry, please, can I start again?

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You have basically got no business at the moment.

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I'm not being funny, Amy, but honestly, you have no business.

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Um... Sorry, I've just gone quite light-headed.

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-Oh, are you OK? Do you want to sit down?

-Sit down? Come and sit down?

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I think it's the first time I've ever seen anybody faint in the Den.

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Oh, don't fall over. Oh, God!

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And I was a little concerned that that would be it.

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There you go.

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'She was just overwhelmed, tired, you know.'

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You can't judge people just because it didn't go right on the moment.

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What did I do to you?

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'It's not nice seeing people struggle.'

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You know, you want to help.

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But in business, people don't rush to your side to help you.

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-Whatever's there, you need to say.

-Yup.

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Clearly, pitching in the Den is not for the faint-hearted.

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Or indeed, the light-headed.

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Forgive me.

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When Lorraine and Graham Hatton-Downward unveiled

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their diving safety device, Lign Light, in 2015,

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it all proved too much for Lorraine.

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So, Graham and Lorraine, we are about to take a look at your pitch.

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It's one of the more unusual pitches in the Den, I think,

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if you don't mind me saying so!

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And this was sort of seen as a final roll of the dice?

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-Yes, it certainly was.

-Let's take a little look, shall we?

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Oh! OK, if we must.

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The couple had spent 20 years and their life savings

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on the device that warns divers when they are running out of air.

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The Dragons were their last hope of getting from pitch to rich.

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What strain has that put on you, financially?

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A lot. A big strain.

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-Tell me about that.

-We're strapped.

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Strapped for cash, it's the last stop, the last post,

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and we've spent near £200,000 of our own money...

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RICHARD EXHALES

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-It's a lot of money.

-A lot of money.

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We have really invested.

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And you are both, if I may say, wearing your heart on your sleeves.

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It's our baby, and we believed in it so strongly.

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And what I can't understand is why that hasn't turned into

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somebody wanting to go into partnership with you.

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How are you feeling now, now that the heat

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is being turned up slightly?

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This is where panic, for me, starts to set in.

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We had worked out a system whereby, if I squeezed Lorraine's hand,

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that meant "Shut up."

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And she started to waffle...

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Um, I had my first open heart surgery.

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I was only in my 40s then...

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So I started off giving her hand a little squeeze,

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and then it was a bit harder...

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We lost our house, we lost our investments...

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And then I was, like, pulling her hand, "Shut up!" You know.

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-But she didn't.

-I just carried on!

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-Whatever's there, you need to say.

-Yup.

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We lost everything, Deborah.

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We had mental breakdowns...

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We were really ill... I'm so sorry.

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Forgive me.

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When I walked off, it was very hard.

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I... I completely... I lose it.

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-I felt as though I'd completely let him down.

-Yeah.

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-And I love him so much, I do, and my heart bled.

-Yeah.

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-You and Lorraine have had a very emotional journey.

-Yes.

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-But let's just get to business.

-Yes, of course.

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-That's what you're here for.

-Of course it is.

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At that point, I'm sitting thinking, do I go after her

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and make sure she's OK?

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-Or do I stop and face the music?

-Yeah.

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-I was thinking, oh, what do I do?

-But you decided to stick around?

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I did.

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Graham, don't let your legacy be that you had this great product...

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-See, this is all valid.

-..that could have saved lives, but you never did.

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-Yeah.

-Just license your product, make it happen. Good luck.

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-Thank you so much.

-I'm afraid it's not an investment for me.

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I've never seen a lovelier five noes in my life.

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Thank you very much, Dragons. Thank you.

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SHE SOBS

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Don't worry. You didn't let anybody down.

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And so the million-dollar question. What happened after the Den?

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The Dragons saying no, in a way,

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was the best thing that could have happened to us.

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Because we suddenly became masters of our own destiny.

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-Yeah.

-We had people offering to market it for us, people offering

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to invest in it, people who wanted to go in as partners.

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-Did you take their advice and license it?

-Yes.

-We did. And more!

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-And it's wonderful. Absolutely...

-We've got a fantastic deal.

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We will be shareholder directors.

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Anything that goes, then, into that organisation,

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we will get royalties from that, too, and we are...

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Makes you wonder why you didn't do it 20 years ago.

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It all came from having the guts to get up there and go into the Den.

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If it hadn't been for the Dragons, we would be still

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not able to see the tunnel, let alone the light at the end of it.

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'So, I've heard how the Den can sink the most buoyant of entrepreneurs.

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'But when it's the Dragons' own money at stake,

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'you need to bring your A-game.'

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A lot of people don't realise, and I certainly didn't,

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just how real it is.

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We have absolutely no idea what is coming through the doors at all.

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You're there, you're going to part with your own money,

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you've got to do it right.

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This is genuine, we want to find out how this business works.

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What questions do I need to ask?

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Is this somebody that we can work with?

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It's all gut feeling. I say to myself, how can I add value?

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How can I help this entrepreneur fulfil his dreams?

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Well, you could give him your money, Touker.

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When a great idea does walk into the Den,

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the pressure is then on to secure the deal.

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And after ten years in that seat on the far right,

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no-one knows 100% about 100% of Dragon strategy like Peter Jones.

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When someone comes in and you think, "Hold on, there is something in this," you immediately think,

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"I need now to outmanoeuvre these other four people."

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Yeah, and I think that's another twist that you get in the Den,

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the fact that it's not just about the idea in the pitch,

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it's about the four people to my right that I've now got to compete with.

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So, you've got to play a little bit of a tactical game,

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you don't want them to know...

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You don't want to play your cards too early.

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And the classic display of Peter's gameplaying prowess was when

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a husband-and-wife team entered the Den with a saucy dream

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that they hoped would take them from pitch to rich.

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-Hello there. I'm Ben.

-And I'm Sue Youn.

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At the beginning of this year, Sue and I decided

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that we would launch the UK's first Korean cooking range -

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Yogiyo.

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After watching Ben fall in love with my mum's cooking,

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we decided to take our own brand

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of authentic home-style cooking to the UK.

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-OK.

-What have we got?

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It was early days for the three new Dragons in 2015,

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when they received a Den masterclass from the king of sauce.

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And feeling the full force of his tactical acumen,

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restaurant supremo Sarah Willingham.

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-Oh! That is, um...

-Spicy!

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As soon as I saw Yogiyo walk in, I thought,

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"Oh, this could be really interesting. Another sauce!"

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I've got to have this.

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Normally if a sauce comes into the Den, it's mine,

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I feel very confident.

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But now, I've got Sarah down the line.

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Restaurateur.

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And I think, "I'm going to have to change my tactics here."

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Sarah was first in

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and focused immediately on the street food side of the business.

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And what's a good day's trading, then?

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-Between £600 and £700 on a good day.

-Out of that van?

-Yeah.

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Wow!

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I was so excited, I was like, "Yes, great sauces, of course, let's

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"get you into a supermarket, but what else could we do with that" brand?

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This has got a restaurant concept in it, actually.

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So I'm really interested in that side of it,

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because I think you do that, your sauces will follow.

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Wow, I was surprised. Sarah played her hand really quickly there.

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It's given me some real good time to sit and think,

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"Right, how do I get this?"

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Ah, thinking, that old Dragon trick!

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Which Peter then followed with a crafty bit of reverse psychology.

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It's going to be incredibly tough.

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I had to try and sow the seed of doubt

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with all the other Dragons, to get them out first.

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So I thought I would outline

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exactly what the issues are in the business,

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hoping that they were going to go out.

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I think you are not even a challenger brand,

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and you are really, really up against it,

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because when you start to scale and get bigger volume in a marketplace

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like this, you are going to have all of the larger players

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in the market seeing you as a potential risk.

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Peter's reverse psychology worked.

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The other Dragons reversed out, leaving him

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and Sarah to battle it out.

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I can't lose this restaurant thing.

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There is not a great Korean street kitchen out there.

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I'm going to make you an offer.

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I'm going to offer you all the money...

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for 25% of the business.

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-Thank you.

-Yeah, thank you.

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'I wasn't buying into this restaurant idea

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'and I wanted to focus all of the attention on the sauce.'

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The only way I could do that was to undermine Sarah

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and make a really big statement.

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I'd rather pick up dog poo without gloves

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than invest in a business that is going to be in restaurants.

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This, for me, is not where it's at.

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It's developing a brand that everybody is going to,

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at consumer level, buy into...

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-I mean, that's what it's all about for us.

-And that's the future.

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I'm going to offer you all the money...

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but I'm going to ask you for 40% of the company.

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For Ben and Sue, it was decision time.

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Restaurant or sauce?

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But Peter had one final tactical move to make.

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I would be more than happy for us to be equal partners -

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a third, a third, a third -

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if that's something that will close the deal with you now.

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Yeah? Um, yeah, er, yeah!

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-THEY LAUGH

-Is that a yes?

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You'd like to take the deal? Well done, fantastic, brilliant.

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What was I thinking, taking on Peter Jones with a sauce business?

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But it could have been so much more!

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Yogiyo! Yogiyo!

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And the end of the day, it's a lesson for Sarah,

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she knows who the lead Dragon is.

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It's six months since Ben and Sue Youn clinched the deal

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and became business partners with Peter Jones.

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Now they've returned to the source of the sauce - South Korea.

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Less than two years ago,

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they were making Sue Youn's mother's sauce in their kitchen at home.

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But with a new deal struck two months ago,

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the pressure is on to upscale production.

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Having Peter on board has opened up all kinds of doors.

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The biggest development that we've had since the Den has been

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gaining a listing with Sainsbury's, a nationwide listing,

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an exclusive deal - that alone has really transformed the business.

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To meet the demands of the supermarket

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but not compromise the heritage of their brand,

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they've chosen to manufacture in this factory

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in Gyeongnam-do Province.

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It's their first visit, ahead of production starting next month.

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One of the major challenges with trying to keep something

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authentic is in the raw ingredients.

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'The Gochu Jang paste that two of our sauces are based on

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'can only really be made in Korea.'

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That's good!

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So finding a supplier that can make that product commercially,

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but at a really good quality, has been

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one of our strongest achievements, really, in the development process.

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You can really smell it, brilliant!

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They might now be entrepreneurs on their way to making millions,

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but they haven't forgotten where it all began.

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Back home, with Mum.

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It's crazy to think that we started actually here, from just an idea,

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to bring Mum's recipe to the UK.

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So they've convinced Dragons and the supermarkets

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that their sauce is second to none.

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But now it's time for the ultimate taste test - Sue's mum.

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I've got you a little delivery from the UK.

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THEY SPEAK KOREAN

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-Seriously?

-THEY LAUGH

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'She likes it!'

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That's the first time we've ever shown it to her.

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No idea what she'd make of it whatsoever.

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That's a little weight off my shoulders, that is.

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It's definitely not the end, so, as soon as one goal is achieved,

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there are so many more things that we can do.

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This is point zero of a new journey.

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Right now, it's all about where can we go from here

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and how big can this become?

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'Coming up...

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'I meet the man who's taken his sauce from pitch to rich

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'and put him on the spot.'

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You give it all this, Levi, but listen, you're not building

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this business unless you are an incredibly tough businessman.

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'Emotions run high in the screening room...'

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Even seeing myself now, I kind of want to put my arm around him!

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-I know, I do as well, I want to reach into the screen.

-Yeah.

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'And I put the pressure on Deborah Meaden.'

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So Theo pulling that little clip off just cost everyone in

0:19:160:19:20

that Den about £4 million?

0:19:200:19:22

Given the same circumstances, I probably wouldn't invest it again.

0:19:220:19:25

Over the last decade in the Den,

0:19:300:19:32

15 different breeds of Dragon have sat in those five famous chairs.

0:19:320:19:37

All vying to be best in show.

0:19:370:19:40

-You haven't sold a thing.

-He's got assets...

-What assets?

0:19:400:19:43

-Do you value your business...

-What assets?

-..on historic losses?

0:19:430:19:46

-What assets?

-Each made their throne their own.

0:19:460:19:49

You would make my foot itch, mate.

0:19:490:19:51

From Hillary's itchy foot...

0:19:510:19:53

-I'm out.

-..to Deborah's twiddling fingers,

0:19:530:19:58

and Duncan's..."directness".

0:19:580:20:01

You know this product doesn't sell.

0:20:010:20:04

Some VERY different breeds there.

0:20:080:20:11

But there's one thing they'd all agree on.

0:20:110:20:13

Time is money, and if you waste a Dragon's time,

0:20:130:20:16

you're playing with fire.

0:20:160:20:19

You can't come in here and say you don't know how your business works.

0:20:200:20:24

Well, you CAN, but it's not going to get a terribly good response.

0:20:240:20:28

-Of course it's not.

-What's their price point?

0:20:280:20:31

I didn't ask them that.

0:20:310:20:32

-What profit margin did they make?

-I didn't ask them that, either.

0:20:320:20:35

What did they sell it to the retailer at?

0:20:350:20:38

-I didn't ask that either.

-So you know NOTHING about your market.

0:20:380:20:42

This is the most disrespectful pitch.

0:20:420:20:46

I never expected to sit here

0:20:460:20:50

and be OFFENDED in this way.

0:20:500:20:53

Is it just me who finds them attractive when they're angry?

0:20:550:20:58

Someone else who managed to anger the Dragons is the next

0:21:010:21:05

visitor to my screening room.

0:21:050:21:08

Ellen Green managed to beautifully pull off a tactic

0:21:080:21:11

I call snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.

0:21:110:21:15

Blue Badge Company is a UK manufacturer

0:21:150:21:17

that makes attractive living aids.

0:21:170:21:20

About 40% of our workforce are

0:21:200:21:21

either disabled or a primary caregiver.

0:21:210:21:24

And you'll find our products in over 300 post offices,

0:21:240:21:27

over 100 mobility shops and Halfords have just placed their first order.

0:21:270:21:32

I remember watching at home, and you just think,

0:21:320:21:34

"Oh, this is solid as a rock."

0:21:340:21:36

Yeah, I listened to quite a bit of Beyonce in the green room,

0:21:360:21:39

so I was feeling quite empowered.

0:21:390:21:41

-That's what I did before this interview, as well!

-Yeah...

0:21:410:21:45

And this year, we'll be making £100,000.

0:21:450:21:47

That's about a 13% net profit margin.

0:21:470:21:50

I have to say, Ellen, I think you're cracking.

0:21:500:21:53

-I mean, I think you're great.

-Thank you very much.

-You are.

0:21:530:21:56

You're all over it, you're smart,

0:21:560:21:57

you completely understand your market.

0:21:570:21:59

Erm, so, I am going to make you an offer.

0:21:590:22:02

Ah, this was back when Deborah was still in love with you.

0:22:020:22:05

Yes, she liked me at this point, yeah.

0:22:050:22:08

You're very good on the numbers, and that's always a good sign.

0:22:080:22:11

I like that. I'm going to make you an offer.

0:22:110:22:14

If this was a date, you'd be thinking this was going really, really well.

0:22:140:22:18

I WAS thinking it was going really, really well!

0:22:180:22:20

I feel I can offer more than any of the other Dragons.

0:22:200:22:23

Therefore, I'd want a bigger slice.

0:22:250:22:28

Touker, you are the Dragon that I really wanted when I came in here.

0:22:310:22:36

-However...

-Ooh, there's the big mistake!

0:22:360:22:40

I knew as the words were coming out my mouth that it wasn't the right thing to say.

0:22:400:22:45

-You're thinking, "Deborah's just been so nice to me."

-Whoops!

0:22:450:22:48

And I agree, made in the UK...

0:22:480:22:51

But as you grow, you have to decide,

0:22:510:22:54

"Can I get the production all over the UK?"

0:22:540:22:58

Yeah? Because let's be honest, you want to grow it to a two, three, four million pound business.

0:22:580:23:02

Answer...

0:23:020:23:03

'It suddenly dawned on me that he wasn't the right partner for me.'

0:23:030:23:08

-And it's a bit late then, yeah.

-It was too late then.

-Can I stop you?

0:23:080:23:13

We're looking at something that says "made in the UK".

0:23:130:23:16

And your preferred investor is someone who

0:23:160:23:19

specialises in offshoring. A great businessman. Wonderful!

0:23:190:23:23

-But his speciality is taking stuff offshore.

-Yeah.

0:23:230:23:27

-No, it's something that occurred to me...

-I think you just shot yourself in the foot.

0:23:270:23:32

And that's not something that we're going to be doing, by the way,

0:23:320:23:35

we're not going to be taking it offshore.

0:23:350:23:37

It's not something that I want to do at all.

0:23:370:23:40

It's got to remain, the majority has to be made in the UK.

0:23:400:23:43

-That's what we're about.

-I'm sorry, I'm out.

0:23:430:23:46

And suddenly, I was, like, on the back foot,

0:23:460:23:50

trying to reel it back in.

0:23:500:23:52

You know, that should have been absolute, "I'm sorry, we're brand UK."

0:23:520:23:57

-We are. We ARE brand UK. 100% brand UK.

-I'm sorry.

0:23:570:24:00

I feel exactly the same.

0:24:000:24:02

-I'm out. Yeah.

-They don't miss a trick.

-No.

0:24:030:24:06

-It was quite an onslaught.

-It WAS quite an onslaught.

0:24:060:24:11

I remember just feeling my heart in my throat at that point.

0:24:110:24:14

I thought I had nailed it and then suddenly, it was like,

0:24:140:24:17

"What is happening? What is happening?"

0:24:170:24:20

A few of the other Dragons have just pointed out your key area

0:24:200:24:24

is on offshore manufacturing.

0:24:240:24:26

Erm, I'm going to have to decline your offer.

0:24:260:24:31

I was like, "How on earth have I walked out of here without an investment?"

0:24:310:24:34

I think pretty much everyone thought that.

0:24:340:24:36

I would have loved to get a Dragon and I was actually quite

0:24:360:24:39

-confused about how it had unravelled so quickly.

-I bet.

0:24:390:24:42

And so, how have things gone since the Den?

0:24:420:24:45

It's actually been amazing for us.

0:24:450:24:47

We got a little bit of debt funding, rather than giving away equity

0:24:470:24:51

and have developed new products from it.

0:24:510:24:55

-And we have also got a listing in the Argos catalogue.

-OK.

0:24:550:24:59

And we're really excited that some of our leather products have

0:24:590:25:02

-gone into Harrods very recently, as well.

-Oh, have they? That's very posh.

0:25:020:25:07

'So, despite a disastrous pitch,

0:25:070:25:09

'Ellen is still hoping to make it rich.'

0:25:090:25:12

But sometimes it's the Dragons

0:25:140:25:16

that fail to spot the bank-balance-boosting opportunity.

0:25:160:25:21

You've just got a brush. That's all it is!

0:25:210:25:23

CASH REGISTER RINGS

0:25:250:25:28

I just don't see a big market for it. For that reason, I'm out.

0:25:280:25:31

£250,000 is ridiculous.

0:25:360:25:38

And that's the reason why I'm out.

0:25:380:25:39

And while we're on the subject of ones that got away,

0:25:450:25:48

let's cast our minds back to this one, shall we, Deborah?

0:25:480:25:52

'So have you had any feedback?'

0:25:520:25:54

Fortunately, the catches can be fixed.

0:25:540:25:57

So will you be able... Sorry, that got my attention.

0:25:570:26:01

-What did you do there?

-It'd get my kids' attention, as well!

0:26:010:26:04

-Is this a faulty catch one?

-No.

0:26:040:26:06

-You've pulled the hook off there, yeah?

-I hadn't noticed that one.

0:26:060:26:11

I shouldn't have done, though, should I?

0:26:110:26:14

The moment Theo pulled that handle off, the whole

0:26:140:26:18

integrity of the quality of that product was compromised.

0:26:180:26:21

So I think you've done really well. Congratulations to get this far.

0:26:210:26:25

-But I just don't think it's a business opportunity.

-OK.

0:26:250:26:27

So I'm afraid I'm out.

0:26:270:26:29

So that was Rob and I think he was asking for £100,000 for 10%

0:26:300:26:34

of the business, which would now be worth about £4 million.

0:26:340:26:37

It has been an incredible success.

0:26:370:26:39

So Theo pulling a little clip off just cost everyone in that Den

0:26:390:26:42

about £4 million. But presumably that's just going to happen.

0:26:420:26:45

If you see a lot of investments, you know, some are going to get away.

0:26:450:26:48

Actually, looking at it again, you can see exactly why we didn't invest. I mean, it broke.

0:26:480:26:52

Rob couldn't explain why.

0:26:520:26:54

You know, there was no, there was no confidence there that said,

0:26:540:26:57

"Actually, we can sort this. That's OK."

0:26:570:27:00

So I think given the same circumstances,

0:27:000:27:02

I probably wouldn't invest in it again.

0:27:020:27:04

Now, Trunki, we saw, went away.

0:27:040:27:06

Have there been other opportunities there that, when you look back,

0:27:060:27:08

you genuinely think, "Actually, I would have liked to have worked

0:27:080:27:12

"with that person or that product"?

0:27:120:27:14

Erm, no, only because

0:27:140:27:16

I'm not a look-backer and I'm not a regretter.

0:27:160:27:19

I do whatever it takes in the Den to win an investment.

0:27:190:27:22

And if I don't win it, then so be it.

0:27:220:27:25

You know, that's... I mean, there have been some great successes.

0:27:250:27:28

There's been Tangle Tease, you know? We missed that one.

0:27:280:27:31

Everybody says, "Well, what about Reggae Reggae Sauce?"

0:27:310:27:33

Well, you know, I wasn't interested in Reggae Reggae Sauce.

0:27:330:27:36

But I think that's more to do with me. I just... I'm not a regretter.

0:27:360:27:39

Is Peter quite smug about Reggae Reggae Sauce?

0:27:390:27:41

Yeah. But I'm going to take his Reggae Reggae Sauce

0:27:410:27:44

and I'm going to raise him one GripIt Fixing.

0:27:440:27:46

'So, fighting talk from Deborah Meaden.

0:27:460:27:49

'Will she really trump Peter?'

0:27:490:27:51

GripIt was an innovative wall-fixing product.

0:27:550:27:58

And the Dragons were gripped by it the moment

0:27:580:28:01

an 18-year-old Jordan Daykin entered the Den.

0:28:010:28:04

GripIt Fixings are a new universal plasterboard fixing solution...

0:28:060:28:09

..holding loads of up to 180 kilos per fixing.

0:28:110:28:14

We have a full UK patent.

0:28:140:28:16

As soon as I saw GripIt as a product,

0:28:160:28:19

I was actually immediately interested.

0:28:190:28:22

But the magical moment for me

0:28:220:28:23

is when you get a great product with a great person.

0:28:230:28:26

And Jordan was very good from the start.

0:28:260:28:30

What's your background? How did you come up with this widget?

0:28:310:28:34

Erm, I was 13 at the time, it was me and my grandad and we went

0:28:340:28:37

down to Wickes and bought every fixing you could think of.

0:28:370:28:40

And we couldn't find a solution. So, we went into the shed

0:28:400:28:43

and came up with a prototype of this out of nylon.

0:28:430:28:47

-What, so, a real inventor's shed at the bottom of the garden?

-Yeah!

0:28:470:28:50

-And that's where it came from.

-Can I just have a quick look at that radiator?

-Yeah, sure.

0:28:500:28:55

It was a great start for the teenage entrepreneur.

0:28:550:28:58

But his chances of investment very nearly collapsed.

0:28:580:29:02

Peter pulled the radiator off the wall.

0:29:020:29:06

-PETER:

-Why did it break so easily there, then?

0:29:060:29:09

Most other entrepreneurs would have at least faltered.

0:29:090:29:13

And Jordan did not falter.

0:29:130:29:15

He carried on as if life was perfectly normal.

0:29:150:29:18

-You've sold how many millions?

-Up to now, just over 200,000 units.

0:29:180:29:23

-At what price?

-Wholesale price is 32p, on average.

0:29:230:29:26

So how much is that in money?

0:29:260:29:28

-In money, we've turned over 78,000 so far.

-What's your margin on that?

0:29:280:29:32

A gross profit of 36,000 and a net of 5½.

0:29:320:29:36

His confidence gave me confidence in his product.

0:29:370:29:41

I thought, "OK, he knows his stuff. I'm not worried any more."

0:29:410:29:44

So...I'm going to offer you all of the money.

0:29:440:29:47

Thanks.

0:29:490:29:50

And I want...

0:29:500:29:53

30% of the business.

0:29:530:29:55

Inside, my heart's going and I'm thinking,

0:29:550:29:58

("This is mine, this is mine.

0:29:580:30:00

("Please let this be mine.")

0:30:000:30:02

Thanks for the offer.

0:30:020:30:05

Would you be willing to meet me halfway at 25%?

0:30:050:30:08

I...think...that...

0:30:130:30:18

-meeting you halfway...

-Yeah.

0:30:180:30:20

..would be a good demonstration to both of us...

0:30:200:30:22

-Yeah.

-..that we're...

-Yeah.

0:30:220:30:24

..starting on a very good foot in our business relationship.

0:30:240:30:27

-Yeah.

-So, I'm very happy to meet you halfway.

0:30:270:30:30

-Great, well, I'd like to accept your offer.

-Excellent!

0:30:300:30:32

Jordan was mine. You know?

0:30:350:30:37

He was, absolutely, we were right for each other.

0:30:370:30:39

A year on and Deborah and Jordan are still very much a business item.

0:30:450:30:50

And it's the perfect partnership to grow the young

0:30:530:30:55

entrepreneur from pitch to rich.

0:30:550:30:58

A very warm welcome to GripIt HQ.

0:30:580:31:00

Today, they're filming an interview for a shopping channel that

0:31:010:31:04

could mean big business for Jordan and Deborah.

0:31:040:31:08

See, this single conversation is

0:31:080:31:11

probably going to make them millions.

0:31:110:31:13

It's infuriating, isn't it?

0:31:130:31:15

Debra, Jordan, finished selling? Well done, you can relax.

0:31:190:31:22

We haven't finished selling.

0:31:220:31:23

You never finish selling! What are you saying?

0:31:230:31:25

SHE LAUGHS Of course, just take your time...

0:31:250:31:28

Of course, for the TV show,

0:31:280:31:29

when you invest, that's the climax of the show.

0:31:290:31:31

Take us through just very briefly what happens next.

0:31:310:31:33

It was straight into business,

0:31:330:31:35

so we went and obviously got our first unit.

0:31:350:31:37

Which we have now tripled. Erm, and then we got into Wickes.

0:31:370:31:40

-Deborah gets closely involved in all this kind of stuff?

-Definitely.

0:31:400:31:43

And you've just invested some more money, is that right?

0:31:430:31:46

Oh, well, I have, actually.

0:31:460:31:47

One of the issues with new businesses, particularly start-ups,

0:31:470:31:51

is that they've got no trading history,

0:31:510:31:52

so banks are a little bit reluctant to lend them cash.

0:31:520:31:55

-Mm-hm.

-And they need working capital. They are growing and they need to buy all that equipment

0:31:550:31:59

we've been looking at. I mean, that is expensive kit.

0:31:590:32:01

-How much did you pick up?

-Erm...

0:32:010:32:03

North of half a million.

0:32:030:32:04

That's down the back of the sofa money for you, though, isn't it?

0:32:040:32:07

-Stop it!

-My favourite thing about

0:32:070:32:09

being down here is that you've got a stress tester.

0:32:090:32:11

I presume you can put weights on, which I would like to have a go on.

0:32:110:32:16

-Only because, in the Den, Peter pulled it off the wall.

-Oh, he did!

0:32:160:32:19

Which funnily enough, has probably cost him millions of pounds...

0:32:190:32:22

-Absolutely, thank you, Mr Jones!

-..is the truth.

0:32:220:32:25

Tell you what, if it doesn't hold my weight, 1% of the business.

0:32:250:32:28

-Don't you think, Deborah?

-How confident are you?

0:32:280:32:31

Do the two of you need a little chat? SHE LAUGHS

0:32:310:32:34

Can we go to the back of the room?

0:32:340:32:35

Yes, go to the back of the room. Take your time.

0:32:350:32:37

'Time to put Jordan's professional reputation to the test -

0:32:370:32:42

'a radiator held up purely with his fixings against the mass of my lithe six feet, seven inches frame.'

0:32:420:32:48

Tell my children I love them.

0:32:480:32:50

And also, I would like Sue Barker to take over from me on Pointless.

0:32:500:32:53

THEY LAUGH OK, here we go...

0:32:530:32:55

'Nowhere on the packaging had I seen guarantees that it could hold this payload.'

0:32:550:33:00

SHE LAUGHS You know, if I die, you're dying too.

0:33:000:33:03

I know, I know! Well, that's the confidence I have.

0:33:030:33:05

'Oh, well...'

0:33:050:33:07

-Yay! Woo!

-Hey! There we go! Jordan, I am in.

-There you go.

-I am in.

0:33:100:33:15

So, I've either proved that the product works or my 5-2 diet works.

0:33:150:33:20

But I survived. Lucky escape there for Sue Barker.

0:33:230:33:27

Now, it's time to put the pressure on Deborah and tackle

0:33:270:33:30

that dirty word, "money".

0:33:300:33:32

Now, you've made a fortune before, of course.

0:33:330:33:36

You've been on that journey.

0:33:360:33:37

He's right at the beginning of that journey.

0:33:370:33:39

You know what's ahead of him,

0:33:390:33:41

-if he works hard.

-This is the bit I love. This is why I do it, you know,

0:33:410:33:45

I don't have to invest. I don't need more businesses.

0:33:450:33:47

What Jordan's doing, which is starting with nothing

0:33:470:33:49

-and creating...

-Something.

0:33:490:33:50

..what I think is going to be a massive business.

0:33:500:33:52

Well, crassly, how massive could this business become?

0:33:520:33:56

What sort of money could this business make?

0:33:560:33:58

Well, we've recently done a funding round.

0:33:580:34:01

It's already probably worth close on £10 million.

0:34:010:34:04

So your stake, it's worth £2.5 million, after about a year.

0:34:040:34:08

Poor Peter Jones, tearing that radiator off the wall. It cost him £2.5 million!

0:34:080:34:12

And this is, we're at the beginning of the journey.

0:34:120:34:15

-So, it could go...

-Oh, it WILL go...

0:34:150:34:16

-Much, much, much, much bigger.

-Yeah. I'm trying not to look smug.

0:34:160:34:19

-THEY LAUGH You failed.

-Oh, dear!

0:34:190:34:22

So Peter's loss was Deborah and Jordan's gain.

0:34:280:34:31

And with the future in fixings looking so bright,

0:34:310:34:34

I couldn't resist going back to where it all started -

0:34:340:34:37

Jordan's grandfather's shed.

0:34:370:34:40

-I see it up ahead of me.

-This is Stan.

0:34:400:34:43

-Richard, this is Stan.

-Stan!

0:34:430:34:45

-Hello!

-How lovely to meet you!

-My pleasure.

0:34:450:34:48

-This is where it all happened.

-Yes.

-So, yeah, this is it.

0:34:480:34:51

Jordan, do you remember those early days? The early prototypes?

0:34:510:34:54

Definitely, yeah. This is where we first started.

0:34:540:34:56

It was literally just cutting out of cardboard, just in drawing pins, to prove the mechanism.

0:34:560:35:01

But at the time it was never going to be a business.

0:35:010:35:03

And I don't think we ever thought about it like that.

0:35:030:35:05

-Not at the beginning, no.

-Well, I was just talking to Deborah

0:35:050:35:09

and she was saying, even now, today, the company's worth £10 million.

0:35:090:35:13

Wow!

0:35:130:35:15

How does that sit with you? What do you think about when that occurs to you?

0:35:150:35:20

Well, first of all, I didn't know until you told me!

0:35:200:35:25

But on reflection,

0:35:250:35:29

-it's going to the right guy.

-Isn't it, though?

0:35:290:35:32

-I shouldn't have told him that, Jordan, should I?

-No!

0:35:320:35:35

THEY LAUGH

0:35:350:35:37

-Isn't it incredible, something little like that can just change lives?

-Yep.

-Hey!

0:35:370:35:40

He's a good man, isn't he?

0:35:400:35:42

Still to come...

0:35:460:35:48

I meet the man who pulled off the Den's most memorable turnaround.

0:35:480:35:52

Unbelievable. One minute, I was down there and couldn't get any lower,

0:35:520:35:55

the next minute, I'm thinking, "Oh, my God!"

0:35:550:35:58

Nothing like Jamaican champagne!

0:35:580:36:01

'And Yogiyo get the ultimate advice in how to go from pitch to rich.'

0:36:010:36:06

It's not about the product. It is about you.

0:36:060:36:09

But first, no-one likes being the new kid in class.

0:36:150:36:18

And when your head boy and head girl are Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden,

0:36:180:36:23

you should definitely play nicely.

0:36:230:36:24

I think you've probably gathered, I really like it. I really like you.

0:36:270:36:31

I think I could work extremely well with you.

0:36:310:36:33

I, stood in your shoes, wouldn't pick those two Dragons.

0:36:330:36:39

And the reason I wouldn't is cos they both do the same thing.

0:36:390:36:42

LAUGHTER

0:36:420:36:44

They can both get you into Sainsbury's or

0:36:440:36:47

they can both get you into the big retailers.

0:36:470:36:50

You actually need one of them that will get you into the retailers

0:36:500:36:53

and one of them that will open up other channels.

0:36:530:36:56

Sarah, Peter and I don't have at all similar businesses.

0:36:560:36:59

-But John wants to get into Sainsbury's.

-And many other stores.

0:36:590:37:03

And I have phenomenal contacts in bars and pubs and clubs

0:37:030:37:07

and restaurants, as I own a few

0:37:070:37:09

and have worked in them for years and years and years.

0:37:090:37:12

They didn't like that one bit.

0:37:160:37:17

Ooh, they didn't, I know! I cringe actually, when I sit and watch it!

0:37:170:37:20

But that's what you have to do, right? You have to

0:37:200:37:22

because you genuinely want to get some of these investments.

0:37:220:37:25

The reality is that at some point you've got to put your foot down.

0:37:250:37:29

Yeah, watching back, you look surprised at how forceful you were.

0:37:290:37:32

I know.

0:37:320:37:33

Yeah, sometimes stuff comes out of my mouth and then after

0:37:330:37:36

-I think, "Did I say that?"

-I sense that. I do sense that.

0:37:360:37:38

So what are your tactics, when someone comes in and you hear

0:37:380:37:41

something interesting, what's going through your mind?

0:37:410:37:44

I think what happens is,

0:37:440:37:46

you start by unpicking the business.

0:37:460:37:48

So at this point, I always do this, cos I sit on the end chair.

0:37:480:37:51

At this point, you're collaborating. And you're a team.

0:37:510:37:54

We all have very different areas of expertise,

0:37:540:37:56

we all look at things from a completely different angle.

0:37:560:37:59

You learn a lot in the process. It's magic. I love that.

0:37:590:38:01

And then, as it unfolds,

0:38:010:38:04

that it's actually quite a good business,

0:38:040:38:06

that's when the poker game starts.

0:38:060:38:09

Yeah, well, you can see everyone having little sidelong glances, thinking

0:38:090:38:12

-"Who else has spotted this?"

-Yeah, exactly.

0:38:120:38:14

And that took me a while. Actually, I didn't get that.

0:38:140:38:18

And I hadn't worked that out before I went into the Den.

0:38:180:38:22

That one, we've just seen, I didn't win that. You know?

0:38:220:38:24

He still went with Deborah and Peter!

0:38:240:38:26

Even though I'd stood up and said...

0:38:260:38:28

-You won the battle but lost the war in that one, didn't you?

-Totally.

0:38:280:38:30

You just need to win the war.

0:38:300:38:32

When Dragons go into battle, the Den really heats up.

0:38:360:38:40

And when nutty professor Mark Wileman walked in,

0:38:400:38:42

it became the first conflict between Dragons old and new...

0:38:420:38:46

-Ey up!

-..that the newbies won.

0:38:460:38:49

And once the war was over, the challenge was to find

0:38:490:38:52

the right chemistry to make this boffin a business success.

0:38:520:38:57

When he walked through the door and he was doing his blowing

0:38:570:39:00

smoke on us, it was like, "Ooh!" You know? He gets our interest.

0:39:000:39:03

And actually, that's a big thing, to get our interest at the beginning.

0:39:030:39:06

Hi. My name's Mark Wileman, or Mad Mark, at times like this.

0:39:060:39:11

And about six and half years ago,

0:39:110:39:12

I founded a company called Sublime Science.

0:39:120:39:15

A Sublime Science party is the most popular children's party in the UK.

0:39:150:39:18

And we make science awesome for primary school children

0:39:180:39:21

all round the country.

0:39:210:39:23

It took more than a few puffs of smoke

0:39:230:39:27

to cloud the Dragons' judgment.

0:39:270:39:30

Peter Jones jumps straight in, looking for proof of profitability.

0:39:300:39:33

In the last 12 months,

0:39:330:39:35

what have you turned over as a business and what was the profit?

0:39:350:39:38

We turned over 533 and made a net profit of 177.

0:39:380:39:43

-533,000?

-Yes.

0:39:430:39:46

Wow.

0:39:460:39:48

-SARAH:

-We were all sat there going, "This is a GREAT opportunity."

0:39:480:39:53

-177 net profit?

-Yeah.

0:39:530:39:56

I have to say, I'm incredibly impressed. I'm shocked.

0:39:580:40:01

And Peter wasn't the only Dragon impressed by the young entrepreneur.

0:40:030:40:07

It was when he started talking about the fact that he'd actually got

0:40:070:40:10

a really decent business and started talking about his numbers,

0:40:100:40:13

that I thought, "Actually, this is a no-brainer."

0:40:130:40:16

You know, to be perfectly honest, I'm going to make you an offer.

0:40:160:40:19

I'm going to give you all of the money for what you've suggested.

0:40:210:40:24

For 10% of the equity.

0:40:240:40:25

I...I thank you so much.

0:40:250:40:27

So I'd staked my claim, made my offer,

0:40:270:40:30

I knew the others were interested

0:40:300:40:32

and it was only a matter of time before they made an offer, too.

0:40:320:40:36

-SARAH:

-I can see why you want to get a Dragon on board now.

0:40:360:40:41

And I totally see it's not about the money. It is about that next step.

0:40:410:40:45

So I'm also going to make an offer.

0:40:470:40:50

I'd also like to offer you all of the money

0:40:500:40:53

for 10% of the business.

0:40:530:40:55

Ah, brilliant, I guess. Thank you so much.

0:40:550:40:59

Newbies Nick and Sarah's decisive moves

0:40:590:41:01

spurred the two longest-serving Dragons into action.

0:41:010:41:05

I'm going to make you an offer.

0:41:060:41:08

I'm going to offer you all of the money for 10%.

0:41:090:41:12

The wily duo deployed some textbook flattery.

0:41:130:41:16

I'm sitting here excited, thinking, "Please, let it be me!"

0:41:160:41:21

It is exceptional. And there are so many great opportunities with it.

0:41:210:41:27

It's...it's very exciting.

0:41:270:41:29

I'm going to offer you all of the money for 20% of the business.

0:41:290:41:34

So once Peter and Deborah are in,

0:41:360:41:38

I realised there was quite a bit of competition.

0:41:380:41:41

And what I realised was that what Mark wanted more than anything

0:41:410:41:44

was expertise. So I knew I had to do.

0:41:440:41:47

Can I raise the ante a little bit?

0:41:500:41:53

I'm going to suggest to Sarah that maybe, if you got two Dragons

0:41:530:41:57

to split this, you'd get two Dragons with two sets of creativity.

0:41:570:42:02

Sarah, how would you feel about that?

0:42:020:42:04

-I was sat there thinking...

-SHE GASPS

0:42:060:42:08

"..this is like my perfect type of entrepreneur to work with."

0:42:080:42:12

This is one I don't want to get away.

0:42:160:42:19

I'd love to split it with you, Nick.

0:42:210:42:23

I really would like to be part of this.

0:42:230:42:25

At that point, it was just a waiting game

0:42:250:42:28

with an imaginary drumroll going on in my head!

0:42:280:42:31

Nick and Sarah, I'd like to accept your offer.

0:42:350:42:37

-Oh, amazing!

-Well done!

0:42:370:42:39

Brilliant, well done. That's all from you. That's really exciting.

0:42:390:42:45

We're going to do a ace things!

0:42:450:42:47

It was a big moment in the Den, that.

0:42:470:42:50

REALLY big moment. The new Dragons beat the old Dragons.

0:42:500:42:54

# Duh-duh, duh-duh! # We did it!

0:42:540:42:56

I'm not normally one for public displays of emotion.

0:42:580:43:01

But I...I was over the moon.

0:43:010:43:04

MUSIC: Weird Science by Oingo Boingo

0:43:040:43:07

Six months on, and our white-coated scientist-cum-entrepreneur

0:43:070:43:11

is still performing perfectly explainable miracles onstage.

0:43:110:43:15

If you're really, really smart, can you put your hand up?

0:43:150:43:17

Super double smart?

0:43:170:43:19

But offstage, he's finding the right formula to hit it rich.

0:43:190:43:22

His business has increased turnover by 92%,

0:43:220:43:25

with the Dragons in his chemical equation.

0:43:250:43:27

It is perfectly safe.

0:43:270:43:29

Mark's business is growing very quickly.

0:43:290:43:32

And he needs to step up and take that next stage.

0:43:320:43:35

And that growth stage is quite difficult.

0:43:350:43:37

I've been through that. Sarah's been through that.

0:43:370:43:39

It helps to have people with you on that journey,

0:43:390:43:42

who can help you through that process.

0:43:420:43:44

I think that's where our real value will come in.

0:43:440:43:46

# My creation Is it real? #

0:43:460:43:50

What they're going to help the most with is just kind of prioritising,

0:43:500:43:54

you know, picking the best 20 things to do.

0:43:540:43:56

Not me just picking, like, the 5,000 things

0:43:560:43:58

that I thought were cool and just saying "Yes" to all of them.

0:43:580:44:01

Mark's business is expected to make £1.2 million by the end of the year.

0:44:030:44:09

But what about the other pitches that are on their way to riches?

0:44:090:44:13

# Skinny Tan, Skinny Tan Who wants a Skinny Tan? #

0:44:130:44:17

Remember this?

0:44:170:44:18

The quiet, understated self-tanning business that caught the eye

0:44:180:44:21

of Kelly Hoppen and Piers Linney.

0:44:210:44:23

# Skinny Tan, Skinny Tan! #

0:44:230:44:25

Well, after the Den,

0:44:250:44:27

designer Dragon Kelly went for a makeover on the brand.

0:44:270:44:30

-People are very visual. These together, sort of, it works.

-Yes.

0:44:300:44:35

And since then, they've had a celeb-filled launch party for their new-look product.

0:44:360:44:40

My invite was clearly lost in the post!

0:44:400:44:42

And now, it's gracing the shelves

0:44:420:44:44

of one of the biggest pharmacy chains in the UK.

0:44:440:44:47

They're expecting to make

0:44:470:44:48

£2.5 million this year.

0:44:480:44:51

And what about Scott Cupit and his dance class company, Swing Patrol?

0:44:540:44:58

JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS

0:44:580:45:00

He jive-talked the Dragons and sashayed away

0:45:000:45:02

with a strictly exclusive deal with Deborah.

0:45:020:45:05

Since then, turnover has increased 25%.

0:45:060:45:09

I don't love numbers.

0:45:090:45:11

I love what numbers tell me about a business.

0:45:110:45:14

And they're now in the history books for breaking the world record

0:45:140:45:18

for the largest number of people dancing the Charleston.

0:45:180:45:21

JAZZ MUSIC PLAYS

0:45:210:45:24

THEY CHEER

0:45:260:45:29

So if you fancy dancing away with the Dragons' cash,

0:45:300:45:33

there are some clear rules to follow.

0:45:330:45:35

Nail your presentation, know your numbers

0:45:350:45:38

and, for goodness' sake, keep your cool.

0:45:380:45:40

But of course, the rule with rules

0:45:400:45:42

is that there is always an exception.

0:45:420:45:44

And this one walked out of the Den a winner.

0:45:440:45:47

Hello, guys. I'm Ross Mendham,

0:45:510:45:53

Managing Director of Barenaked Foods.

0:45:530:45:55

When I was younger...

0:45:550:45:57

Ross Mendham is arguably the biggest comeback kid in Den history.

0:45:570:46:01

You can see the sweat kind of starting now.

0:46:010:46:04

He came looking for investment in his gluten-free noodle range.

0:46:040:46:08

When you said two minutes, how many do you actually mean?

0:46:080:46:11

I usually do this in two minutes.

0:46:110:46:12

When he got his noodles in a twist

0:46:120:46:14

over whether his product was actually gluten-free or not,

0:46:140:46:18

it quickly went spiralling down the pan.

0:46:180:46:20

-You say they're gluten-free?

-Yes.

0:46:200:46:23

-Um, but you say they've got oatmeal in them?

-Mm-hm.

0:46:230:46:25

-Is it a gluten-free...?

-It's oatmeal flour.

0:46:250:46:28

Um, oatmeal flour has shown it doesn't have gluten in.

0:46:280:46:31

But sometimes it mimics,

0:46:310:46:33

um, gluten-like symptoms.

0:46:330:46:36

I think you're wrong cos I actually have a gluten allergy.

0:46:360:46:39

-Oatmeal-gate.

-Yeah.

0:46:390:46:41

It really was. It was an absolute nightmare.

0:46:410:46:44

I can't... If I have normal oats, my fingers will swell up.

0:46:440:46:48

-See the sweat there?

-You are really sweating there.

-Yes.

-RICHARD LAUGHS

0:46:480:46:52

-90p per packet?

-Yes.

-To this company.

-Yeah.

0:46:520:46:54

And they're going to take... how many from you a month?

0:46:540:46:57

-Peter's trying to catch you out here.

-He is, yeah.

0:46:570:47:00

-8,000.

-OK - and how much profit would that make you in a month?

0:47:000:47:04

That will make me...

0:47:050:47:06

You'll have to forgive me. Maths wasn't my strong point at school.

0:47:200:47:24

-So I was just honest! You know...

-You've got to.

-Yeah...

0:47:240:47:28

EVAN DAVIS: Ross's chances of securing

0:47:280:47:30

the healthy £60,000 investment he came for are looking slim.

0:47:300:47:34

Duncan Bannatyne wants to find out more

0:47:340:47:38

about the man behind the noodle.

0:47:380:47:40

At the moment, how are you funding your lifestyle?

0:47:410:47:44

Um, I have a fantastic wife, who, um...

0:47:440:47:48

Sorry.

0:47:480:47:49

'Oh, yeah...'

0:48:000:48:02

-That was the bit...

-Yeah, she's a huge part

0:48:030:48:06

-of your business and your life, Kelly, right?

-Yeah, massive.

0:48:060:48:09

I thought, poor Kelly's at home with her fingers crossed like this,

0:48:090:48:13

thinking, "God, you know, Ross is going to do this

0:48:130:48:16

"and he's going to change our lives."

0:48:160:48:19

And I thought, "I've just... I've messed it up.

0:48:190:48:21

"The one shot that I've had...

0:48:210:48:24

"and I'm messing it up."

0:48:240:48:25

And I thought, "I just need to leave."

0:48:250:48:28

-Take your time.

-Sorry!

0:48:320:48:34

Presumably you're not thinking, "How did I get us back on track?"

0:48:370:48:40

-You're just thinking, "How do I deal with what's gone wrong?

-Yeah.

0:48:400:48:44

I thought, "Well, I could go now."

0:48:440:48:48

But I thought, "Do you know what?" I thought, "It can't get any worse."

0:48:540:48:59

-RICHARD LAUGHS

-And I thought, you know, "I'm still here."

0:48:590:49:02

-I do apologise.

-No problem.

0:49:090:49:11

-So, obviously, this is something that's very emotional for you.

-Mm.

0:49:110:49:16

I want to go back to the question about how you fund your lifestyle

0:49:160:49:19

-and you were talking about your wife.

-Yeah.

0:49:190:49:21

Um, she supports both of us

0:49:210:49:23

while I'm getting the business off the ground.

0:49:230:49:26

-And she's working to do that?

-Yes.

-Full-time?

-Yes.

-OK.

0:49:260:49:30

Unfortunately, she had her third miscarriage before I came here.

0:49:300:49:34

Sorry to hear that, Ross.

0:49:340:49:37

HE WEEPS

0:49:370:49:40

Oh, man...

0:49:410:49:42

-DUNCAN:

-It can only get better, Ross. It's only going to get better.

0:49:420:49:45

ROSS SIGHS ON CLIP

0:49:450:49:48

Even seeing myself now, I kind of want to put my arm round him.

0:49:530:49:56

-It's really weird.

-I know, I do as well. I want to reach into the screen.

-Yeah.

0:49:560:50:00

It's really...

0:50:000:50:02

I...I cried when we had the miscarriages

0:50:020:50:05

but I just couldn't contain it.

0:50:050:50:06

-It was just...it just came out.

-This just brings it all up again.

-Overwhelmed, yeah.

0:50:060:50:10

Er, it's, as we can see, emotionally heart-wrenching.

0:50:100:50:15

-But you're not here for sympathy.

-No, I agree...

0:50:150:50:18

-You're here to gain investment in a business...

-Yes.

0:50:180:50:20

..that you were supposed to demonstrate had a future.

0:50:200:50:23

-I thought he was so right. I actually thought...

-He's talking your language there.

0:50:230:50:26

-Yeah.

-That's why you came back out. I know.

0:50:260:50:29

And I honestly thought, you know...

0:50:290:50:30

I think Barenaked Foods is clever.

0:50:300:50:33

And that's why I'm going to make you an offer.

0:50:340:50:36

HE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY

0:50:390:50:41

I was like... Honestly, I was like... "What?!"

0:50:410:50:46

And I'm going to offer you all the money for half of a business

0:50:460:50:50

that we've yet to create together.

0:50:500:50:52

He's given me an offer.

0:50:520:50:54

Sorry, I can't believe this.

0:50:560:50:58

And I'm like...

0:50:580:51:00

Unbelievable. One minute I was down there and couldn't get any lower...

0:51:010:51:05

-Yeah.

-..the next minute, I'm thinking, "Oh, my God!"

0:51:050:51:07

I'd like to accept your offer.

0:51:100:51:12

-Oh, my God!

-Beautiful.

0:51:120:51:15

-There he is.

-I just can't believe this moment.

0:51:150:51:18

THEY ALL LAUGH

0:51:180:51:21

I went to hug him and I thought, you know, I just...

0:51:210:51:25

"You've changed my life." That's how I felt.

0:51:250:51:27

"You've changed my life." It was just...

0:51:270:51:29

Has he changed your life?

0:51:330:51:34

-Has it changed your life since signing that deal?

-Oh, God, yeah.

0:51:340:51:37

To give you an idea of the growth of the business,

0:51:370:51:40

me and Kelly, when we were packing up noodles in our front room,

0:51:400:51:43

we were doing about 260 packets a week.

0:51:430:51:47

-Um, now we're doing between 14,000 and 18,000 a week.

-Wow.

0:51:470:51:51

The company's worth around £2 million.

0:51:510:51:54

Um, it's just been incredible.

0:51:540:51:57

-And I think you and Kelly have had a baby since?

-We have! Oliver Jude.

0:51:570:52:01

There's going to come a point in his life where he's going to

0:52:010:52:05

-sit and watch what we just watched, as well.

-Oh, God! I know!

0:52:050:52:08

Um, and I hope that he's proud of his old man for doing it.

0:52:080:52:11

-Do you now what? He won't tell you he's proud. He'll take the mickey out of you.

-I know he will!

0:52:110:52:15

From what I've seen there, and what he'll see, he'll be immensely proud.

0:52:150:52:19

-You should be very proud of yourself, as well.

-No, thanks very much.

0:52:190:52:22

-It's certainly been an emotional roller-coaster, for sure.

-Yeah.

0:52:220:52:25

REGGAE MUSIC PLAYS

0:52:340:52:37

Now, no look back over the history of the Den

0:52:430:52:45

would be complete without this man.

0:52:450:52:47

The personification of pitch to rich.

0:52:470:52:51

Levi Roots.

0:52:520:52:54

-Levi!

-Richard!

-How are you?

-Welcome to my restaurant!

0:52:540:52:58

Thank you so much. I bet you never thought you'd be saying that a few years ago.

0:52:580:53:01

-Absolutely!

-You do not look a day older.

-Thank you very much!

0:53:010:53:04

# Put some music in my food for me And give me some Reggae... #

0:53:040:53:10

Levi Roots has come a long way

0:53:100:53:12

since he sang his song and pitched his jerk sauce back in 2006.

0:53:120:53:16

# I call it Reggae Reggae Sauce. #

0:53:160:53:19

When Peter invested, he told Levi to focus the business on selling

0:53:190:53:23

supermarket sauces and leave restaurants well alone.

0:53:230:53:27

# Put some Reggae Sauce on your list. #

0:53:270:53:31

But having sold 30 million bottles worldwide, guess what?

0:53:320:53:37

Levi's opened a restaurant. So there's gratitude for you.

0:53:370:53:40

Now, he said, I seem to remember, never open a restaurant.

0:53:400:53:43

-He did.

-And yet, here we are.

-Absolutely.

0:53:430:53:45

And I don't like to ram this down his throat and let him know that he was wrong at the time!

0:53:450:53:49

'But I want to scratch beneath the showman's surface.

0:53:490:53:52

'Surely it takes more than a smile, a story

0:53:520:53:55

'and a self-penned jingle to smash the sauce business?'

0:53:550:53:58

You give it all this, Levi.

0:53:580:54:01

But listen, you're not building this business unless you're

0:54:010:54:03

an incredibly tough businessman, as well. So, you've work long hours.

0:54:030:54:06

It's quite a tricky business. An awful lot of competition.

0:54:060:54:09

It was at first. But I think because we were at the stage of

0:54:090:54:12

we were the only Caribbean brand, mainstream, around at the time.

0:54:120:54:16

So we were lucky that we were in that position.

0:54:160:54:18

-So if you can find a niche, maybe there's a...a big future?

-There is.

0:54:180:54:23

But the most difficult thing is to build that brand.

0:54:230:54:26

-You've got to build that brand.

-Find the niche, build the brand.

0:54:260:54:29

Once you've done that, it's smooth sailing after that.

0:54:290:54:31

STEEL DRUMS PLAY

0:54:310:54:35

Levi's mantra, find a niche and build a brand,

0:54:350:54:38

has led to a business with £50 million of sales a year.

0:54:380:54:42

But can Peter Jones do the sauce double with Ben and Sue from Yogiyo,

0:54:430:54:47

now they're back from South Korea?

0:54:470:54:49

Ben and Sue, we're here at Levi's restaurant launch.

0:54:490:54:52

Does that put you under pressure, seeing the money he's made,

0:54:520:54:55

the success he's made of a very similar business? SUE LAUGHS

0:54:550:54:58

I'd be lying if I'd say...

0:54:580:55:01

-we weren't feeling any pressure.

-Pressures, yeah...

0:55:010:55:03

Because, you know, Levi's success has been so huge, so phenomenal.

0:55:030:55:09

And everyone we've met...

0:55:090:55:10

Everybody we meet kind of makes that comparison.

0:55:100:55:13

You know, neither of us are the front man of a Korean folk band or anything.

0:55:130:55:18

-There's still time.

-This is true!

0:55:180:55:21

-Sue plays the ukulele. So, you know...

-Hold on a minute!

0:55:210:55:24

It's time for the pretenders to the throne to meet the sauce king.

0:55:260:55:30

SKA MUSIC PLAYS

0:55:300:55:33

-Cheers, everybody!

-Cheers! Respect! Yeah!

0:55:360:55:39

-Ah, nothing like Jamaican champagne!

-Absolutely.

-Now, Levi,

0:55:410:55:44

-it's going great guns in there.

-It is, isn't it?

0:55:440:55:47

Any advice for Ben and Sue, who are about to embark on the same journey?

0:55:470:55:51

Yeah, well, Ben and Sue, the way I've done it is just being me.

0:55:510:55:55

I think being yourself is perhaps one of the biggest tips I can give.

0:55:550:55:59

People won't be buying the product,

0:55:590:56:01

even though it's got to be a fantastic product,

0:56:010:56:03

but in order to sell it, you've got to sell yourselves.

0:56:030:56:06

So you've got to be on point. So it's not about the product.

0:56:060:56:09

It is about you.

0:56:090:56:10

And if I know this man here, he always invests in people.

0:56:100:56:14

So, for me, it's about you. So be YOU and you can't go wrong.

0:56:140:56:17

Peter, you've said that as time's gone by with Levi,

0:56:220:56:25

you've got closer, there's a friendship built

0:56:250:56:27

and that partnership built.

0:56:270:56:28

And that's something that happens naturally and organically

0:56:280:56:31

-with new entrepreneurs.

-Well, I hope so. We're early days yet.

0:56:310:56:34

We don't really know each other that well...

0:56:340:56:36

This is Ben, this is Sue. Peter...

0:56:360:56:38

-THEY LAUGH

-You got it the right way round!

0:56:380:56:40

But with Levi, I get e-mails from Levi

0:56:400:56:43

and he just puts "one love", with a kiss at the end.

0:56:430:56:45

So I don't want to get there yet with you guys. However...

0:56:450:56:49

It took me a long time to get to that point!

0:56:490:56:51

-To Ben and Sue.

-And congratulations, Levi!

0:56:510:56:54

# R-r-r-rock-steady! #

0:56:540:56:57

So Levi has a restaurant to launch.

0:56:570:56:59

But I'm wondering what Peter Jones thinks

0:56:590:57:02

about this new chapter in the Reggae Reggae story.

0:57:020:57:05

My dream was about this restaurant.

0:57:050:57:07

It was the difference between a restaurant and a restaurant...

0:57:070:57:10

It's the right time now.

0:57:100:57:11

You know, his brand is well established, everybody knows Levi.

0:57:110:57:14

And what a great time to open a restaurant.

0:57:140:57:17

So you've just invested in another sauce company, Yogiyo,

0:57:170:57:19

and you've invited Ben and Sue here this evening.

0:57:190:57:22

-Is that a tactical thing, just to show them what can happen?

-Yes.

0:57:220:57:26

A solid answer.

0:57:260:57:27

No, absolutely, you know, Ben and Sue, two lovely individuals.

0:57:270:57:30

-They're on the start of their journey.

-Yeah.

0:57:300:57:32

I want them to say that whilst this isn't the end of Levi's,

0:57:320:57:36

this is what can happen.

0:57:360:57:37

He won't tell me how much money he's made since he walked into the Den.

0:57:370:57:41

I think he's done the right thing. You should never talk about money.

0:57:410:57:44

And you certainly shouldn't talk about the millions of pounds he's made so far.

0:57:440:57:48

Oh, sorry... Cut!

0:57:480:57:50

So I've gone toe-to-toe with the mighty Dragons

0:57:520:57:55

and I've emerged unscathed.

0:57:550:57:57

I've also seen that it's possible to go from nervous, sweaty,

0:57:570:58:00

would-be entrepreneur to less nervous, less sweaty,

0:58:000:58:03

very successful entrepreneur, with millions in the bank.

0:58:030:58:06

And a very nice car.

0:58:060:58:08

Dragons' Den is about dreams

0:58:080:58:11

and the hard work you need to make those dreams come true.

0:58:110:58:14

So if you think you've got what it takes to face the Dragons,

0:58:140:58:17

perhaps you too could go from pitches to riches.

0:58:170:58:21

# Money, get away... #

0:58:210:58:25

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