Dragons' Den 2011: Episode six review - When fishing for investment, ensure you have the right bait

Carly Ward, founder of Young Entrepreneur Society, reviews the latest episode of Dragons' Den.

There wasn't one pitch that stuck out from the rest last night with only one entrepreneur securing investment. Andy Bates' passion for motorsport won him two offers from Dragons Duncan and Peter resulting in a £50,000 investment for 35% equity compared to his original 10% offer. I think everyone can learn from Andy that if you have a passion for something you can turn it into a career and make money from doing something you love. Andy is a classic example of a true entrepreneur and with Peter's investment, he can go far.

However the couple from Hong Kong Karen Ho and To Chan were not so lucky with their fish spa pedicure treatment. The idea of delving your feet into a tank of tiny fish who live off your hard skin which apparently contains protein is a nasty thought for many but like it or not these fish spas are popping up everywhere. Even the reception area of my gym now has one and there's one in the middle of my local shopping centre. The couple were passionate and overall presented well but they were poorly presented in their appearance. The problem is there are so many of these spas popping up they need to have a very strong brand and prove their uniqueness and that the customer will choose them over a competitor. Although the Dragons seemed to like the concept the market is saturated and their business model was not strong enough. It also didn't help their case when they said they didn't want to scale up the business with too many fish spas! Are we not all in business to make money?!

There is always one "cringe" moment on the show and this week it was without a doubt Alan Pearson who manufactures plastic street name signs. I'm not sure I would go as far as Peter in saying it's the worst pitch I’ve ever seen but it was certainly very confusing! Deborah in particular was not amused. Alan didn't seem to have prepared his figures although the product was very good. The pitch was very confusing and it almost felt like he was pitching somebody else's business. This was a classic example of investors not only wanting to invest in a good business but also how important it is to the investor to invest in the entrepreneur. They simply couldn't trust him. Alan let himself and the business down; he was very tongue tied and blew his credibility because he couldn't answer half the questions the Dragons posed. They liked the product but they couldn't invest in the entrepreneur and this proves that people buy people. Alan even said "I felt like an idiot" when interviewed afterwards. I do still feel a bit sorry for him though.

Let's skip over the skipping rope pitch as there’s not much to say about that one!

The 29-year-old young entrepreneurs Polly and Charlotte named their illustrated t-shirt business after their two cats Brat & Suzie. Strange but the name has a ring to it I think! The main message from the Dragons on why they were not going to invest was similar to the fish spa; it was not a strong enough brand. The girls blew it when they said: "It's hard to reflect your brand on just a clothes rail." Having said that they have done very well getting into 60 stores but had no takers in the den. The main message from the show is to make sure your brand shines through and this is where the pitches went wrong.

Finally, on last week's episode we saw Bog in a Bag, a portable loo for festival goers and campers. This week we saw Sticky Butt, a product that supposedly offers more security for pillion riders on a motorbike. Unlike Bog in a Bag, it didn't get investment. Perhaps there is an opportunity for a partnership between these two companies? First person to Bog in a Bag gets a Sticky Butt free? Maybe not....