Dragons’ Den 2011: Episode nine review - A lack of risk-taking, gut feeling and a sense of adventure

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I switched over to BBC2 at 9pm looking forward to an hour of sharp critique by some of the UK’s most engaged business minds. After dinner with some colleagues earlier in the evening I felt like a bit of a fool after yelling “invest!” repeatedly at the TV, only to realise I was watching the end of Lorraine Pascale’s cookery show and had been taken in by her Chocolate Roll Bowl Cake.

 

Switching over and getting down to business, I see the first victim into the Den is a lady named Michelle Savage, asking for £50,000 for a 20% share of her company, which makes an eyelash tool called Savvy Lash. It basically seems to be a hook / comb affair used to separate eyelashes once mascara has been applied.

 

After a fairly succinct pitch and a demo, Michelle opens herself up to cross-examination. She had 2,000 of the products (which retail for £4.99) made in 2007, and to date has sold around 1,800 of them, giving her an income of around £3,500. Given this means less than £1,000 in sales per year, I’m struggling to see how she can value her business at £250,000.

 

The Dragons agree, and begin to tear her down. Duncan Bannatyne is the first to excuse himself, and already looks as if he wants to punch someone. Other Dragons are somewhat more complimentary - Peter Jones praises the Savvy Lash as “inventive” (really? It’s a small hook?). He recommends marketing the product further upstream to the mascara makers themselves, so it can be bundled with their product. Sage advice, but Jones too drops out, shortly after Theo Paphitis does the same.

 

After Deborah Meaden drops out, Michelle’s fate rests with the newest Dragon, Hilary Devey. In a textbook bait-and-switch, she praises the product, saying it could be a best-seller, before deeming it uninvestable and dropping out. Ouch!

 

Next up on the chopping block, Julian Lipton from Watford. Julian is entering the Den to secure investment in his family’s bird feeder business. The business is around twenty years old, and needs some more capital to grow and return to profitability. I can’t help but laugh as Julian uncovers a giant placard of a Squirrel saying: “I’m out!”

 

It’s clear Julian knows his business inside out. He rattles off the previous year’s revenue and profits and the prior two years. A solid head for figures seems a good way to impress the Dragons, and none of them immediately discount the business.

 

It’s when Theo discovers that the patent on the bird feeders they manufacture - featuring an outer cage to deter squirrels - expires soon, that things begin to go south for Julian. Theo promptly drops out.

 

The other Dragons seize on the company’s financials as the key issue. Although the firm has only turned a profit once in the last few years, it has a solid turnover in excess of £1million, and Julian obvious believes in the business.

 

Peter Jones (exactly how tall is he, anyway?) is slightly blunt in his appraisal of the business, calling it “worthless”. This seems a little disingenuous to me - many huge businesses make losses some quarters and are far from worthless. It may not be the next Apple, but it’s certainly not worthless.

 

Deborah similarly criticises the losses, but Julian sticks to his guns, admirably. Deborah then claims to have the “largest collection of bird feeders in the world” - everybody needs a hobby, I suppose!

 

Unfortunately, Julian’s fate is sealed. The other Dragons drop out and Julian leaves without investment, but with his dignity intact - a rare achievement.

 

Next into the abyss is 26 year old Nathan Pierson from Chester. After dropping out of University due to family health problems, he has struck out on his own and created the “Romeo Shelf” - a folding shelf designed to attach to the inside of balcony balustrades. 

 

Nathan’s idea is sound, his presentation solid, he’s clearly an enterprising and intelligent young man and he’s only valued his business at £200,000 - fairly low by Dragons Den standards. He’s even got a good story to back it up. 

 

After the previous parade of failures I start to get excited for young Nathan - the Dragons are unanimous in their praise for both his idea and his gumption. The only Dragon not quite so enthused is Duncan, although I think he was just disappointed the wine bottle used to demo the product is empty. Hilary recommends they make the shelf bigger to accommodate more wine. Kindred spirits!

 

Unfortunately for Nathan, the structure of his company isn’t up to scratch - an easy mistake for young entrepreneurs. Deborah is incensed she is being asked to pay £50,000 for the same share another investor paid £3,000. Until Nathan points out they were also providing around £40,000 worth of marketing - take that, Meaden!

 

Eventually the Dragons agree that the deal isn’t appealing and send Nathan packing. I’m honestly surprised one of them didn’t at least try to negotiate a better deal, given the obvious drive and enthusiasm on show. I also thought Peter Jones’ advice earlier in the show on marketing the product further upstream could have been relevant here. Sell the Romeo Shelf to property developers rather than consumers and you’d have a tidy little business.

 

With no investments secured so far, I’m becoming despondent. 

 

Last, but by no means least, business partners Andrea McDowell and Rebecca Baldwin from Clapham, who have come up with an interesting DIY wedding video business. For about £850 they will let customers rent a high-quality video camera for their wedding day and their company will edit the resulting footage into a fun wedding video. They have backgrounds in video production, decent numbers and are just about the most plucky pair I’ve ever seen. There’s also room for expansion, with the company seeing interest for kid’s birthday parties and even an accountancy firm (not us!).

 

They want £60,000 for 20% of their company, which seems a little on the high side but still well within the realms of sanity. Half the money will go on brand awareness, the other half on new equipment.

 

The Dragons’ praise the business model as simple, low-cost, and with obvious demand. However I contain my excitement, remembering poor Nathan.

 

My concerns seem well-founded - Duncan is worried about the company receiving unworkable footage, Theo and Deborah say it looks “fun”, but uninvestable. At some point Hilary wakes up, giddy with enthusiasm. With a smile on her face (or her approximation of a smile), she makes the business partners a decent offer - £60,000 for 26%.

 

Duncan pipes up momentarily to say he likes the business, but cannot better Hilary’s offer.

 

After some excited whispering and an attempt at negotiations, the budding entrepreneurs accept Hilary’s offer - finally!

 

Again, I’m surprised there wasn’t more enthusiasm for this business. The company was solid, and more importantly the two ladies were obviously savvy, loved their service and had a clear sense of direction. 

 

I came away feeling more like I’d watched Eeyore’s Den than Dragons' Den. Every business but one was roundly praised, but only one investment was made! What happened to risk-taking, gut feeling, and perhaps most important of all - a sense of adventure?