So we are back with another season of RTE’s Dragon’s Den. We had lots of fun last year and I am very glad to have it back again. It might not be the greatest show on earth but it is encouraging and thought provoking at times.
(I actually don’t watch TV so there may be brilliant stuff on all the time and I wouldn’t know. I heard this was on by hearing a piece on George Hook’s radio show this afternoon. I had been at the American Chamber of Commerce Presidents Lunch which is a different story)
New Season, Same Dragons, Same laboured puns in the voiceover, ah well. Sarah is writing a book but is she going to be investing?
First up : Jennylynd Jones and her Caribbean food company. In the style of Levi Roots she was looking for cash to further her Caribbean Sauces, cook books and general enterprise. Sounds like a good idea and she was putting some good numbers of sales in front of the panel. Secret recipes are the oldest form of IP and can be the most durable, just ask Coca-Cola. The Dragons seemed fairly impressed and it was a confident pitch. Although having 10 years experience as a food scientist working in R&D and Quality Assurance some of the Dragons seemed most impressed by her frock. She ended up giving away 50% equity in return for 40K. Probably a good deal as this kind of product needs (supermarket) doors opened for it to succeed.
Pitch two was form Daniel,
His product was the Marilyn. This was an air circulation system that you put your clothes horse on top of. Consuming the same power as a 40Watt bulb it could dry a shirt in a couple of hours. I actually was intrigued to see whether this actually had solved any technical constraints and whether there was any innovation here other than just being a couple of floor mounted vertical fans. Alas the program didn’t focus there but more on Daniel’s,hesitant delivery (pure nerves I suspect), the uninspired design and some dodgy assumptions on the go-to-market front. It did seem a little underdeveloped both as a product and as a business. A slimmer, lighter, quieter version could find a niche I suspect. This wasn’t Daniel’s time and he walked away empty handed.
Next up were Mark and Andrew. http://www.greenflame.ie/
The product was a Carbon Neutral Briquette: an artificial log for the fire. As I was watching this I kept thinking “why not buy real logs?” but that wasn’t the point this is a log made from a fast growing low input crop called Misacanthus. These logs are lower ash and a Cleaner and Greener Alternative to a peat briquette. Sound enough idea. More sustainable biomass fuels, brilliant.
Where the pitch ultimately fell down was in the structure of the business. The business is owned currently by the 35 growers of the crop. A new investor, and the lads were looking for €200K, would be the only one exposed to increases in the cost of crops that would be good for the growers but less good for the profits of the business. This seemed to be too rich and too risky for the Dragons. There didn’t seem to be anything amiss in the business,it just seemed the wrong deal was on the table.
Three Quickies:
- Gerard wanted 30K to set up a “dating” agency between those wanting BER certs for their homes and BER certifiers. Nope
- Cathal wanted 50K for an easy install blind. Nope
- Two blokes wanted 100K for a gift website (of which there are plenty). Nope
Last Up was Herbie.
Herbie was a Barvarian, by way of Donegal. His product was the dead simple solution to the unsightly interface where the soil pipe from your toilet goes into the wall or floor. It is a little plastic circlet that clips on and covers everything up. Pretty and Simple. Much inquiry was made into Herbie’s 26 years in Ireland, pike fishing in Cavan, flights from Munich; and why not, he seems like a good guy. Product wise it seemed strong if easy to copy. I would be confident that the unit cost of the moulded part could be made way way cheaper. Niall the Dragon was right in his assessment that everyone probably could use at least one. It probably would have a decent run if it got the right branding and promotion but it feels almost like something you might get for free with your bathroom suite.
Absolutely fair play to Herbie for spotting the gap and getting a product out there and to Gavin who gave him 25K for 40% equity.
I suggest we all go buy one
Previous reviews are here:
Dragons Den week 2
Dragons Den week 3
Dragons den week 4
Dragons den week 5
Dragons den week 6
