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Dragons’ Den has seen some huge deals during its 22-year run on the BBC.
On Thursday, October 17, however, history was made when Steven Bartlett and Sara Davies teamed up for the biggest deal ever seen on the show.
The pair were impressed by serial entrepreneur Francisco Gimenez, who stepped into the Den to present the business basilisks with his ambitious plan to revolutionise the hairdressing industry.
Francisco and his company, Yuv, have designed an automatic hair colour dispensing system that mixes the perfect shade for every client.
The idea being that the system cuts down costs and saves salons time.
He claims that for a £49 a month Yuv will lease haidresser the equipment they need allowing them to save up to £500 a month. Francisco forecast the comapny would be making £1 million in the first year and £6 million the year after.
What really impressed them though was when Francisco revealed that he’d sold his previous business for €200 million (£174 million) and had managed to secure £4 million in investment already.
Francisco was hoping to secure a further £250,000 investment in the company, a staggering sum, but was only offering a 1% stake in the business.
Still, despite asking the Dragons to dig deep into their treasure troves to fund his idea, he clearly impressed them as he left the Den with the money and both Steven and Sara’s backing.
‘Francisco, you’re very, very good,’ said Sara after hearing his pitch. ‘You don’t need any of us to tell you that.
You know that – you’ve got a proven track record, you’ve put your own money in, and you’ve just got everything going for you.’
‘I’m in. I’d be in on this,’ she continued. ‘I understand it’s a small little seat on a big bus. But I tell you what – it’s a good bus to be on, isn’t it?
‘So yeah, I would give you all that money – the quarter of a million – for 1%.’
Despite already securing the funding he needed, Francisco heard out the other Dragons, including Steven, who also wanted a piece of Yuv.
‘You are so fantastic that I’m going to give you that,’ the social media guru said. ‘I’m going to give you the £250k for 1% of your business.’
In the end, Francisco decided to go with both Dragons walking away with a £500,000 investment for a 2% stake in his company.
The other Dragons refused to invest as they believed the 1% stake was too small and Francisco refused to budge on his position.
What are some of the most successful businesses rejected on Dragons’ Den?
While some companies like PerfectTed might find success after winning an investment on Dragons’ Den, others weren’t so lucky on the show… but went on to achieve great things.
Hungry House
In 2007, Shane Lake and Tony Charles pitched their online takeaway order service, securing a £100,000 investment for 11% of their business from two Dragons. While the investment fell through shortly after the show, 11 years later, their business was sold to Just Eat after being valued at around £2bn.
Oppo ice cream
Brothers Harry and Charlie Thuillier pitched Oppo ice cream in 2016 and were rejected by all five of the Dragons. However, as of 2022, it was estimated that they had an estimated annual revenue of £12m.
BrewDog
BrewDog is now a household name in beer – but in 2009, they didn’t even make it to air when they applied to be on the show. And well… the rest is history.
Trunki
Many of us have spotted children wheeling around on their adorable suitcases in the airport – but in 2006, the investors on Dragons’ Den turned down their business proposal. A few years ago, the company was reportedly worth around £9.5m.
To read more, click here.
‘I don’t get out of bed for 1%,’ said Touker Suleyman before annoucing he was out. Emma Grede meanwhile offered all the money for 3% of the business.
Deborah Meaden wanted 2% and Peter Jones was wiling to go to 1% but wanted an additional 3% in advisory shares.
Dragons’ Den is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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