In last night’s episode of Dragons’ Den we saw Dragons striking not one, but two deals; we’d like to congratulate Jared Pillai of Tod-Pod and Chris and Tanja Berg of Candy Wasted for facing the fire and pitching it any way!
First in the line of fire were husband and wife team, Kim and Peter Hogg as they brought back the old school with their Springbok rugby inspired marble collection, Flicka Ball. With an ask of R300 000 for 30%, the Hoggs presented their idea to the Dragons, their key motivator for developing the product was to extricate kids from iPads, video games and computers and encouraging a more active lifestyle. Problem number one here was that Kim and Peter had over R600 000 of product stockpiled in a warehouse and the products weren’t shifting. Additionally, they needed endorsement from official sport bodies as the marbles were embellished with the faces of the Springbok rugby players. The Dragons weren’t in the mood for games and sent the Hoggs and their marbles on their way. “Don’t give up your day jobs,” said Gil.
Jared Pillai of Million Baby was next in line. Jared presented a prototype of his 3 In 1 Tod-Pod; a first of its kind 3-in-1 multi-functional toddler bag that converts into a table and chair. At first, Jared bamboozled the Dragons with figures and trajectories; his numbers eventually leveled out as his nerves began to dissipate. Once he was on a roll, the Dragons saw merit in his concept, the baby market is one of the biggest global money-spinners. Jared bagged Gil, Polo and Vinny coming in on a three-way deal, R1 million for 60%. Once Jared repays the Dragons, he’ll earn back 10%, leaving him with half of Tod-Pod.
It was a very nervous Shane Liswoga next, a R6 million ask for 40% of Eternity Made Solutions’ Drive Mark drive-through shopping offering. Shane struggled to present his concept to the Dragons, he stumbled over his words. The Dragons were stunned that this student came into a pitch, with nothing but a concept and no experience whatsoever. Shane’s idea was a convenient and fast drive-through grocery shopping experience. Pre-order, pick up shopping and off you go. Problem here is, not everyone has a car and nearly every retail multiple offers an online shopping service. The Dragons were riled. “Quite frankly, I’m offended,” said Vusi. And with that Shane skulked out the den.
Justin Greenberg was the next pitcher hoping to woo the Dragons with his Wedding Video Company. It is what it says on the tin, a production company that films and produces wedding videos. The USP you ask? Well, that’s the question the Dragons had to ask too. Justin’s response was “him”. His 10% ask for R200 000 was to expand his company nationally. All very well and good but if he was the differentiating factor, he couldn’t exactly scale himself to shoot around the country at the same time. “You’re the differentiator, not the other people… for that reason, I’m out,” said Vinny.
Enter Mac-nutz owners, Mpho Mashele and partners. South Africa is one of only three producers of macadamia nuts according to these two and they’re hoping to capitalise on South Africa’s unique produce. Their ask was R1.2 million for 20% of their company which supplies macadamia nuts and byproducts globally. Although according to Polo, a huge fan of agricultural products, she agreed with the rest of the Dragons, they were too under-developed for investment, “… and for that reason, I’m out,” said Polo.
And they came in pairs, next up was husband and wife team Tanja and Chris Berg with an ask of R500 000 for 50% equity of Candy Wasted confectionary offerings; selling imported and local sweets and novelty cupcakes in a jar. The Dragons were impressed by their pitch and passion and Vinny saw the value in their offering, although wanted to steer them to an online proposition as point of sale, he could see it would work well. He liked what he saw and made an offer if one Dragon shared the cost. “ I won’t do this deal by myself but I will throw out an offer. If someone else wants to come in with me I’ll do a deal with you guys,” said Vinny. Enter Polo, who shared 25% of the winnings with Vinny at R250 000 each for a 50% stake. Sweet smiles all round.
What we see as key in this week’s episode is the stage at which a business is suitably developed for investment. Approaching a Dragon with an idea and little more makes it awkward for everyone. In the words of Gil, “A vision without a plan is just a dream.”
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