Dragons Took This Company As A Sign Not To Invest | Dragons’ Den

Foreign [Music] Pearson I'm a sign manufacturer from Teesside and I have Two products here that I'm going to Pitch to you I have the first which is street name Plates and the second is a new product Called strim base Uh the street name plates Um it's a recycled Plastic product and recyclable plastic Product uh it um It's uh We've been selling around 100 000 pounds Worth of them a year Um The other product I have is something That I've developed off the back of this Product one of my councils I was selling To was putting a concrete base around The bottom of the street name plate Uh it's cheaper to do that in the long Term than actually stream around them so I came up with a product that could be Mowed over We'll stop the grass growing around the Posts and Is that it sorry I'm looking for a a Hundred thousand pounds uh I'm looking For a 10 to give a 10 equity in the Company for a hundred thousand pounds Um thank you very much [Music]

An understated pitch from nervy tea Cider Alan Pearson he's looking for a Cash investment in his new business Specializing in street signs and a Maintenance friendly accessory Deborah Meaden is in need of some clarity Um what I'd like to understand Is what your business looks like at the Moment because I think you said that you Sold a hundred thousand pounds worth of This product but that kind of implies as Another business that's sitting behind Or yeah this would form a new business The the I have an existing business end Sign which is a sound manufacturing the Sorry the so the business that you've Currently got I mean is it is it Profitable yes Turnover the turnover this year was Around about 800 000 pounds and it was Probably you know we made a good profit A profit what's a good profit well yeah Uh That that well I'd rather not that's uh We're looking at this year we made about Sixty thousand so eight hundred thousand Pound net profit six thousand Park that Business to one side and this product Here that you sold a hundred thousand Pounds of how much profit did that make We'd be looking at about 60 000 gross Right so presumably you've got accounts Yes so what do those accounts you say Well this is part of the Ensign business

At the moment this has been I'm this is Part of enzyme so you've got a product A new product sitting inside your Existing sign business now I'm really Interested to understand why you've Decided to take these out of your Existing business because I think that These products would have been Interesting the the sign business Stunning on its own doesn't need the Investment just so you know investing in A business that has a proven track Record and is and is making a profit is Always of interest to a dragon Foreign First exchange from the tongue-tied Entrepreneur Will he fare any better under Questioning from Peter Jones I think it's quite appropriate that you Brought in a sign of dragon's court on It yeah Because if I was a judge I'll be sentencing you To making probably the worst Presentation That I've ever seen in the den is there A reason why Your pitch was so Slap Dash Amazingly average there seems to be a Lot more than ahead when I came up the Stairs Peter and it all fell apart as Soon as I got to the top of the stairs

Really can we start again and and I just Want to see whether you're at all Interested in engaging in a conversation That actually says I'm willing to change My pitch And you can invest in the overall Business and have a slice of the overall Business rather than the separation of Products yes I would Okay So let's talk about the future If things go according to plan based Around the current business you've got What is your current forecast for the Next 12 months and I would expect to see Another 1.1 1.2 million 1.1 million Pounds what do you think your gross Profit will be I'd be looking at 100 220 Gross gross yeah oh sorry net net sorry Yeah what's your growth gross um Um Right if you take the average the last Three years in percentage terms what Have you made gross profit in percentage Margin we make around about a hundred Percent We can't yeah yeah with overheads and Costs growth sorry marginal Market the So your gross margin is around 50 double What we what we okay well that's 50 yes Gross margin yeah The proposition may have changed but Alan's nerves have yet to settle Can theoper fetus make sense of the

T-siders business [Music] So a hundred thousand of the eight Hundred thousand Comes from that sign What does the other 700 000 come from Potentials no no you said your turnover Last year was eight hundred thousand Yeah on the the Mind sign manufacturing As well At the moment what you've said to us is You're happy to throw the whole business In yes so now I'm saying I understand We're a hundred thousand pounds of the Turnover of your business comes from yes The other 700 000 talk me through it We uh we're General Science Manufacturers and the shop signs shop Signs van signs do you have any big Repeat customer base yeah okay we have a Number of big big customers Blue Chip Companies and you made sixty thousand Profit have you always been a profit yes And after your wage what's your wages I Take as I need I don't have a specific Amount that I've taken okay just an Example you made sixty thousand profit After how much drawings Um I would probably say about 40. Well in new Company accounts every year At the end of the year you have to State What seller you've taken okay so you Must know where it is you can't just say

Oh I just said you know so what did you Take in your last year as a director 4 600 pounds 4 600 in the full year so I thought you Said to Theo you took 40 000. yeah I I Have a directors loan Account that I draw down off But you've got to clear that that's a Little bit misleading because Theo Specifically asked you Now that would tell us the information We gleaned from that is you're able to Draw forty thousand pound and it still Makes sixty thousand pound profit yeah Now that is a world of difference from a Business that actually can only afford Four thousand pounds worth of wages and Make sixty thousand pounds profit Because you turn from a business that Might have potential to a business That's just about paying your wage Alan your job was to take me down a path That led me to a conclusion that made me Want to invest in your business And you haven't done it I I appreciate That entirely so I'm out [Music] Confusion Reigns in the den and a dazed Looking Allen loses his first dragon Theo perfetus is not looking impressed Either In some ways I can forgive you for not Knowing all the figures Like the back of your hand but I don't

Think there was any doubt in your mind The difference between salary and Drawings I wasn't asked that though That's what I took out of the business Which is the difference yeah misleading Misleads leading you were misleading in Your answers And actually A bright little product Potential But I'm sorry to say you have not Covered yourself With too much credibility here today I Appreciate that so I cannot invest in You And for that reason I'm going to say I'm out Okay and I didn't mean to be misleading You know that's something that I had no Intention If you can't come on here and prepare Yourself for the interrogation that you Know you would get if you're looking at Anybody to invest they would be asking For this information So why wasn't you prepared And secondly how do you hope to grow Your business if you can't even motivate Yourself to do what should have been the Biggest pitch of your life How on Earth do you expect anybody to Invest in you your product or this Company You would make my footage

I'm sorry Alan it just just doesn't go I'm out Foreign Dragons out and Allen's chances of Investment are looking Slim Will Duncan bannatyne throw him the Financial Lifeline he badly needs [Music] I think you would be such hard work Ellen I just can't understand you and Understand how you work and so for that Reason and that reason only I've got to Say I'm out Alan have you got a business that could Be invested in as the bottom line and I Think there lies the biggest issue is That it is still a quagmire and I think The only major mistake that you've made And you're going to regret this is not Knowing your core business As well as perhaps you should I can't invest in you I'm out [Music] A devastating end for Alan it was a Shaky start and his pitch never gained Momentum he leaves with nothing I walked up the stairs and immediately I Was up there all you know what I had in My head to talk about went we barely Touched the products that I brought to Show them and hope that they'd invest in Them and uh it came away feeling a Complete idiot

[Music]

Your First Funnel Challenge
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