Foreign Operations We joined the army we went through sand Test got to do some mindfulness think About your sweaty hands and how they Feel classed together we wouldn't have Got through Sandhurst if we didn't have A bit of fight and a bit of gumption About us I hope that when it does get very tough In the den we've got that fight in us to Really go for it Foreign Dragons my name is Rachel day and this Is Mary Whitaker and we run love keep Create We're here today to ask you for 50 000 Pounds in return for a 10 equity share In our business If you've got children or if you've ever Had anyone close to you pass away Chances are you may have been left with A few special items of their clothing That you just didn't want to get rid of This was the basis for our business love Keep create my husband was deploying to Afghanistan in 2011 we had a small baby So I took some of our son's favorite Clothes and turned them into a Keepsake For my husband to take with him so how Does it work You go onto our website and choose from Our wide range of keepsake designs then Send the clothing in to us we create
Your beautiful Keepsake usually Embroidering it with a child's name date Of birth or other special message In 2015 we turned over 190 068 pounds Producing 3292 units with a net profit of 54 783 pounds in the first four months of 2016 we've seen a growth rate of 90.6 Percent Thank you very much we would love to Show you some of our products A pitch with military Precision from Rachel day and Mary Whitaker they're Looking to enlist a dragon to their Business by offering a 10 stake in it in Return they're asking for fifty thousand Pounds can I just say I'm delighted that I get the dragon and Peter's got the Monkey I like that a lot I love it okay got it Peter Jones is first to question the Entrepreneurs Um I don't want to ask but I'm hoping this Commando's still alive somewhere that's My husband her husband's shirt he's Actually in the building upstairs I Believe so he is yes so that is a shirt So they're sending a shirt And then do I how do I choose this and Is most your business online people can Go onto our website they can choose We've got lots of different types of Kind of keepsake categories that's what
We call our military monkey and so People select the item that they want They get a whole load of options that They can click on to add embroidery to Make it large size things like that and Your team that work for you are they Employed or are they on piece work or Are they self-employed how does that Work Um So currently we have five people who Are on employed contracts and we have Two or three who are self-employed and This year what do you think your turn of Is going to be a projection for this Year is 323 000. what do you need to do To achieve that can you do that within Your existing organization with the same Number of seamstresses we um actually Take 44 of generally of our orders Between the 1st of September and the end Of November so it is quite a seasonal Business so we've made relationships With a couple of local textile factories That could offer us a number of hours Per week to enable that um Kind of Rapid increase in orders that's Really I think Robbie answered one of The questions that I have which is about The one of the greatest problems with This kind of business is is managing Seasonal demand because you've you've Got very little going on you have to Have sufficient premises to be able to Deal with your Christmas Spike and
You've got to have people trained up to Deal with the Christmas Spike and then What do you do with them for the Remaining nine months of the year um But it sounds like you've got that Cracked Very good If anyone knows about the problems of Seasonality it's the king of greetings Cards Nick Jenkins but his obvious Approval aside Peter Jones wants to know More about that spike in orders in the Autumn Why September just the build up to Christmas okay so that's nothing to do With your specific marketing and Targeting we do very limited marketing Currently and this is a small part of The investment that we want is actually To allocate to a proper marketing budget Every time we've done a campaign it's Had great results we've worked it out Basically that in terms of net profit For for a 500 pound spend on Facebook Advertising we get about 2 000 pounds Net profit Okay I mean my my reaction to that would Be fill your boots exactly and keep Filling your boots yeah until until you Until you meet meet resistance and then You wouldn't need us at all Partly we've been hampered by our Existing website which hasn't been Tracking
Um the conversions so and this is all Part of our kind of ongoing learning Curve like we said we are we are not Entrepreneurs and business people by Nature we've got where we are today Through learning everything ourselves The long and hard way Don't think you're not an entrepreneur Just because you've had to learn the Hard way yeah I don't know any Entrepreneur that hasn't learned it the Hard way yeah And your business has actually made a Profit in its first year mine is that he Didn't do that um so you're a much Better entrepreneur than him yeah much Better News of a prophet quadrupling marketing Plan has certainly got the dragons Standing to attention And High Street retailer Tuka Suleiman Has another reason to be impressed Mine is made of a horse and Curtis it is Yeah shirt so that's called 100 doubles Fabric So that's our daddy dress so we take Mummy's Daddy's grandparents shirts and When they get a bit worn out around the Cuffs and collars we can turn them into A dress for a little girl we also do a Version of a shirt for a little boy It's gone to a lot of Design skill To design that
[Music] Do you have any uh of your stuffed Animals already made so you just put an Embroidery on and send out or everything You do is recycled at the moment Everything is recycled we haven't gone Down that route at the moment because This is is working for us I can understand if you said we've got 24 characters We can offer those really made so that's For our instant business And we offer another service which is Very Niche business I'm not sure I think you've got a great Idea my only reservation would be How far can you grow it Casts a seed of Doubt over the Scalability of this bespoke business But could Deborah meaden be toying with Investment People always say to me what's that Moment in the den I said when you get a Combination of clearly a good product With good people and you're that So I am going to make you an offer and Following those words it'd be very rude Of me not to offer on the basis that You've asked So make you an offer fifty thousand Pound at the and I want 10 of the Business which is what you offered Thank you thanks so much [Music]
An offer and a rare one that asking for No more Equity than the entrepreneurs Wanted to give away But has Nick Jenkins Seen It All Before I get to see quite a lot of personalized Gift businesses surprise surprise and I Think this is One of the best personalized products I've seen Because it really touches on what's Important about personalization which is That sentimental connection with Somebody and it's not just about writing People's names on things Um and it's about memories and that's The most important thing Um so I'm going to make an offer Can offer you all of the money For ten percent thank you [Music] Nick Jenkins aligns himself to the Entrepreneurs with compliments and an Offer Does Sarah Willingham also want to love Keep and create an investment I love the product I think Um the fact that quite genuinely it Makes me choke a bit when I when I see That we miss you Granddad and you think You know it really is a memory that You've created which I think is Exceptional One of the things that I can really help
You with is on the Facebook advertising Side Um we spent a lot of money On Facebook with a very high conversion Rate it's something we're very very good At Um so I think that's something I can Help with a lot So yeah I'm going to offer you all of The money for exactly what you came and Asked for which is I think very fair 10 To the business Thank you Sarah Willingham attempts to maneuver Herself into Pole Position by offering Not only cash but also help with that All-important marketing strategy Is Peter Jones poised to add to the Hat-trick of offers already in the mix I actually thought for the first time Ever in Dragon's history that You were going to get an offer for Less Equity than you asked for [Music] And I'm surprised that you haven't Actually So Um I think you have a really really neat Business and I think it is something That People will really radiate to and I can See it But
I do think this is a big but I think This is of a tough business to grow Because I do think that it will be Fairly niche When you bring awareness to it I then Think you're going to perceive people Entering the market so Sadly I'm going to say that I'm not Going to invest and I'm out for those Reasons but only because of those Reasons thank you Peter Jones politely declined the Investment offer Kantuka Suleiman put his earlier worries Over scale aside to add the business to His textile Empire Look I think the you're both great The product's Great that your ideas are Great You've already had free offers And I I'm torn because I know what I Could do with it But it would take far too much of my Time to where I would Help you grow the business And Would you split it because you've got a Lot of that product obviously in terms Of the production side Look I'll be honest if I was to doing it I'd want a bigger percentage it's not Worth my while And for that reason I'm out Thank you
Tuka Suleiman declined the offer leaving Three Dragons in and two out thank you All so much for your offers Would you mind if we just had two Minutes just to chat about the wall yeah Talk to the wall 25 of us I think He said with three identical bids on the Table it's not a question of which offer Is right for the entrepreneurs But which dragon As I said thank you so much for your Offers and for your time for us to come And Pitch to you today We have made a decision We would love to accept your offer Deborah But thank you so much Sarah and Nick as Well we are really great yeah victory Mary and Rachel leave The Den with Exactly what they came in for 50 000 Pounds for 10 equity and a dragon with The know-how to take their business to The next level It happened Hold on Deborah I love that well I think You deserve then the monkey Commando the Commandment the monkey Commando thank You very much We're thrilled that we got Deborah she's Got some really relevant experience Which would be amazing for us we are Just so happy we really are we need to
Go and sit down somewhere quiet and open A bottle of wine I think Thank you [Music] Hi my name is Suzanne chisty I'm the Founder of yes super baby I'm here today to provide you 10 stake For an investment of 175 000 pounds yes Super baby has invented a new way of Infant stimulation through clothes and Accessories worn by parents and carers So far nobody has thought about the idea That what you wear actually stimulates Your child I would like to start telling you more About myself after my MBA I worked for Two years as a Management Consultant and Then I joined one of the top American Global investment Banks and worked there In various functions and was heading up A team selling Investment Management Products across Europe After I became mother I realized with my Own babies how their eyes widened with Interest depending on the clothes the Colors the designs of work All our products help you to achieve That this is a nursing and stimulation Top ideal for breastfeeding one can Attach little toys on here this is a Music scarf which plays music and Squeaks You could hear the speaker and here Parents can attach whatever they like
Toys whatever and this is The Wristband Which you just put on your wrist value Via it in the first nine months of the Company I filed for trademarks both in Europe and also in the US and also have A patent and with this patent I want to Not only sell new products but really Enter a new market Um my vision is to create a brand for Yes super baby which will stand and Peace Anonymous for smart parenting and Multi-sensory stimulation tools and Create a new market niche I'd like to Thank you very much for your attention I Would like to hand over now to you for Questions can I can I have a look at one Of the schools hi Susan I'm James hi James Susan have you sold anything yet Yes I've sold 136 products two parents Two nurseries that just signed up my First mail order catalog And what is the value of those 136 Products you've sold 1 600 pounds 1 600. and you're an investment banker Before that that's right So you probably understand numbers quite Well yes So how do you get from selling sixteen Hundred pounds worth of merchandise and Valuing a business at 1.7 million pounds Yes uh you said I look at the various Valuations including discounted cash Flows looking at other opportunities Which are out there on the market but
Then I thought the best way actually to Value a startup is talk to an expert and I have one friend of mine who works for An investment bank and his uh focus is On valuing Startup companies and he Valued the company to 1.8 million you Know what I'll answer I would love for Him To come and value all the businesses That I've invested in in Dragon's Den Immediately and find me buyers yes he Actually invests himself 50 000. so it's Not just that he put this valuation out There but he wants himself to invest 50 000 pounds how much money have you put Into this I put in about 45 000 pounds Susan I'm so glad you got out of banking I really am yes because I think you Would be fantastic at losing money I really do I just can't believe somebody with your Background can be so naive and for that Reason I'm out yes Suzanne may be well connected in the World of Finance but she's alienated James Khan with an overblown company Valuation It's a serious setback this early in the Pitch and Theo perfetis could be about To add to her woes This investment opportunity is as Inviting as a two-week holiday in Afghanistan yes Yes
I mean not not for me but it might be For you yes I can't Believe that you were a professional Advising people on their Investments you Have come here And made such a terrible miscalculation Of the value of your business that it Makes it impossible For me to actually treat you seriously As a potential investment And because I can't take you seriously I'm going to tell you that at this stage I'm already ruling myself out okay Two dragons out both blasting the former Banker for getting her valuation so Badly wrong Now though Duncan bannatyne wants to Know more about the product range itself Suzanne the parents wear the scarf Parents wear this calf uh and one other Thing I should add is that these Products are also used to help the Settling in process at nurseries and if You wear the scarf at home first and Your baby gets used to see you wearing It seeing the colors seeing it on you And then you hand it over to the nursery Staff the settling process is much Simpler much easier I don't think I Don't think any Not sure would agree with that I mean I I started one of Britain's biggest Nursery chains yes I was in the business
For a while okay and I don't really Think that's a good idea but you know Got away from the nursery but I mean did You design this I I got some information Some help from designers as well the Reason why we chose faces because faces Is what babies like to see most it's a Preferred Dollar on here it tells us a Little bit what baby is like stripes and That's why they've got stripes on here Yes night with his stripes You know you know the thing is that you Know the attention span Stops at a certain level no matter what You give them you'll get fed up with it At some time yes and to wear this I mean I don't know what's more ridiculous the Valuation of this design I think it looks terrible I just can't See anybody win in this you know it's Absolutely ludicrous yes She agrees I I don't agree but I mean It's it's personal choice obviously you Know I think it's it's very beautiful Way and I think many people who buy it Obviously think this Vape I think this is ridiculous I think the Valuation is ridiculous I think the Whole concept's really because I think You should stop wasting your money on it Because I think you're gonna lose a lot Of money So I'm not going to invest so Dumbo Duncan bannatyne can find few redeeming
Features in Suzanne's business the pitch Is falling apart and Deborah meaden is Ready to have her say Hello Suzanne hi Deborah I'm I'm Deborah Um the first thing I'm going to say is That your real dichotomy because you Stand and present very credibly But what you're presenting is not Credible My biggest issue with this product is I Find the whole concept slightly Disturbing I don't know I'm not a child Psychologist but I would have thought That it's as important to engage the Child in the outside world and quite Dangerous to absolutely focus a child Not only to make its mother its mother But to make its mother its toy and play Thing it would have I mean if based on The video describe it I would agree with You you know if this would be the only Way of playing with a child on your lap It would be too much of one thing and Not enough you know playing with other Toys but I don't see this as replacing The toy Market just being an addition an Additional way of playing with uh things Which stimulate the baby I'm not Convinced I think it's a complete Conflict I think to focus your entire Child's attention not just to be a Mother but to become a toy I don't think It's very healthy so I'm afraid you've
Lost me on all counts so the things Foreign Dragons out Suzanne's time in the den is Running out fast only Peter Jones now Stands between the entrepreneur and a Speedy exit Suzanne yes I Think that the idea is brilliant I really really do and it's just because Maybe it's because my time in my life I've got three young kids I spent two Weeks three weeks away with a One-year-old that lost their little Cuddly toy yes and this stuff will Definitely definitely definitely sell The issue is totally in essence with the Money I think and I'm going to be short and Quick I would have invested in this Because this sort of stuff catches on I just wish you'd come in here and said And ask for 50 000 and I would have been In 175 000 pounds you'll struggle to Make that in the first year but I Congratulate you on coming out with a Concept which I think is totally unique No thank you But I can't invest at that rate I think You've picked the wrong amount it's too Much money so I'm out okay thank you It's a crushing conclusion for Suzanne Overvaluing the business has meant she's Felt the full force of the dragon's Wrath and she leaves the den without an
Investment [Music] In the den kids Adventure outfits Dinosaurs for kids on snow the Temperature is set to plummet [Music] And bringing the cold weather in a kid's Clothing entrepreneurs Matt Martin will Chapman and Ed Lewis Pratt We've really decided to go for it today We've got six kids all dressed in our Suits and mannequins We're hoping to bring the brand to life Yeah Here we go [Music] [Music] Okay Hello dragons thank you very much for Having us I'm Matt Zoo chief head of product and Operations my name is Will King of the Wild head of design and creative and I'm Ed head of Adventures managing marketing And strategy and we're here to ask for 50 000 pounds in return for five percent Of our company Rawson Children between the ages of one and Seven love dressing up with us as their Favorite characters and superheroes at Home but when they go Outdoors we feel Like imagination is being restricted Rather than encouraged as they are made To dress like everyone else
So In October last year we launched our First collection Dino ski Rawson ski Wear for kids where we saw the biggest Gap in the outerwear Market We teamed up with children's illustrator Jane Foster to create a character and a Storybook for each suit So from October last year to April this Year We sold 600 ski suits resulting in a Year one revenue of 75 000 pounds and We've already pre-sold a further 600 Suits for next season and secured Significant brand Partnerships such as a Publishing deal with penguin books And a multi-territary licensing deal for Peter Rabbit to support the launch of a New movie next year Thank you so much we welcome any Questions and of course your feedback Um and we just like to thank our little Helpers for helping us out with Everything thanks guys thank you guys Well done Character-based ski suits for kids are The offering from Matt Martin will Chapman and Ed Lewis Pratt bye guys Cheers they're looking for 50 000 pounds What have I got it's a bit of a lucky Dip in return for a five percent share Of their children's outdoor clothing Business Is first to measure up the size of the
Opportunity Hi guys hi hi I love the mission I love The product looks really good quality How much does it cost a typical outfit It costs us 55 pounds to make them and We sell them retail direct to Consumer For 185. So right now you're focusing just on the Ski wears all right yeah we want to sort Of hone in on the winter Air Market First and then we've got a range of Hoodies trackies beanies slightly more Affordable options so that when people Come to the website it's not just a Product at 185 I gotta cut in there Because my issue with it is 185 pounds Is a crazy amount of money You're in a very small segment of the Market And then that small captive audience You're now targeting a very small Percentage of that audience because You're asking for nearly 200 pounds for A ski suit and I think that's why you Haven't sold many We wanted to be more aspirational If you look at the top end of the market People do buy jackets for seven eight Hundred quid they do not buy seven eight Hundred pound jackets for their kids They definitely do I promise you well Then they've dropped too much money I've done it recently for our own kids We've spent 40 quid seller pets ski
Jacket thank you very much done Unless you can introduce that into the Market for 39.99 I think you're in Trouble At nearly 200 pounds of Pop Peter Jones Fears that the prospects for Matt will And Ed's ski suits could go downhill Fast And with sales to date of only 75 000 Pounds Deborah meaden wants to dig a Little deeper into the Trio's numbers [Applause] So guys your first set of sales yeah What do you put your lack of sales in Your first year so the first order was Of 900 suits so we sold 600 we gifted 200 to influencers and celebrities we Had Simon Cowell's son in a suit the Headphone Cotton's daughter in a suit And that's part of a marketing strategy Well yeah but your marketing strategy Which is to get them on the backs of the Right people didn't translate into sales Actually the big influencers that we got Didn't really because they are probably Not the ones who would share the images And it wasn't so much sales it was can We make a mark in this industry I think From that point of view we actually were Very successful last year I think it's very difficult to launch a New brand especially at a price point of 185. Guys um
So for me so I don't ski and haven't got Children So I am totally relying on indicators Within the business that tells me this Can light up and for me to understand Where we can light it up I need to feel Like there's enough in there for me to Think yeah he says that this is and I'm Afraid I don't get that So I'm going to be the first to break Cover you might have four very Interested dragons But um not me I'm afraid I'm out Thank you very much okay thank you Deborah An early setback for the young Entrepreneurs as an absence of Indicators for growth leads Deborah Meaden to put her foot firmly on the Brakes Now Peter Jones wants to find out more About the men behind the Mini Monsters What's your background are you mates Me and Ed have known each other for a Few years we used to run different Events companies and then when the idea First came up we got in touch with Matt And he'd already been running his own Adult ski company so that's how we cross Paths and then how much money did you Have to start up we raised preceded 155 000 to get things moving and how much Have you had to give away an equity 20 Percent
That was just the right personal Networks Um friends family Talk me through exactly whose friends Whose family whose house has been Remortgaged we have 15 investors to a family Other 13 are friends and existing Business contacts And it wasn't because your family He will give it a go My dad is in children's Brands yeah he Created Bob the Builder and PAW Patrol So he sees the value in something that He created them he he was the creator of The club Characters yeah wow yeah It's your father Keith Chapman yes yeah News that the creator of some of the Most popular and lucrative children's Characters of all time is involved in Matt will and Ed's business has got the Dragon's attention But can the trios Bob the Builder Connection fix it for fashion Tycoon 2K Suleiman to make them an offer [Music] It's a great idea You've got all these characters and I Think parents would pay a premium Now what worries me is your strategy Might not be 100 right I love the fact That you've got one shape one style Different colors
But then you're talking about jackets Trousers this that and the other thing Hold on a minute unless you've got a Million pound working capital I think You're gonna struggle At the end of the day you've got to have A product that the parent thinks I like That that's different I don't mind the Price look at the Quality yeah we have That our customer database we may only Have three or four thousand of them but Is so engaged People love our brand and there's Opportunities that have come to us Peter Rabbit movie yep offered us the Multi-territary license to make a Peter Rabbit ski suit like this so that was The longer term vision So what are you looking from a dragon Contacts for sales yep the licensing is A big thing and the retail experience Okay look Foreign I'll give you all the money But I want 20 percent Okay okay thank you very much An offer from Tuka Suleiman but his Industry know how comes at a hefty price Four times the equity that Matt will and Ed were originally offering Can crafting Queen Sarah Davies match or Even better it [Music] See guys My worry is
If you just take the ski wear it's a Niche business And then you're going into a sub Niche Kids and then you're aiming at a really Premium end of the market Which is just really narrowing that Funnel and then I can't sit here and Make an investment decision on is this a Good business for me to invest in Because I don't feel confident that the Sales are going to be there For that reason I'm out [Music] The kids clothing entrepreneurs have Lost their second dragon as Sarah Davies Joins Deborah meaden in declining the Deal Will tej laalvani be prepared to swap Supplements for seller pets I'll tell you what I'm thinking right I Actually think it's okay to be high Pricing and have a different positioning Than other brands And you guys are good I'm going to make an offer I'm gonna offer you all the money 50 000 Pounds but I want 15 percent Thank you very much thank you very much At Matt well Um I'm not convinced that price wise You're going to be able to sell enough Of the product to be able to keep this Business going in the medium term
And you're entering the marketplace at a Time where it's really really tough Almost impossible but not impossible And I think your contacts are fantastic And that's the reason why I'm going to Make you an offer [Laughter] So I'm going to make them offer for all Of the money but I'm going to offer you 12 and a half percent Okay thank you very much thank you A surprising turn of events as Peter Jones offers Matt will and Ed a chance To make the almost impossible possible And undercuts his fellow dragons into The bargain But how will the trio react Thank you so much for all of your offers We came in with a a ceiling really of Equity So I guess our first question is would Any of you be willing to come down and Meet us at around 10 percent Times you know You know yeah it's about how much work Is involved And I think in this particular case There's a lot to do to make it into a Proper business And I think I've got a lot to offer okay Okay guys you know licensing is not as Straightforward because about Negotiating the right contract And you know I know the ins and outs of
It and dealing with all of them from Peppa Pig to Marvel Avengers Star Wars I can make all that sort of stuff happen So I'm going to stick to 15 but I can Say that I can help you a lot with what You want to do for your business And guys I'm going to say no And the reason for that is I'm at the Lowest level any at 12 and a half Percent Um the other thing is which I think is Really important well for you to know is The person that actually pushed your Father's brand into the market with Bob The Builder and licensed every single Product is a guy that works for me wow Did not know that Do you want to go to the back of the Room thank you It's decision time for Matt will Undead The trio have three competing offers to Consider All of the cash in return for 20 15 or 12 and a half percent of their business So first of all thank you so much for All of your offers And it's a it's a difficult decision But I think you know the licensing side Of things for us is important Um and both of you seem to have amazing Experience So we'd love to take your offer Peter Yay thank you great thank you thank you
Very much thank you very much Success for Matt will and Ed thank you Thank you very much Who leave The Den with 50 000 pounds and The backing of a dragon with the Expertise and contacts to supercharge Their kids clothing business I thought you'd have been a little more Aggressive care about value with your Supply chain well I could but at the end There's a lot of work to be done Tuka was always too high we were never Going to give away 20 and we're happy With Peter Very happy I've got a lot of fashion Businesses where we won the phone call That can make 300 000 turnover I'll take You up on that after this
