ENTREPRENEURS branded ‘delusional’ on Dragons’ Den have had the last laugh – with their company now worth millions of pounds.
Dr Guy Sandelowsky and Shiv Sivakumar entered the BBC show’s famous “Den” with Omni, their vegan pet food brand.
Omni founders Dr Guy Sandelowsky and Shiv Sivakumar took part in Dragons’ Den[/caption]
They hoped to secure investment from the business titans[/caption]
Touker Souleyman had stern words for the pair[/caption]
They hoped to persuade Dragons – Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Souleyman, Sara Davies and Steven Bartlett – to invest.
Initially, however, their pitch didn’t quite unfold how they may have hoped.
Touker claimed the pair were “delusional” about their product’s value.
But speaking to Metro a year on, Shiv shared how Omni’s value is now “so much more” than when they filmed – more than £7,500,000 – with the episode’s airing also having an impact.
Dr Guy said: “We’re trying to keep up, honestly, we’re just a small business trying to help pets live happier lives, and we knew that going on the show would increase our exposure.
“But we never imagined the demand that we’re seeing now, we’ve had to re-evaluate our stock levels and the number of people helping with our customer service and packaging, so it’s been really, really positive.”
Omni’s aim is to provide pets with happier, healthier lives thanks to lab-grown pet food derived from yeasts, algae and pulses.
Prior to entering the Den, they managed to generate more than £2,500,000 in sales across two years – with 80% customers also becoming subscribers.
Presenting their case, Dr Guy and Shiv asked for £75,000 in exchange for 1% of the business.
This did not get the desired reaction – as Touker branded the proposal something he “wouldn’t even get out of bed for”.
In addition, Peter highlighted how the founders’ seven-figure valuation was seven times more than previous year’s revenue.
Touker added: “You’re delusional about what this is really worth”, as he also disregarded Omni’s lifetime value.
Not all hope was lost, as Deborah and Steven stepped in to defend the businessmen.
Deborah remarked it was “absolutely brilliant”, as Steven said: “That’s fantastic, turning £40 into £400.”
It saw both Dragons also end up offering to invest in Omni.
Steven told Dr Guy and Shiv: “I’ve come to learn in the Den that there are two central things that come to form my investment thesis, which are the products and how much I’m passionate about the space and can relate to the problem.
“The second one is the entrepreneurs, because different entrepreneurs could have walked through this door, with the exact same product and I would have valued the business entirely differently, if I didn’t think the two people in front of me were killers.
Dragons’ Den stars – past and present
Dragons’ Den has been on our screens since 2005 and sees entrepreneurs enter the Den to try and win investment for their businesses from the Dragons.
Over the years there have been many wealthy investors sitting in the famous seats, here’s a rundown of them all and how long they were on the show for.
- Peter Jones – series 1 – present
- Deborah Meaden – series 3 – present
- Touker Suleyman – series 13 – present
- Sara Davies – series 17 – present
- Steven Bartlett – series 19 – present
- Duncan Bannatyne – series 1 – 12
- Rachel Elnaugh – series 1 and 2
- Doug Richard – series 1 and 2
- Simon Woodroffe – series 1
- Theo Paphitis – series 2 -10
- Richard Farleigh – series 3 and 4
- James Caan – series 5-8
- Hilary Devey – series 9 and 10
- Kelly Hoppen – series 11 and 12
- Piers Linney – series 11 and 12
- Nick Jenkins – series 13 and 14
- Sarah Willingham – series 13 and 14
- Jenny Campbell – series 15 and 16
- Tej Lalvani – series 15 – 18
- Emma Grede and Gary Neville were guest Dragons during series 21.
“I’ve come to learn from my Dragons’ Den investments that do exceptionally well, that the single most important factor has actually been: are they killers?
“I think you guys are. So I have to try and invest in this business. I have to.”
Dr Guy and Shiv negotiated Deborah and Steven down to a joint 2.5% each from 3% they offered.
Dragons’ Den airs on BBC One and iPlayer.
The pair now have the last laugh since their appearance on the BBC show[/caption]
