Yesterday I found myself watching Dragons' Den: on tour. Regular readers may remember that I featured last year in series 6 and whilst being in front of the Dragony Five was the least enjoyable bit, I spent a whole day in the Green Room meeting the other nervous entrepreneurs.
So yesterday's show meant I found out what happened to a few of them. It also proved that the road to a successful business is hard. The Shoes Galore lady was great fun and has obviously taken the pragmatic approach. She sold the franchise and is now selling off her colourful stock.
The olive oil man was living a fantasy dream and perhaps not business-oriented enough to make it work. His view that the supermarket buyers were rather rude because some hadn't even returned his call or email means he is probably doomed to failure (unless he gets a business partner as Deborah advised).
The 'trunkie' man seemed great. What a brilliant idea. He just needs to design a Ryan. A similar case for travelling with only handbaggage on Ryanair. The idea of it doubling up as a seat makes it very attractive - particularly in airports like Bergamo Orio al Serio which is more of a cattleshed than departure lounge. I don't know why the Dragons let it slip through their claws.
More chilling were the two ladies and their Cuddle Dry products. They hadn't taken the Dragons' offer, preferring to keep more of the equity in their own hands. The ladies were working on their exit strategy and looking at becoming serial entrepreneurs.
I fear this is the way you make money. Don't become attached. Build the business quickly and then flog it to step up to the next enterprise. Eventually you turn into a Dragon.
Jealous, moi? I'm just biding my time and manicuring my claws.
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