Archive for August, 2009

Sorcit’s MD David Fannin comments on the latest Dragon’s Den episode:

1. Presentation: Michael Oke – Bound Biographies

£75,000 for 20% share

The product/idea was well presented and left the Dragons with a good final thought. However, after further questioning it turns out that the business had been established 18 years ago. Thus, the likelihood of a very small return on investment for the Dragons is quite high. The Dragon’s were also appalled at Michael’s pricing, it came across as if the product eventually would exploit people.  It is a very expensive product for what you get in return.

2. Presentation: Kay Russell – Physicool Ltd.

£100,000 for 20% share

Kay seemed nervous in the beginning but the product interested the Dragons. I personally felt that the ‘refill option’ was complicated but on the other hand it is this refill tool that made the product so unique. Good financial figures from an already established business in the equine market. Unfortunately, this was were the Dragons started to drop out which was not at all surprising as Kay already set-up two separate businesses to market the product in two different markets. Debra did well in by offering the investment in return for a stake in both businesses. I would have done the same.

3. Presentation: Steven Voller – Bee Automobiles

£2.5m for 30% share

The investment was too high for a business that would eventually drain money with no guarantee of return. Steven needed £10 million alone just to get the car to production stage which makes his product an extremely risky investment. ‘Playing with the big boys is very dangerous!’

4. Presentation: Michael Pritchard – The Anyway Spray

£125,000 for 5% share

Great product and confident presentation. Michael explained the problem and the solution very well. His idea of royalty based return for a high volume item seemed a very good idea. The only weak area is that the patent was still pending which unfortunately made some of the Dragon’s drop out. Michael was also confident and a great negotiator in the final stages of the equity split. This clearly showed how keen Theo and Peter were on the product.

David Fannin – MD at Sorcit – on the latest Dragon’s Den episode

1. Presentation: Samantha Gore – Saboteur Crime Prevention

£120,000 for 20% share

It takes a brave perspm to return to the Den for the second time. One would think that this time around things would be different. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. Samantha’s latest invention was too complicated, expensive and would not have given any decent return for the investors.

2. Presentation: Ronan McCarthy – The Split ‘n’ Polish Shoeshine Company

£108,000 for 10% share

Unfortunately, a weak presentation with very few facts & figures. Ronan declined to reveal all the details which obviously did not go down well with the Dragon’s. It seemed like an interesting comcept but the reality is that one would need to generate a lot of business to make a decent return.

3. Presentation: Ian Worton & Peter Neath – Grillstream

£120,000 for 15% share

The product was well presented and demonstrated. However, Ian and peter did come across as not having any real business knowledge, although one of them has run his own business for almost 20 years. As Theo suggested, the best route to market for this product os licensing through BBQ and Cooker manufacturers. Incidentally, Sorcit was approached by two individuals with a very similar product two years ago. It is a great idea and Sorcit is sure that these guys will eventually have success.

4. Presentation: Jason Roberts – Tech21 Mobile Technology

£150,000 for 5% share

From the initial presentation it was difficult to work out what Jason was actually offering. Once he had demonstrated what his product can do (i.e. soft, but goes hard on impact and can absorb), it became clearer and more interesting. The key with this product was to understand how the material could be used for different applications. Strong sales and profit figures with good future turnover forecasts, made it an attractive proposition to the Dragon’s. With several contracts within the mobile phone and laptop cases  sector already on the table, it proved to be a great opportunity. Sorcit is sure that this product will become a great success.

1. Presentation – Jane Rafter ‘Slinks Sandals’

£75,000 for 20% share

Novel idea with reasonable early sales of £37,000 to date. However, the idea could be easily copied even though there was a patent pending. Jane seemed confident in her presentation and gave good sharp answers to the Dragon’s questions. Ideal product to produce in China or India to substantially reduce costs and increase volumes/mass market appeal. The only negative issue that Sorcit could foresee is whether the consumer would fully understand the concept at the point of sale and if cheaper alternatives would eventually swamp the market.

2. Presentation – Paul Ward ‘Cleaning Products’

£ 100,000 for 5% share

Good confident presentation, but very brief, causing some confusion as to what exactly the product does. The business was already making some good profit  – so why the need for the investment? Paul seemed to be wanting the Dragon’s contacts as these would open the doors to the bigger retailers. However, Paul only offered a limited movement on the share offering which eventually turned off the Dragon’s. Sorcit believes that Paul should have been more flexible as the Dragon’s can add a lot of value and past investments, such as Peter Jones and Reggae Reggae Sauce, have proven that.

3. Presentation – James Nash ‘Wine Innovations’

£ 250,000 for 25% share

Great Product with a patent pending. However, too many ‘unknowns’ made it very difficult to invest and the substantial investment required only enhanced that.  Sorcit belives that if the business/patent was another 12month down the line, an investment may have been secured. One should definitely keep an eye out for Wine Innovations Ltd in future.

4. Presentation – Carol Savage ‘www.mydish.co.uk’

£ 100,000 for 15% share

Sorcit loved this idea as soon as the website was mentioned. Everyone knows of a great recipe or someone with a great recipe. The business was draining quite some money, this is typical for this type of interent based business. Carol presented well and answered the Dragon’s confidently. With 100,000 visitors per month and 6,000 recipes already online the business is well placed to succeed in the future. Carol also came across as having lots of creative ideas to evolve the business. Although, Sorcit see great potential in this website, unfortunately, there is not much that Sorcit can do to help.

Dragon’ Den is a series in which budding entrepreneurs get three minutes to pitch their business ideas to five multi-millionaires willing to invest their own cash.

In this weeks’ episode the Dragons were, amongst other, asked to invest in a multipurpose suitcase-come-sunlounger.

1. Presentation – Mussels: Good explanation of where investment would be spend but presentation was too long winded. One thing that is really important is the chemistry with the Dragon’s which was not really given in this presentation.

2. Presentation – Sunlounger: The sunlounger is over engineered, costly and hugely impractical. The Dragon’s were not impressed either.

3. Presentation – Ice Blading: Great product and brilliant concept. There would be great potential across the three highlighted categories (Retail, Leisure and Education). This product Sorcit could manufacture and could further advise on retail packaging and in-store merchandising.

4. Presentation – Clever Bins: Initially, this idea as well as the presentation seemed great and well-thought through. However, like so many ideas on the show, the figures did not stack up. After some discussion, one could see that the product was actually over-engineered and impractical.

5. Presentation – Commercial Cleaning: Good presentation with strong turnover. The financials seemed a bit questionable but overall the business appeared to have a good foundation to build on. Definitely worth a punt!