It’s been on our screens for nearly 20 years, but Dragons’ Den continues to find amazing success stories.
For every business pitch that has been dissected and torn to shreds by the Dragons there has been a hidden gem waiting to be discovered.
Tonight, the 23rd series of the BBC show returns, with heavyweight investors Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, and Steven Bartlett all back in the Den to strike deals and uncover the next big idea.
Joining them this season is footballing icon and entrepreneur Gary Neville, music mogul and rapper Tinie Tempah, entrepreneur Jenna Meek and Tropic Skincare powerhouse Susie Ma.
But, taking a look at the show over previous years, Metro has provided a list of some of the biggest success stories ahead of the new season starting tonight.
So, from ‘delusional’ food brands to a rejected hair oil business, here are some of Dragons’ Den’s highest achievers.
An energy drink’s rise to being worth £140,000
Natural energy drink brand PerfectTed made history after being valued at an incredible £140million – which is the biggest payday to come out of the hit BBC business show.
Founded by Marisa Poster and Teddie Levenfiche, the matcha-powered drink company was first presented to the Den in 2023.
The pair secured a joint investment from Steven and Peter, who each offered £50,000 for a 5% stake in the business.
Who are the dragons on Dragons’ Den?
The BBC’s long-running series is returning for its 23rd season.
Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, and Steven Bartlett will all be making their return in the Den.
Joining them this season is footballing icon Gary Neville.
Alongside him, there is an exciting line-up of guest Dragons including rapper Tinie Tempah, REFY CEO Jenna Meek and Susie Ma.
While Peter Jones later stepped away, Bartlett stayed on board – and since then the company has ‘grown rapidly.’
Its valuation has soared after a major round of funding from venture capital firm Felix Capital, with The Grocer reporting the brand’s worth has climbed to around £140m.
The ‘life-saving’ company worth £1,000,000
Another Dragons’ Den star whose wealth soared after apprearing on the show was Dr. Samuel Bailey.
The entrepreneur was seeking investment as he pitched his ‘life saving’ AI device that protects elderly people from dangerous fires.
After asking for a £100,000 investment for 5 per cent of the company, Peter offered to invest £100,000 not just in the Pippa product but Dr. Bailey’s Skyrad company.
What about the pitches that got turned down?
As we all know, not every success story from Dragons’ Den actually secured an investment.
Some of the biggest companies in the UK today, including Brewdog for example, were laughed out of the Den before they earnt their millions.
To find out which companies turned their snub into a success, click below.
His product, called Pippa, is a stove alarm that monitors cooking hazards and uses an intelligent temperature sensor and AI-powered thermal imaging.
Now, the doctor is said to be worth £1million after receiving his investment on the show.
‘An unmissable opportunity’ now worth £36,000,000
Next on the list of Dragons’ Den success stories is Sam Jones, whose company is now worth£36million after a dragon ‘begged’ to invest in his ‘unmissable’ opportunity.
The entrepreneur appeared on the programme in 2021 to present his data control company Gener8.
After receiving several offers, Sam decided to choose Touker and Peter as his new partners.
Four years later, his company has grown by more than 500%.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, he explained how Tej also became an investor in his company after the show.
He revealed: ‘Tej said, “Sam I watched the pitch again last night, I know you didn’t choose me but I cannot miss this deal. Please, can I invest? I want to put £300,000 in, can I come on this journey?” So then Tej came in as an investor even though he wasn’t chosen in the Den.
‘And then we had people like Harry Redknapp, Tinie Tempah, and Chris Gayle involved.’
Company worth £1,000,000 after ‘rare’ investment’
For mum-of-four Hayley Hanigan, her experience on the show saw the value of her company nearly double, as it stands at a valuation of almost £1,000,000 after not one, but two investments.
The London-based entrepreneur had created Tiny Explorer in January 2022 after seeing a gap in the market from her own experiences of travelling with four young children.
She set out to find a solution to help other parents like herself travelling with kids, and needing the likes of extra strollers for their trips.
‘I wished I could just rent one for a week or two, and there was no one that did it, and I was like, this is crazy,’ she explained in an interview with Metro.
After asking for £50,000 for a 10% share, Sara Davies and Touker agreed to give her the money for 10% each.
Now, after the rare combination of two investments, Hayley’s company is worth nearly £1,000,000, after she valued it at £500,000 during filming.
The biggest deal in Dragons’ Den history
Last year, history was made when two Dragons teamed up for the biggest deal ever seen on the show.
Steven and Sara were impressed by serial entrepreneur Francisco Gimenez, who stepped into the Den to present the business basilisks with his ambitious plan to revolutionise the hairdressing industry.
Francisco and his company, Yuv, have designed an automatic hair colour dispensing system that mixes the perfect shade for every client.
The idea being that the system cuts down costs and saves salons time.
In the end, Francisco walked away with a £500,000 investment for a 2% stake in his company.
Today, his company is said to be worth £25million.
Dragons’ Den returns on BBC One at 8pm tonight.
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