A Bridgnorth businessman failed to secure £1 million worth of investment on BBC’s Dragon’s Den on Wednesday night.
During a heated debate with all the ‘dragons’ Andy Leslie pitched Shopbox – a refrigerated, secure drop box, which allows items to be delivered when people are not in – on the popular TV programme.
Chief executive Andy and inventor Stuart Archibald went in hoping to gain £200,000, having already contributed £1 million of their own money, but were eventually offered five times the amount by ‘dragon’ Peter Jones, for a 45 per cent share of the business.
But after Andy and Stuart said they were not prepared to discuss it as other investors were contributing money, a furious Peter withdrew his offer, leaving the pair empty handed.
“It was a daunting prospect to pitch in front of the infamous team but we did a lot of preparation, had our figures ready and were confident in our product,” said Andy.
“Walking up the stairs at the beginning felt very surreal but it was a fantastic experience and one which we won’t forget in a hurry.”
Stuart said the appliance was revolutionary and they were really proud with how it was received. Stuart came up with the idea seven years ago, but preparations to launch it commercially only started 12 months ago.
They plan to begin selling Shopbox from September 1.
