Thursday’s first pitch on Dragons’ Den left viewers perplexed, as a duo sought financing for their ‘caveman’ firm.
Naomi and Dan, a husband and wife pair, took a totally different approach to the competition, ditching suits and ties in favour of ‘prehistoric’ clothes, a tooth necklace, and even walking barefoot.
They even brought in their ‘cave children’ and began their pitch by requesting 40,000 ‘acorns’ from the Dragons.
‘We are the Stone Age company, and we deliver Stone Age education and workshops to primary school children,’ Dan explained.
Natalie went on to say that their garments were hand-made for living ‘in the wild’.
‘We’ve lived out in the wild twice, for around about a month, just surviving off the land,’ she said.
‘We hunted, we fished, we foraged, we slept in caves, and pretty much survived.’
They were then motivated to establish their organisation and provide education and experiences to youngsters around the country, and they entered the den with the hopes of securing an investment to grow.
When Deborah Meaden acknowledged that she ‘connects with the Earth’ in a similar way by going barefoot, Peter Jones said, ‘That’s really weird.’
However, she was dissatisfied with their’stone age budgeting approach’, since the couple’s figures fell short of expectations.
‘Currently we live in a static caravan in my parents’ driveway so we’re not paying rent and we can practice living sustainably,’ Naomi revealed.
‘We live pretty frugally,’ she added, before saying they’ve made it this far thanks to ‘friends and family’.
However, the business left viewers perplexed.
‘What?????’ @BurySue questioned, while @born_comedian blasted: ‘Are they taking the p**s?’
‘The first pitch tonight and looks like The Flintstones have entered the den,’ viewer Kevin Astley wrote on X.
‘Am I watching Dragon’s Den or The Flintstones?’ Lucy Taylor added.
‘This is a p**s take,’ @darrenbizzle2 slammed.
@swilliams73 added: ‘I haven’t stopped laughing yet. Oh damn. I honestly can’t believe this is for real.’
Despite the couple’s passion for their business and Steven Bartlett’s description of the cause as “important,” all five Dragons were out, and they exited the den without an investment.
Nonetheless, Dan and Naomi received the promise of some assistance from Peter and were left declaring, ‘We still win,’ as the Dragons applauded them for ‘living their passion’.
‘They gave us hope in a way,’ Dan told the camera.
‘We can continue being us,’ Naomi added.
Dragons’ Den airs Thursdays at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.