When entrepreneurs get proposals on Dragons’ Den, they almost certainly believe the Dragons will not withdraw them.
That, unfortunately, is what happened to Lee Denny and Julia Lowe.
After a decade of working at festivals, the couple sought to reimagine the experience for other music fans.
As a result, they presented Camp Wildfire to the Dragons, calling it “the UK’s first summer camp for adults.”
In exchange for a £75,000 investment, they promised a 5% interest in their company.
‘At Camp Wildfire, you would wander by day and party by night,’ they explained to the Dragons. There are over 100 activities to choose from, as well as 50 bands and DJs.
‘You’ll spend your days driving quad bikes, firing arrows, climbing trees and building rafts, and as night falls, you’ll feast on banquets, party in the forest, and cosy up around campfires.’
Despite the other Dragons quitting early, it all sounded perfectly up Deborah Meaden’s alley, with expected net earnings of £315,000 for the next year.
‘I really like it,’ she told the duo, who had already told cameras she was their favourite Dragon and the one they hoped to bag an investment from.
‘When I was in the holiday park industry, people coming in an providing a “wow” piece for my customers was absolute gold dust. So, I can clearly see what we can do with this.’
Deborah said that there were some’serious structural concerns’ that needed to be addressed, but she offered her knowledge to assist.
She then gave the couple the entire sum in exchange for a 25% share in their company, which she considered to be a “much more realistic valuation.”
Lee and Julia paused for a bit before returning to Deborah with their own proposition.
‘Obviously, Deborah is amazing, but I just think that we don’t want to give away too much,’ Julia whispered to her business partner.
Lee returned to the panel and began by thanking Deborah for her offer.
‘We would like to ask if it would be possible to do 20% and, if we hit our numbers, which we believe we can, in the next season we run £315k, would you be willing to roll back to the 5% that we pitched?’, he asked bravely.
The offer, however, did not sit well with Deborah, who appeared to be offended.
‘5%?’ she said, stunned. No!’
‘That kind of misses the point,’ she argued. ‘Because, if I’m having an impact on this business, then I’ll be part of you achieving the £315k. I mean, it’s completely illogical! So, no, is the answer.’
Lee then approached her again and asked if she would be ready to accept the entire £75k in exchange for 20% of their company.
Deborah, in a surprising turn of events, chose not to invest after all.
‘Do you know, in your last counteroffer, I’ve gotta tell you, I nearly fell off my chair,’ she admitted. ‘And that really worried me.’
‘I’m getting insights into how you are going to be when you go out there and you do business and, do you know what? I’m afraid I withdraw my offer. I’m out.’
So Lee and Julia exited the Den empty-handed, with fellow Dragon Peter Jones expressing amazement at Deborah’s unorthodox choice.
Viewers voiced their disbelief on Twitter throughout the broadcast.
‘What fools! I’d have bitten off Deborah’s hand!’, one person blasted.
‘OMG what a complete disaster. I was screaming at the TV to just take the 25%!! #dragonsden Big mistake. HUGE’, tweeted another.
Ouch.
Dragons’ Den continues next Thursday on BBC One.