It?s one thing to come up with what you think is a good idea; it?s another to have retailers and consumers buy into it. It?s a more daunting proposition when you?re trying to get a dragon to believe in you.
Now in its sixth season, Dragons? Den has become a ratings monster for CBC-TV. The show is estimated to average 1.6 million viewers, with each episode holding the promise of helping entrepreneurs who are willing to stand up and pitch amid the hot lights, unflinching stares and pointed questions.
Dan Plante was one of the successful entrepreneurs this season, garnering a lucrative deal with the dragons. The Richmond resident came up with the ?change anywhere, anytime? Chawel in 2001 while working as a lifeguard. On the pool decks and on the beach, Plante would see mothers having to hold a towel around their children as they changed in and out of their bathing suits, chasing them around and trying to keep them warm.
He saw a need for a portable change room and created the Chawel, a combination towel and change room that caught all the dragons? attention.
Initial sales and interest had spurred Plante with his production, but he wanted to move their efforts to the next level. Development takes money, so he tried out for the Den to see if he could cut a deal.
Plante got his family and friends to help him focus his preparation on the dragon perceived as the toughest of all: hedge-fund manager Kevin O?Leary. Plante also had to be prepared for rejection.
?Even if you have the right answers, [if] you?re not quick, they?ll tear you apart. So don?t get rattled by that.?
While both O?Leary and fellow dragons Robert Herjavec and Arlene Dickinson offered Plante a deal, Dickinson gave him exactly what he had asked for – $100,000 for 35% of the company. Plante was happy to do business with Dickinson because of her marketing expertise and her promise to let him retain control and make an informercial for the product. After the show, according to CBC, Plante received two inquiries for international distribution – one in the U.K. and one in Australia.
Plante?s advice for entrepreneurs considering an audition: Know your numbers, prepare for as many contingencies as you can, try not to look foolish and be ready to have the agreement change ? or fall through entirely.
Jamie Beuthin and Patrick Levesque have run MASC on Davie Street in Yaletown since December 2007. The store and website sell skin care and grooming products specifically targeting men, along with ?carefully selected brands? which cater to both sexes. They?re pitch was seen in November on the Den.
Sales amount to a minimum $250,000 each year, so funding wasn?t the primary motivator for auditioning.
?The money would [be] nice,? Beuthin told Business In Vancouver, ?but it was more for the expertise that comes with a strategic alliance with a suitable Dragon, as well as for the exposure that we get.?
They asked for $100,000 for 20% of MASC, but the dragons insisted on half the company for that price. The partners turned them down; Beuthin has no regrets.
?The fact that we went there and they made us offers is basically an endorsement of the business as viable. As long they?re making you an offer, it means that they believe in your business.?
Renaat Marchand did need the money. The Vancouver Island artist realized that his skills weren?t paying the bills and he needed to come up with a ?rescue plan.? He reached back into his Belgian heritage, deciding that making waffles was the way to make some dough. Wannawafel was born, but it needed funding.
That?s when Marchand hit on the idea to try his hand in the Den.
?It was very stressful, but my main message was that I had positive stuff on my mind. ... I felt well-prepared and I knew why I was doing this: to create some security for my family.?
Marchand wanted $100,000 for 25% of Wannawafel, and the deal was struck with the show?s resident food expert, Boston Pizza mogul Jim Treliving.
?The overall experience was incredible. Jim Treliving hopped off his chair three times to come help us out with the cart, and he was so enthusiastic. The other Dragons loved the product and loved our presentation.?
In the weeks following the appearance in September 2010 Marchand received more than 4,000 emails, some asking for franchising information. He did not want to lose the momentum that built from the appearance on the show while waiting for the deal to clear the due diligence stage, so an agreement was reached and Marchand found himself in control again.
It?s worked out so far: 11 carts have been built and 10 franchisees are located across Canada, including a Wannawafel store slated to open in Grande Prairie, Alberta, in December 2011. ?
