Every other day we hear scores of stories about reality television shows and participants who have had good as well as bad days… Dragons’ Den, a very popular reality television series in the BBC, has attracted many curious glances towards what the contestants are up to. The Dragons’ Den features entrepreneurs who have ideas to sell, ideas that they dream to realize, and ideas that are creative, innovative and smart…
The Dragons? Smart business brains, a group of five, who have a world of experience in investing at the right enterprise or a venture that they think would hit the sky! Amidst these two groups, we find some entrepreneurs who pitch for what they feel is their road to success. Meet the shrewd business woman who sells her mother in law’s recipes to the world to keep her memories alive and earn her bread and butter too.
Carol Savage who owns the website www.mydish.co.uk appeared before the Dragons and pitched for £ 100,000 for a 10% stake in her company. Her website, popularly known as the Dragons’ Den recipe website started functioning in 2007 in an attempt to enable people to exchange recipes between friends and family.
Carol’s Experiences at Dragon Den
Carol pitched at Dragons’ Den with the hope of increasing Dragons’ Den recipe website’s popularity by expanding the web features and get support from the Dragons if her plan met with approval.
But her road to success was not a smooth ride. She had to go through a bumpy ride where she met with rejection from three Dragons. Even though she had practised her sales pitches, her courage melted away at the presentation site. Carol could not utter her name let alone deliver the pitches for Dragons’ Den recipe website initially. But she warmed up at Deborah’s support that made the whole experience worthwhile.
The Dragons’ Den Recipe Website
The Dragons’ Den recipe website struggled to get funds during the initial days of its inception. In an attempt to try her luck at Dragons’ Den, Carol pitched for her Dragons’ Den recipe website. Her pitching amount for Dragons’ Den recipe website was £ 100,000. Carol was so confident about her Dragons’ Den recipe website that she managed to impress Dragon Deborah and Theo who offered £ 100,000 for 15% share of her company, double of what she has expected as investment amount.
However, all the dragons were not as impressed as Deborah and Theo about Carol’s Dragons’ Den recipe website. James Caan quizzes Carol as to how she intends to increase the traffic of her Dragons’ Den recipe website to a stipulated 100,000 visitors per month. Carol confidently lays out her blue print for her Dragons’ Den recipe website. She takes help from companies with a strong community base to steer the traffic to her site. Her investment of £ 50,000 towards setting up her Dragons’ Den recipe website is surely showing signs of success already!
Under James Caan’s interrogation, Carol also waxes eloquent on her white labelling process that facilitates other companies to use her Dragons’ Den recipe website software and database. This is her successful method of revenue generation.
Carol now astonishes the Dragons by revealing that £ 600,000 has been donated by business associates, family and friends towards Dragons’ Den recipe website’s improvement. Her further revelation that only £ 150,000 remains of the fund, from which she spends £ 22,000 every month for her Dragons’ Den recipe website. These figures are extremely repulsive to Dragons James Caan, Duncan and Peter and all three of them opt out.
Deborah, the only woman out there and hitherto silent now responds by asking Carol about her future plans for Dragons’ Den recipe website. Carol talks about her partnership with Ocado through which users of the Dragons’ Den recipe website can order ingredients for her recipes. She has big plans to expand her Dragons’ Den recipe website in this area. Deborah now announces her offer of £ 100,000 for 15% stake of her Dragons’ Den recipe website. Theo too astonishes her by pitching the same amount in return for 15% stake in her company. But pledging fairness to the other investors of Dragons’ Den recipe website, she declines Theo’s offer. With her Dragons’ Den recipe website already tasting the fruits of success, Carol would have much to look forward to!
Post Dragons’ Den
As is the case with all successful participants of Dragons’ Den, Carol’s Dragons’ Den recipe website too had a huge increase in traffic with a touted 10,000 visitors a day. New sponsorship opportunities with Divine Chocolate, Coco Cola, Alpro and Twinnings prove the mettle of Dragons’ Den recipe website. A part of the profit by selling personalised calendars and cookbooks through her Dragons’ Den recipe website is sent to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
It’s been a rollercoaster ride for My Dish Team attending food festivals, visiting universities for promoting their cookies and asking them to join their Dragons’ Den recipe website to explore the recipe books, all out there to see and experiment!
Dragons’ Den recipe website employs eight staff members in all. Carol expects a turnover of £ 250,000 this year and double of that in the coming year. Carol’s idea of her Dragons’ Den recipe website to keep her mother in law’s recipes intact and to pass them on to generations of women who love cooking have been welcomed with open arms. With 10,000 recipes and still increasing Carol’s Dragons’ Den recipe website sure gives you some delectable recipes that you can try at home…
Carol Savage’s success is the success of her Dragons’ Den recipe website. It is the success of every entrepreneur out there who has dreams to sell. Every dream springs from a desire to attain the unattainable. Carol Savage was no different. Her dream was to immortalize her mother in law’s recipe. Her success lies in going ahead and planning for her dream to come true through her Dragons’ Den recipe website. Carol Savage is surely an inspiration to the millions of women out there to have dreams to sell.