Original subtitles

15 years, five chairs,

a lift and some stairs, 18 Dragons.

CHEERING

I'm going to make you an offer.

It's all right them making you offers, but I'm the only one that

can make this an overnight success.

£22 million pledged.

Thank you so...much!

We've trawled our vaults to bring you our favourite clips

from the past...

You would make my foot itch, mate.

..and present... Howay! Shut it. Listen.

..and pick some of the most memorable classic pitches

to show you in full.

Historic losses last year! Stop shouting.

Have you ever met someone who's got that ambition that he wants

to be free from life and be a billionaire?

What?!

The big sales... Thank you!

..and the total fails. Did you come in here looking

for a fight?

Tonight... We present to you...

..the pork scratching.

..it's all about passion...

There's a lot to it, Peter?

Just calm down a bit. ..and pressure.

If you don't get investment, you're going to go bust.

The entrepreneurs who gave it their all...

Come on!

..and the ones who found it all too much.

I am so sorry, but I am going to pass out.

Are you kidding me? Is this actually happening?

Sorry, please, can I start again?

It's only the best ever pitches seen on Dragons' Den.

Yes! Brilliant.

This little piggy has gone to market.

The Den is synonymous with two things -

passion...

It's my everything. It's my baby.

..and pressure.

This is tough, isn't it? Sorry.

Entrepreneurs throw everything they've got into their business,

then bring it to the Den where it can all be pulled to pieces.

Absolutely bricking it.

You know when you've got passion for something, it involves emotion.

Some blow their chance... I've not come here, I've not prepared,

I've not done the evidence, I've not done the research to come here

and be shot down on information from day one.

..while others blossom like roses.

I think you pitched very, very well.

Probably one of the best pitches I've seen in the Den.

Two entrepreneurs who are absolutely fizzing with enthusiasm...

Oh, my gosh!

.were Danielle Barnett and David Holmes...

Hello, Dragons.

It is an absolute pleasure to meet you.

..with a fibre-optic guitar lead thingy.

What do you like to try? Go for it.

I don't play guitar at all, but I'm going to be the... OK.

Thanks for volunteering, Touker!

Now, whatever you do, try not to be shy.

PLAYS LOUD RIFF

Don't go crazy, girls!

Woohoo!

Fantastic! Born rock star.

It looked like Touker wasn't the only one

with natural musical talent.

I'm the lead singer.

I have been for 16 years, for a song that was number one in 1993, called

The Key The Secret, Urban Cookie Collective.

So... How does it go?

# I got the key

# I got the secret... # Wow! Do you remember that?

What a tune!

But when this pair came clean about their lack of product,

it all went a bit Pete Tong.

We've had two working prototypes.

If it gets lost, if it gets broken, we're down to one.

We haven't had the money.

We've just had the passion and the belief.

It strikes me that the single most useful bit of marketing

that you could do is to get this cable into the hands of the top

guitarists in the world.

We've used our prototypes to get it into the hands of... You know,

Coldplay have used our prototype on their new album.

But you've only got two.

We've got just two. I know, it's ironic.

Then, for God's sake, make 100 of them and get more prototypes

in the hands of more people.

Now, it also strikes me that you're probably in a better

position to do that than I am... Yeah.

..so I'm out.

Three more Dragons followed suit, leaving just retail and guitar hero

Touker Suleyman.

Am I the last one? You're the last Dragon. I'm the last Dragon?

Oh, you've got so much energy, so much enthusiasm.

I tell you what. Um...

..I'm very willing to make you an offer.

Bless your heart, Touker.

I will give you the 70,000...

..for 35% of the business.

Do you know what?

We'll do that. We'll do it. We'll do that.

Thank you so...much!

OK. Thank you very much. Well done.

The entrepreneurs got the key...

..and the secret to success.

Wow!

Bless Touker for giving us a chance,

cos that's what we need, is a chance. Yeah.

Here we go.

Here's a pair of confident young men with plenty to say for themselves.

We have the value of being amazing, so in everything that we do,

we try and make sure we're the absolute best at it.

Going to tame you, going to tame you, going to tame you,

going to tame you, going to tame you.

A new take on a classic pub snack was what Nick Coleman

and Andrew Allen offered, complete with a tasty pun.

It's time for our PIG reveal. We present to you...

DRUM ROLL

..the pork scratching.

We set out two years ago to take this little piggy

to markets he's never been before.

There was an unfortunate bad taste in the mouth of Sarah Willingham.

Nick, Andy, you guys are so backable, but pork scratchings

make me gag, so I'm really sorry,

I can't. I'm not going to invest. I'm out.

The porky pair put Sarah's taste buds to one side and didn't

let the setback dent their optimism about their forecasts.

We fully expect £6.9 million turnover with a £630,000 net profit

within the next three years.

We really believe in where this product's going to go.

Together, let's make the piggin' magic happen.

Nick Jenkins had already taken one very big piggy to market

with his Moonpig greetings card business,

and once the chilli-flavoured pork scratchings worked

their powerful magic...

Oh, my God! OK, OK, water!

LAUGHTER

..he saved the pair's bacon.

Wow. OK, now, you know, obviously I...

HE CLEARS THROAT

..have a natural preference

for all things porcine.

Look, I'm going to make you an offer.

The Dragon added the business to his PORK-folio.

Do you see what I did? Brilliant.

It's a deal. Yes! Yes!

That's brilliant, thank you. Yes!

Two chuffed little piglets.

LAUGHTER

This little piggy has gone to market.

Wow. You do like pigs, don't you?

Our next entrepreneur was a former boxer who certainly

showed his passion when he went ten rounds with the Dragons.

This is worth a watch from the first bell to the last.

Waiting ringside is Mr Evan Davis.

Personality can go a long way to opening doors in business,

but it can't guarantee success.

Our next entrepreneur has plenty of personality.

He's former professional boxer turned inventor Clay O'Shea.

So, has he got the product to make a great business?

Hi, Dragons.

It's not real, I promise you.

Hi, my name's Clay O'Shea, and I'm here for a £50,000 investment

for a 25% share in my invention, Abspack.

Now, Dragons, I don't come here... I've not got the best business

brain, but what I do feel is that I'm a decent inventor

and I've come up with a really good idea.

And with my beautiful idea

and your beautiful brains, I feel that

there's no reason why Abspack can't become the best bit of kit

in the UK, maybe even the world.

Abspack is simple. It's so simple,

you wouldn't even know I've got it on.

So, look, here you have a normal spine.

This is quite impressive coming from me, right?

It's called a lumbar spine, that.

It's the natural curve in your spine.

Most sit-ups are done with a flat back.

That puts stress on your lumbar spine,

degenerates your lower discs and wears out your facet joints.

Abspack fits perfectly into that curve.

So now I'm going to give you a little demonstration on how not

to do sit-ups.

How many times in the gym do you see the old neck moving?

That's not a sit-up. That's a neck-up.

"Agh, my back's gone! My neck's gone!"

So now, look at this.

I'm om a perfect... I can sit and watch TV like that.

The only thing that's moving on me now is my abs.

There's loads of exercises that I've made. There, it's just my abs.

This here, my neck's not moving, just my abs.

No chance of any trouble.

Now, once you do Abspack, you'll never turn back.

Please, help me.

A passionate plea ends this whirlwind pitch

from North Londoner Clay O'Shea.

He needs a £50,000 investment in his portable muscle-building

device and is offering 25% of his company.

Theo Paphitis just looks bemused.

OK, we all understand now what it does.

What do YOU do?

Um...

Well, I run a small gym over in Notting Hill.

Do you make a living out of the gym? Yeah.

I keep it small, I don't advertise. With mine, you only get in if you

know someone. You know, like Fight Club.

You don't talk about Fight Club.

THEY LAUGH

I've got a great life. No matter what, I feel privileged, you know?

Talk me through your history, Clay. How old are you?

45.

What have you been doing for the last 45 years?

I used to be a professional fighter.

I used to be a pro boxer.

Till what age? I retired quite early, about 29.

I was managed by Mancini and Mickey Duff.

I was the second best boxer in Great Britain.

I had over 100 fights, and I came second in every one.

THEY LAUGH

Charming the Dragons is a good start,

but now Duncan Bannatyne wants to get down to business.

What does it cost to make an Abspack?

£3.25.

OK. What would you sell it for? £19.99.

Apart from the fact that you can strap it on, and you've got

it on all the time,

what's the advantage to that as against using a rolled-up towel?

That's like between using a skateboard and a car.

If you're getting the towel, you've got to roll it up,

and the thing about a towel, after a few sit-ups, it loses shape.

This will never lose shape. Can you pass it to me? Yeah.

Fits all sizes.

So, what's in it? Foam. Foam? Foam rubber, yeah.

What patents have you got?

OK. There's no patent.

All I've got is a trademark.

Sort of kills it, really. I don't agree.

I know what you're going to say - anybody can copy it, right?

Yeah. But if you're telling me, if anybody can copy it... Yeah.

..you're saying to me this is a decent product.

That's the way I see it.

Secondly, what are you going to call it?

Absbelt? That's already taken by another company that's doing

completely something different. Ab Strengthener. Ab Str...?

There's so many names you could call it.

Abspack!

Come on!

Clay's belief in his invention is clear, but is it misguided?

Deborah Meaden wants to know.

Clay, when it boils down to it, you have no protection on this,

so the only thing that you're really selling

is the name.

You're asking for an investor to value this name at £200,000.

It's a great name.

Clay, I know you're hanging off Abspack, OK,

because you do love it,

but honestly, Absbelt, lots of different variants.

I do think it's so easily copied,

and I can't see how you could make

a lot of money out of this.

Can I tell you who I'm talking to at the moment?

I'm in early talks with the MOD, for the Army boys.

They have tonnes of stuff flown out to them.

Abspack goes on their kit.

Tell you what, that in camouflage...

HE EXHALES

Mustard.

Then...

No. Hear me out.

Army boys. You imagine it.

They can get down any time.

Clay, it's been a great experience.

It's been good to meet you.

So you're out, then, yeah?

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to say I'm out.

It's the first taste of reality for Clay as he loses his first Dragon,

and it doesn't look like Theo Paphitis is about to let him

off the hook either.

If this got on the shelves, I'd buy one. As you say, just strap it on,

no messing around, not doing my neck in.

It's probably good.

The problem is, how do you make money from it?

Sell lots of them.

I think that we can sell 20 million of them worldwide.

Could we? And Reebok wouldn't want to sell their version?

Adidas wouldn't sell their version? Nike sell their version?

And call it what? The market...

I don't have to tell you how big the market is.

Abspack's the original and the best.

Abspack!

Look, I hear what you're saying.

Problem is, I don't think you would sell enough

of these to get my £50,000 back.

And for that reason, Clay, keep fighting,

but unfortunately, I'm out.

DEBORAH: Clay, you've done the classic entrepreneurial thing,

which is come up with a problem, come up with a solution.

So far, textbook. Brilliant.

But it could be copied faster than we could physically get

it onto the shelves.

So I won't be investing, I'm afraid.

Thank you. I'm out.

Two more Dragons out, and Clay's confidence is ebbing away.

Duncan Bannatyne knows this market well.

Has he seen something that his rivals have not?

Clay, we sometimes sell things like this in our health clubs,

be it would be a £5.99 product.

I mean, it's not a £19.99 product.

But even if it was, you can't protect it.

You know, there's no way you can protect it.

So, for that reason... Don't you think the market's big enough?

No.

So, reluctantly, Clay, I'm sorry, but I'm out.

Thanks for the opportunity.

I think you've heard it all, and I don't really think there's

any point in reiterating it.

There's just no investment opportunity here.

Yeah, I... I know, and I can see how passionate you are...

No, I appreciate... Listen, I...

..but I've got to be honest with you,

I've got to tell you the truth,

and I think you've just got to be a bit more innovative and think

of something else and then come back next year.

So I've got to say, I'm out.

But good luck.

CLAY SIGHS

It's hard to take, but the cruel reality of it is, I'm hearing you.

I've got to take that on the chin. Cheers. Thank you. Take care.

God bless. Thanks. It's been emotional.

When it comes to Dens, they don't come more serious

than this one.

I'd worry that it's all fur coat and no knickers.

Well, maybe not always, but it is a place

of life-changing decisions.

I don't know what to do.

In this charged environment,

some entrepreneurs feel the heat...

No pressure. Yes, no pressure.

..whilst others keep their cool.

Just got to fake it till you make it.

Are you being serious? I am not joking.

One entrepreneur who seriously kept his head when the pressure

was applied was Damien Zannetou.

Damien's concept was multifaceted, to say the least.

I've combined the hair and beauty salon, spa and clinic experience

all under one roof. I'm targeting the premium end of the market,

but it's positioned on the high street, designed for those customers

that want more treatments, less time, with a high-fashion

and a celebrity focus.

And I'm sure you have plenty of questions.

Thank you.

Peter Jones asked a detailed question.

What on earth is this business?

As I said earlier, it's a combination of the salon,

spa, clinic experience.

What's a salon, bar, clinic experience? A beauty salon.

So why wouldn't somebody just set this up and do it themselves?

Why do they need you?

I think what you're missing is the USP,

which is the product line.

It would take them years of research... They don't need...

They haven't got their own product line. If you'll just allow me

to finish. It's really badly put together. You're asking me a

question but you're not allowing me to finish the answer.

No, I don't, because I've heard what I wanted to hear... OK.

..and now I'm going to talk over you. They don't have their own

product line. They don't have their own product line because you're

giving them a product line? Correct.

Well, why would I sell YOUR product line that, actually, nobody knows,

over putting in my salon brands that everybody understands and knows

and wants to buy?

Well, I think that's the key, is to expand the business

through franchising and to make it a brand that everyone is aware of.

In the skincare market,

we are actually known because we won an award in 2014

for a very prestigious event.

Damien may not have left with any cash, but his unshakability

under fire meant he did at least depart with his head held high.

Thinking not outside the box but actually inside it

was Stuart Archbold and Andrew Leslie,

who had a cool concept, literally!

Shopbox is a secure, multi-temperature drop box

that has a freezer, a chiller and an ambient storage area, secured

outside of the home.

The amount of hummus I could cram in that!

Duncan Bannatyne might have been thinking the same thing,

but he had another query.

How much have you spent in this business already?

In total, it's coming... It's over 900,000. Somewhere between 900,000

and a million. I don't want to sound rude,

Stuart, but you've spent £900,000

and it doesn't look all that much difference to a wheelie bin.

I feel quite insulted. It's not like a wheelie bin at all.

If that's got you feeling insulted, strap yourself in.

Duncan's not finished yet.

Other people would design another

box that people can put groceries into.

With multi-temperature, we have a concept patent.

Patented. You can't possibly have a patent...

I absolutely have a patent. Yes, and I...

No, let me finish, no, let me finish, please.

That concept is patented.

As if Duncan's going to be wrong about something like that!

Although Peter had spotted something in their paperwork which enabled him

to carry out his favourite pastime... Uh, Peter?

..proving Duncan wrong...

He has got what he said. No. He has got a patent,

which has changed my complete look of this.

..which led to an unusually generous offer.

You're asking for £250,000.

Yep.

Tell me, what percentage of equity would you give away today

for £1 million investment?

£1 million would make anyone sweat,

but Stuart's as cool as one of his boxes.

Turns out he's got options.

There are other seriously interested investors.

And what equity do they want for their 200,000?

Well, that is something I'm negotiating with them.

How much is it they've got to at the moment?

I'm not prepared to say at this stage.

Why?

Because they're private negotiations with them.

But you're trying to do something with me. We are,

and it wouldn't be in our interests to embarrass you, but...

Well, exactly, so I need to know what you've agreed with them.

I can't say at this at this stage.

That left the atmosphere in the Den

cold enough to safely store a week's worth of feta...

..and meant Stuart and Andrew went home

without that million-pound deal.

Our next entrepreneurs were also faced with a dilemma when they came

into the Den.

It's a nail-biting pitch and worth a view from the start.

Bring the noise, Evan!

Next on the bill are a husband and wife team who are also hoping

to make a big first impression with the Dragons.

HORN HONKS

Imagine if you can take, you know, two electrical wires,

then you touch, it sparks. Zzzzz!

It's all the time in here, in here, all the time.

He's got so much passion and energy, and sometimes

I have to tell him, calm.

Ready? Yes.

She brings me back down to the Earth.

Rupesh Thomas, from Kerala in India, and his Parisian wife Alex have made

sure their tuk-tuk and their business

both have room for a Dragon or two.

Ready? Yeah.

Hello, Dragons.

My name is Rupesh and I am the founder of Tuk Tuk Chai.

Hello, Dragons. My name is Alex and I am the co-founder of Tuk Tuk Chai,

and also Rupesh's wife.

Today we are here to pitch for a £100,000 investment

in return for 5% equity.

Coffee drinkers can pick up a variety

of ready-to-drink iced coffees from supermarket shelves.

Yet, when it comes to tea drinkers, the only option they have is

iced tea that does not even contain any milk.

But not any more. With our chai, they can, as it's the first

ready-to-drink tea with milk,

and we are the pioneers who have invented and created

the concept for iced milk tea.

We import black tea leaves from Kerala, where I'm originally

from, and we brew it in large quantities in a factory to get

the authentic taste of chai.

At the moment, the brewing and the filtering is manual,

so we need to install a machine into the factory, which is why

we are here.

After a soft launch last year in March, we were listed

into Harvey Nichols and, most importantly, got a listing

nationally with Sainsbury's.

So this is our journey so far, and we invite you Dragons to hop

on board with us and take Tuk Tuk Chai to another level together.

Thank you.

Hoping to fly with their chai are Rupesh and Alex Thomas.

Thank you. Thank you. Whoa. Enjoy.

They're aiming to prise £100,000 pounds out of a Dragon

in return for a 5% equity stake in their ready-to-drink

iced milk tea company.

And their three-wheeler has already taken Deborah Meaden on a journey

down memory lane.

I spent many an hour backpacking around India in a tuk-tuk that

looked nothing like that.

That is the smartest-looking tuk-tuk I've ever seen.

Thank you. Anyway, what's your background?

I come from nothing, basically.

I came from India 16 years ago, just £600 in my hand,

and came with a pocketful of dreams, and the dreams get bigger,

the hope, the ambition gets bigger. Good.

So, yeah, here we are, in front of great people.

So, you know, that's a journey in itself.

Investment or not, this is a journey.

So far, it sounds like a great story.

How does that translate into numbers?

So, this year, the first year, we project our turnover

to be more than 105,762.

What's your gross margin?

For the first year, it's negative.

Why?

Because it cost us... We'll make a loss on each unit sold.

Oh, I wasn't expecting to stumble across that so early!

I started all happy, talking about the blinkin' tuk-tuk.

Can you explain the cost price and the loss

that you're making on this?

How much are you selling that into Sainsbury's for?

Sainsbury's specifically told us we are not allowed to talk

about our cost price.

You do understand that we're investors? I know.

So you have got to reveal your cost price.

You've got to! I know, Deborah.

Hey, I don't know why they have said we cannot reveal that.

I mean, that... I am...

I wasn't expecting to get stuck on this quite so quickly.

I'm so sorry, it's not...it's not because I don't want to, honestly.

What are you doing here? How can you possibly start...?

What does it sell for? Touker! Touker, I'm having a conversation.

Whoa. I want to know nothing else but what the cost price is.

We could actually lose our contract, which would mean

the business close down.

It's not a risk that we can take. This will be the quickest pitch.

It could be the quickest pitch. This is lunacy.

I've never heard in my life of a supplier being able to control

the destiny of a business.

They're not on your board. They don't run your company.

They don't own your business. This is your life and your chance.

Can I suggest you go to the back of the room and have a conversation

with your wife, and you decide, when you come back,

whether you want to talk properly about this business?

Otherwise, you're going to be on your tuk-tuk,

back in the lift, very quickly.

Yes, of course.

RUPESH EXHALES

What do we do?

I think...

This is a big risk.

Can they cut us because of that?

Rupesh, can they cut us?

They haven't said they will cut us. They've put it in bold.

I feel like, at the minute, I get just factory.

But...

What do we do? You call.

I'll go with what you say.

So, Rupesh and Alex, have you made a decision?

Yes.

A big risk, but she's...

I go by what her gut call is.

Yeah, say...£1.

Sorry, what's that? £1...?

We sell to Sainsbury's.

And it costs you how much to make?

£1.03.

Rupesh, we got there.

I know.

EVAN: The duo decide to risk their deal with a major supermarket

by revealing all in the Den.

But will their startling admission to losing 3p on every unit

of their product backfire with the Dragons?

Rupesh, you're the first person that I've ever seen go into retail

selling a product cheaper than it's costing you to make.

Why did you do that?

Because the time it took to perfect that recipe,

because we could take short cuts to use flavourings, use extracts,

but it's not the real thing.

So the development process took us two years to develop.

But Rupesh, look, I mean...

..in business, you take risk... Yeah. ..but you don't gamble.

So what you're doing is gambling.

Right now, if you don't get investment, you're going to go bust.

A damning assessment of the pair's pricing strategy from Tej Lalvani.

And retail expert Touker Suleyman is next to take

up the baton.

Assuming that you're lucky today and you get a Dragon to invest

in you, and you install the new machine, what will it cost you then?

Once the machine goes in, per unit, it'll be 55p,

but it takes about six months to get it installed.

So, how much will you lose in the next six months

before the machine is installed?

£11,000.

So you've come into the Den, you're valuing the business at

£2 million, you might install a machine - please, God - when you've

got the investment in six months' time.

In the meantime, for every product you're selling,

you'll still lose money.

I think all I can help you is just keeping my hands in my pocket,

because you're going to need more and more and more money.

So, unfortunately, I'm not going to invest on your journey

and I'm out.

It looks like the entrepreneurs' risky loss-making revelation isn't

paying off, as Touker Suleyman bows out.

But after a feisty opening exchange, is Deborah Meaden warming

to the iced milk product?

The good news is it's really nice.

Thank you. I really like it. Thank you, Deborah. And I completely

disagree with Tej.

I like your strategy. TEJ: I don't know how many businesses succeed

at retail that way. Well, I'm not asking what you think. When I

advise, and I have advised people to do exactly that thing, which is,

you know you can sell at a pound, sell it, prove it,

and the next run, we make our money. I've got absolutely no issues.

So, I like that thinking.

And I really, really like you guys.

I really like you guys, because you've got an awful

lot of stuff right.

There is a but.

For me, the biggest issue is that you're going

to have to raise more funds.

You're trying to enter a new market, which means you're going

to have to do a lot of promotions, and that's what starts

driving your margin down.

So you're not at the stage in the business where I personally

would feel confident enough to back it,

so I won't be investing.

I'm out.

Deborah Meaden rates the product but not its prospects,

and ends her interest.

Jenny Campbell has been sitting quietly.

Does the banking queen buy into the chai business?

The product is lovely, yeah?

But, for me, your journey is too long to success,

and that's too much risk for me to think about putting

£100,000 into a business for only 5%.

I wish you all the best, and I'm out.

TEJ: I love your enthusiasm, both of you. It's fantastic.

And it's really important to have dreams, and you've got

this amazing drive that you really want to make it.

And I actually love the name Tuk Tuk Chai.

It's very, very catchy.

She came up with it. It's brilliant, really, really good,

and I would love to work with you guys.

But I have one concern...

..and that's the high sugar content.

This includes natural sugar as well from the milk, because milk has got

natural sugar in it,

so that's why also it's a tiny bit high.

The taste is nice, but I feel that, today's market, people want

something less sugar, more healthier,

so I'm going to say...

..I'm out.

Tej Lalvani decides the chai offering isn't his cup of tea.

The tuk-tuk business is stalling, and only Peter Jones remains.

He's already sent the entrepreneurs to the wall once.

Has he seen anything to warrant a second visit?

I tasted this and I was shocked.

Good, bad?

Really good.

Thank you! Oh, thank you, Peter!

It's really, really good.

However...

..you're going to need a lot of money to have a chance of this brand

even making it. We need capital, yes.

And I'm really... I'm very concerned for you.

And whilst it would be lovely to be part of that journey,

I have to go with my business head.

So, Rupesh, Alex, it's been wonderful to meet you,

I think you've been fantastic,

and that's one of the reasons why I'm going to make you an offer.

Thank you, Peter!

That's just lovely to hear.

And I'm going to make you an offer for all of the money,

£100,000...

..but I want 33-and-a-third percent of the company.

Do you want to have a...chat at the back? The chat. The chat. Thank you.

WHISPERS: I think we should go for it.

I think we should go for it.

Having arrived in the UK with 600 quid in his pocket, Rupesh now

has an offer of £100,000 to consider with his wife Alex.

THEY WHISPER

If he can do for us... What he did for... But we don't know that.

But Peter Jones' audacious demand of a third of their company

in return is nearly seven times the 5% equity stake

that the pair are offering.

It's a big chunk.

I know. Massive. I know.

Will they accept an equal partner or decline the deal?

Well, she's made me do this.

All right, Peter, fine. Let's do it.

You're going to do it? Wahey! Let's do it.

Well done. Well done. Really pleased.

The entrepreneurs accept Peter Jones' terms and get

the £100,000 they were seeking,

and they leave the Den as a tuk-tuk trio.

Do you want to drive it away?

It's not in gear.

Well, almost!

Got the Dragon we wanted.

It's 11 out of 10, you can't get any better than that, right?

That's it. Ah, it's in gear now.

Whoa! I hope our business will go better

than the way we're driving this.

THEY LAUGH

Yeah, we hope so, too!

Bye!

Oh, God!

Are we in?

RUPESH: I definitely need to give him some course

on the tuk-tuk driving, for sure. That will be very strict.

I'll be the Tuk-Tuk Dragon then.

Right... That's one Dragon down. One Dragon... Let's take his chair away.

Yeah. And then there were four.

Actually, I quite miss Peter.

PETER: Right, next stop, Sainsbury's.

OK, stop it! Brake, brake, brake!

CRASH

The Den is a pressure cooker environment.

My...

We, er... We...

..and like in a pressure cooker, you can sometimes get in a stew.

I'm so sorry. Forgive me.

Some people buckle under questioning,

but when Georgia Hewitt came in with her gifting website

for kids' presents, she managed to buckle before a single question

had even been asked.

The website treats children to an online experience, empowering

them to create their very own webpage,

cut in themselves... Oh, sorry!

Um...

OK. So, there's 5,000 toys and games that children can choose from.

Oh...God...

Children can choose from... Oh! I'm sorry.

Please, can I start again?

I'm sorry.

You're doing OK. Carry on. Am I?

You're doing OK.

Tell us.

Basically, I've got around 2,500 supply...

Um, 20... 25 suppliers.

Um... Oh I'm sorry.

I can't. I'm sorry. I've completely lost it.

Peter Jones managed to put his finger on what had gone wrong...

Your presentation was appalling. ..but decided to invest anyway...

Well done.

..so he obviously forgave her.

The enormity of what he was about to experience wasn't lost on

our next on-edge entrepreneur, Faheem Badur.

WHISPERS: This is the moment of our lives.

The moment of truth.

Faheem had a glorious yet complex business involving wholesale food,

a range of hot sauces, a restaurant franchise, and...

Ah, well, I'll let Faheem tell you.

Direct Wholesale was established in 2010 with the main aim

of supplying restaurants and food service sector

with my own blend of products.

In 2012, we decided to get a bit adventurous and we created Perio's,

which is a fast, casual restaurant concept based on food with flavours

from all over the world.

A lot to take on board there.

But despite all that information, Faheem managed to leave out

an important detail.

What are you asking for? Oh!

you forgot the most important part of your pitch. Yes, yes.

You don't want any money and you don't want any percentage.

I just want you guys on board,

that's all I want!

LAUGHTER

OK, 25,000 for 50%.

Touker, you can have anything you want, you've got...

You've got the same style!

While Faheem laid on the charm like a helping of hot sauce,

Nick Jenkins had come up with a theory about his rapid-fire pitch.

You spoke very quickly in that presentation,

and I have this feeling that the reason you spoke quickly

is because you were thinking, "The longer I speak, the cooler

"these food samples are going to get. I need to think incredibly quickly!"

Nick, that's absolutely correct. Apart from the fact I was really nervous, I tried to hide it.

Oh, Faheem, you should know better than to try and hide anything

from the Dragons,

who found his brand name rather hard to digest.

Is Perio a person?

Perio's is a brand we actually created and which wanted

to represent the world flavours. OK, but what does it mean?

If you had told me a story about Perio, who was a chap who had a

great-great-great-grandfather who was Indian and another one who's

Portuguese, another one is Mexican, very multicultural family,

and they would all sit down for this multicultural breakfast

and this is what he wanted to recreate in his restaurant...

That is a good story! That's the story...

Just helping you out with a brand story here. Are you kidding me?

Is this actually happening?

This is a mishmash of... It's not actually a mishmash, because

mishmash, people would not come in, we'd not have customers coming

in... Fine... Hang on, Touker, I haven't finished yet. Save me!

No-one did save Faheem,

as the Dragons all said "adios" to Perio's.

25-year-old Belgian entrepreneur Corien Staels caused high drama

in the Den when she came in to pitch her air-conditioning

cushions for wheelchairs.

The unit basically sucks air in at the bottom, pushes

that up and then gently pushes it out on your back, creating

a gentle feeling of cooling.

The wheelchair wonder got compliments from the Den's

manufacturing mogul.

Very, very cleverly designed, simple product.

But when Peter Jones got involved, Corien started to feel the heat.

What's your forecast, your three-year forecast?

Three-year forecast, total, is, um...

Um...

It'll be about 2.5 million, I guess, turnover.

And how many products would that be? Um, that is...

I've got it all written down exactly, but it'll be...

Would you like to see the sheet that has all the...? No, no,

I just want you to tell me.

What will be your gross margin?

Um...

Gross margin of that, um...

I don't know by heart. I think...

..300?

No. Um...

I'm sorry.

What's happened here? Is this pressure? Are you feeling pressure?

Yes, it's doing all the numbers, just, like, out of my head.

OK. We're at 300K... Mm-hm. ..and now valuation.

Where do you come to a valuation of half a million

where you sit today with a product that's not yet launched?

I am so sorry, but I am going to pass out.

I don't know what... Oh! I'm seeing only black.

There's some water here. Sit down.

Here you are. Do you want to...? Sit down here. Sit down here.

Get some water.

Thank you.

Ooh! I'm sorry. It's OK. I've got a cooling cushion on.

THEY LAUGH

Good answer.

With the help of a blast from her own cushion, Corien

was soon on the mend, and when she returned, managed to scoop

up a joint investment from Peter and Deborah.

And this time, when she left the Den, she WALKED out.

When our next entrepreneur, Ross Mendham, appeared back in 2013,

he also found the Dragons' questioning all too much.

We can watch this one from the top.

Hello, guys. I'm Ross Mendham,

managing director of Barenaked Foods.

When I was younger, I was always slightly overweight,

and as a kid I was bullied as a result. In my teenage years,

I suffered from body dysmorphia and it really got me down.

I did, however, decide to do something about it and I hit the gym

and eventually got a six pack and a chest

most men were envious of.

I had just started another low-carb diet and I was thinking,

"I really fancy pasta," but I couldn't eat it.

So, I started researching.

Is there an alternative?

Couldn't find anything,

so I thought, "Right, well, I'm going to do it myself",

and my company was born.

There are two products we're currently selling online

on our website.

One is Bare Naked Noodles.

One is Bare Naked Protein Noodles.

Both are under 30 calories.

They have no fat.

They're gluten-free.

They have no nasty ingredients either.

I really need a volunteer to help me for two minutes,

just to show you how quick and easy it is to prepare. I'll do it.

Yeah? Kelly, thank you very much.

What I'm going to do first is put some oil in the pan.

Simply... open the bag.

And drain the water.

When you said two minutes, how many minutes do you actually mean?

Um, I think... well, two minutes, I usually do this in two minutes.

Could you hurry up? Yes.

I think we're pretty much there, so another minute.

I'll get the plates out, ready.

Thank you very much, Kelly.

You've been a great help. Thank you.

Could you serve it now? Yes. Leave him alone!

What's the matter with you? Have some patience.

A nervy pitch from Ross Mendham from Norfolk.

He wants £60,000 in return for a 20% share of his business.

Having sampled Ross's noodles,

the Dragons want to discover more about their contents.

So I heard a lot about what it hasn't got in it. Yeah.

What has it got in it?

Right. It's got oatmeal flour, konjac flour...

..um, soya bean fibre...

..and calcium hydroxide.

You say they're gluten-free.

Yes.

But you say they've got oatmeal in them.

Is it a gluten-free... It's oatmeal flour.

Oatmeal flour's shown that it doesn't have gluten in,

but sometimes mimics gluten-like symptoms.

I think you're wrong, because I actually have a gluten allergy.

If I have normal oats,

my fingers will swell up.

Kelly Hoppen has thrown Ross's initial claims

about the contents of his noodles into doubt,

and Deborah Meaden is about to subject the ingredients

to further scrutiny.

I want to see this proof that says this is gluten-free.

ROSS SNIFFS

I'm going to explain that to you...

You probably need to, because at no point on that piece of paper

does that say this is gluten-free. No. Um...

It's not because, er...

The ingredients is cornflour and rice flour, not oatmeal flour.

So it's not gluten-free?

It is gluten-free.

Ross's confusion over the composition of his noodles

has riled some of the Dragons.

It falls to Piers Linney to defuse the situation.

Ross, I think everyone's gone off on a gluten tangent here.

Fair play to you... I completely understand why...

Why don't you let me carry on?

So fair play to you.

I can see the idea and you've got up and you've done it. OK.

I think that's your problem.

I think you've maybe nearly done it.

But you've got an idea. Can you get there? I don't know.

What's your 60,000 for?

Warehouse. Warehouse? Yeah.

That's not the best thing to start with.

Additional stock to cater for the increase in demand,

marketing and product development.

Well, I think you should put product development at the top.

Well, I've realised, I've learned today

that that's going to be the most important part of...

Way before your warehouse.

Well, yeah!

Ross is struggling to win the confidence of the Dragons,

but will news of a potential distribution deal

change the mood in the Den?

Currently, we have interest from two national high street retailers,

one with 800 stores, one with 600.

We are very close to signing a deal with them.

You have agreed a price to sell them?

Yes, £1.33, and it costs us to make, 41p.

So you make approximately 85-90p per packet. Yes.

To this company. Yeah.

And they're going to take how many from you a month?

8,000. OK. And how much profit would that make you in a month?

That will make me...

You'll have to forgive me, maths wasn't my strong point at school.

I'm starting to realise that.

Yeah!

Ross's tenuous grasp of his numbers has frustrated his audience

and Deborah Meaden has heard enough.

Ross, I've got to tell you,

this is a very disappointing presentation from you.

I don't think you know enough about this product

to make the claims that are sitting on the front of this packaging,

and you need to be very careful about that.

So I won't be investing in you, and I'm out.

Thank you, Deborah.

A blow for the young entrepreneur

as a first Dragon walks away from the chance to invest.

Will Kelly Hoppen prove any more forgiving?

Problem is, the texture wasn't great.

It really kind of disturbed me, the way it tasted.

Now, what you said to Deborah was that it isn't oatmeal.

It's actually corn and rice, which is gluten-free.

But why have you got oat, then, on the packet?

You don't know your product well enough. I agree 100%.

So for that reason, I'm out.

With two Dragons now having bowed out,

Ross's chances of securing the healthy £60,000 investment

he came for are looking slim.

Duncan Bannatyne wants to find out more

about the man behind the noodle.

At the moment, how are you funding your lifestyle?

I have a fantastic wife who, um... sorry...

Sorry.

Refresh and come back. Sorry.

Take your time.

ROSS SNIFFS

He should come back,

or he's going to kick himself if he doesn't finish this.

He'll come back.

I do apologise.

No problem.

So obviously, this is something that's very emotional for you.

But I want to go back to the question

of how you fund your lifestyle.

You were talking about your wife. Yeah.

She supports both of us while I'm getting the business off the ground.

She's working to do that? Yes. Full time? Yes.

OK. Unfortunately, she had our third miscarriage before I came.

All right.

Sorry to hear that, Ross.

HE SOBS

You know, it can only get better, Ross, it can only get better.

What we've just heard,

it's, as we can see, emotionally heart-wrenching.

And it's great that you're here, but you're not here for sympathy.

I agree. You're here to get an investment in a business

that you were supposed to demonstrate had a future.

I know. What you've presented today, frankly, tastes like baby food.

I know.

I think you've got a good brand.

I think Barenaked Foods is clever.

And that's why I'm going to make you an offer.

HE LAUGHS

And I'm going to offer you all of the money...

..for half of a business that we've yet to create, together.

I think you deserve a break.

And I think you're the kind of guy

that will make it, given an opportunity.

Sorry, it's...

I can't believe this. It's, um...

While recognising that his business needs plenty of work,

Peter Jones has spotted a spark of potential

in this young entrepreneur.

Now Duncan Bannatyne is ready to have his say.

I'm not going to make you an investment offer.

I'm going to make you two investment offers.

I'm going to offer you the same as Peter Jones offered you, £60,000,

for 50% of this business.

My second offer is £30,000 for 25% of the business,

which means to get my second offer,

you'd have to have another Dragon to match my offer.

Investments like this are about investing in people.

So I'll make you an offer as well.

I'm going to offer you the same as Duncan.

So that'd be 30,000 for 25% of the company.

I'll give you another offer - the full 60,000 for 50% of the company.

So just to complicate it further...

..I'm happy to work with Peter on that as well

if he was willing to split,

but that's up to Peter to decide on that.

Piers Linney has made a bid to align himself with Peter Jones.

But will he agree to share the deal?

It's normal that you would ask the Dragon, you know,

what they're going to bring to the party,

but I wouldn't mind asking Piers what he's going to bring.

Youth!

LAUGHTER

Good answer.

Some energy.

Let me answer the question seriously.

So I'm on a trajectory,

a slightly different place, maybe, in my career

and the development of my business,

so I can probably understand where you are a bit more.

You'll find out very quickly that, you know,

I will help you get to where you deserve to be.

Would you... would you go into business with Piers?

The offer...

..is for 60,000, and I'm not willing to share it with another Dragon.

That's fine.

I'd like to accept your offer,

Peter, for £60,000 in return for half of my company.

Well done, well done.

Thank you.

LAUGHTER

Thank you very much. Thank you. Are you feeling all right?

Um... Don't faint on us.

No, I'm not going to faint on you.

Thank you very much.

Ross has done it.

Given his shaky start,

it's been a truly remarkable turnaround.

HE LAUGHS

Peter saw my resolve and Peter saw my determination

and with his investment, Barenaked Foods will be a worldwide brand

and it will be successful.

And I can't wait to be working with him.

Well, time to look back at a fascinating series.

That was horrifying.

But what have we learned from our trip down memory lane

to the best pitches of Dragons' Den?

Can you hear me?

Yeah, baby!

Well, Dragons are gentle, sophisticated creatures.

You would make my butt itch, mate.

Ee by gum, I love you! They love working together.

Why don't you relax for a second?

Touker, you don't know what you're talking about.

You've just put a guy on the bloody edge here

and you've just completely been a sly little shit. Oh!

They give the occasional insight into their personal lives...

I don't know what traumatic experiences

you have had in the toilet,

but I just like to make it as quick as possible and out.

..suffer some serious ego denting...

David, do you know who I am?

Peter someone.

DUNCAN GUFFAWS

..and give musical marching orders.

# Go on, now, go

# Walk out that door... #

Well, if you put it like that...

Goodbye and thanks for watching.