THE two Scottish entrepreneurs behind an innovative travel pillow have seen a funding offer on the TV show Dragons’ Den withdrawn over a technicality.
But the decision seems unlikely to halt the upward trajectory of their business.
Michael Corrigan and David Kellock were offered a £65,000 convertible loan for their Trtl Pillow brand by retail entrepreneur Touker Suleyman during the filming of an episode of the popular television series. The offer would have seen Mr Suleyman take an initial 30 per cent stake in the business, which would reduce to 10 per cent after the loan was paid off.
However they were quickly told by production staff that the offer contravened the show’s rules, which dictate that the Dragons can only invest on straight cash for equity basis.
The episode featuring Mr Corrigan and Mr Kellock, which aired on Sunday night, was broadcast without showing the offer being made by Mr Suleyman.
But the publicity generated by their appearance has resulted in the business being inundated with enquiries, with calls coming in from two potential distributors and a spike in sales on Amazon in the UK and on the company’s own website.
Mr Corrigan, who launched the Trtl brand with Mr Kellock in 2013, said the experience of appearing on Dragons’ Den had been the “most intense, most incredible experience of my life”.
He said: “It’s been brilliant. There has been a lot of publicity in the last 12 hours since it aired. [There has been] a lot of interest from a couple of distribution channels and a lot of sales on our website and on Amazon.co.uk as well. That’s been very, very good.
“It was honestly the most intense, most incredible experience of my life actually doing the filming. Seeing it last night was quite nice as well.”
Mr Corrigan said Mr Suleyman’s interest ended “quite abruptly” after being told of the rules, and suggested the entrepreneur was not too happy about it. But he said there was no guarantee that the duo would have accepted the offer. He said: “It was something that was interesting. We didn’t really get a chance to negotiate it.
“I think we are quite lucky because we have got a very interesting pool of mentors around us and what I have taken from them is that, if in doubt, negotiate.”
Despite missing out on the deal, Mr Corrigan said the business has “really motored” since May.
The company, which is projected to turn over £550,000 in its current financial year, has recently launched Trtl on Amazon in France and Germany, building on its deals with the site in both the UK and the US.
Trtl will soon available through Argos in the UK, while deals to distribute the product in five airports in the US and five in Australia are also set to go live.
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