A DRAGONS’ Den participant has revealed how different the stars are off camera.
On the hit BBC programme, aspiring entrepreneurs have to pitch their brands to a panel of formidable business personalities.
Steven Bartlett, Touker Suleyman, Deborah Meaden, Sara Davies and Peter Jones make up the fierce panel on Dragon’s Den[/caption]
Dr Guy Sandelowsky (right) Shiv Sivakumar (left) wanted to secure investment for their pet food business[/caption]
They aim to secure a life-changing investment from the Dragons of industry.
Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Diary Of A CEO podcast host Steven Bartlett make up the panel.
This week saw Dr Guy Sandelowsky and Shiv Sivakumar try to secure investment for their startup pet food company, Omni Pet.
On the show they came under fire as the Dragons wanted to hear more about their business.
In particular, they admitted that Peter Jones gave them a tough grilling during filming.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun Online, Dr Guy Sandelowsky told us: “I thought we had prepared.
“But there were some questions. There was some willingness, especially from Peter Jones, which was going to a level where I was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe he’s giving us such a tough time.’”
“So, yeah, it was definitely intense, for sure.”
However, his business partner admitted that the prospect of going up against Deborah Meaden was the most nerve-wracking for him.
His partner Shiv Sivakumar admitted: “I felt like even though Peter Jones gave us a bit of a grilling, I was particularly a bit nervous about what Deborah Meaden was going to say.
“I have seen in the den … if she takes a negative approach to you, things can crumble really, really fast.
“But she’s very serious about it, and she can really rip into a business as well and their sustainability practices, etc. So it’s just like, you know, she checks everything.”
In the end, the pair managed to secure investment from Steven Bartlett and Deborah Meaden in a show first.
Together, they broke the record for the highest valuation for a pet business on Dragon’s Den.
Dragons’ Den stars – past and present
Dragons’ Den has been on our screens since 2005 and sees entrepreneurs enter the Den to try and win investment for their businesses from the Dragons.
Over the years there have been many wealthy investors sitting in the famous seats, here’s a rundown of them all and how long they were on the show for.
- Peter Jones – series 1 – present
- Deborah Meaden – series 3 – present
- Touker Suleyman – series 13 – present
- Sara Davies – series 17 – present
- Steven Bartlett – series 19 – present
- Duncan Bannatyne – series 1 – 12
- Rachel Elnaugh – series 1 and 2
- Doug Richard – series 1 and 2
- Simon Woodroffe – series 1
- Theo Paphitis – series 2 -10
- Richard Farleigh – series 3 and 4
- James Caan – series 5-8
- Hilary Devey – series 9 and 10
- Kelly Hoppen – series 11 and 12
- Piers Linney – series 11 and 12
- Nick Jenkins – series 13 and 14
- Sarah Willingham – series 13 and 14
- Jenny Campbell – series 15 and 16
- Tej Lalvani – series 15 – 18
- Emma Grede and Gary Neville were guest Dragons during series 21.
However, Dr Guy also admitted that the Dragons may appear serious in the den, but they are very different behind-the-scenes.
He told us: “We had such a really nice moment after the den.
“We went back into, sort of like the dressing room, and then they [Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett] came to sort of see us.
“Then we had this very lovely human movement where we would just hug, and they would just sort of talk to us, not as dragons or as investors, but really just as people, and just really checking on us see how we’re doing with the pressure of the den.
I was particularly a bit nervous about what Deborah Meaden was going to say.
Shiv Sivakumar
“They knew that we could get a bit of a grilling as well, and just sort of, like, calm our nerves down about that and everything, which is super nice. They didn’t have to do that.
“Like, you know, we’ve got the investment. Everything is done that they could have just moved on to the next pitch, etc. But they specifically came out and came to see us, which was just a really nice moment that’s not on TV, but the moment that we have with them, which is great.”
The pair also explained that both of their investors are really hands-on with the business after the show came to an end.
Dr Guy then stated: “There’s a question of, like, what happens afterwards? Like, you just get the deal, and then they’ve been really involved, we were really surprised.
Who is Dragon’s Den star Sara Davies?
Born: April 23, 1984 in Coundoun, County Durham.
Business start: Founded her craft supplier company, Crafter’s Companion, in 2005 whilst she was still at university.
Breakout product: She designed and marketed her ground-breaking product The Enveloper, selling over 8,000 in the first 24 of hours of the product being debuted on shopping channel Ideal World.
Net worth: Estimated at £37 million
Dragon’s Den: Sara became the show’s youngest ever female investor to join the panel when she joined in 2019, replacing Jenny Campbell for the seventeenth series.
Family history: Sara met husband Simon Davies when they were teenagers and they wed in 2007. They have two sons together – Oliver and Charlie.
Notable achievements: Sara received an MBE from Prince William in 2016, for services to the economy.
TV history: Sara appeared on Strictly Come Dancing in 2021, and was partnered with Aljaž Škorjanec, but the pair didn’t make it through to the final. She makes regular appearances on ITV panel show Loose Women and also starred in Ultimate Wedding Planner alongside Fred Sirieix and wedding industry expert Raj Somaiya.
“Like, we would send the emails, and then literally, Deborah would reply and say, ‘this is Deborah. I’m hijacking this person’s email, just by the way, because I want to reply to you myself’.”
He also explained that Steven has also been hands on in helping to get their business idea off the ground more.
The personality explained: “Just from us having got to know Steven since the filming and now, is that he’s just seen the most supportive dragon that we could ever hope for.
“[He’s] really getting stuck into how we can, you know, reach our customer in the best way our branding, like he’s really helping us how we might be able to make our branding cool enough.
They specifically came out and came to see us, which was just a really nice moment that’s not on TV
“In our experience of working with him, he’s been nothing but amazing and supportive.”
To which Shiv added: “They both been really responsive.
“Honestly, it was actually surprising to me how quickly we were able to meet them in real life after the show was filmed, and that all happened like really soon after.
Adding: “And yeah, they just, they seem to just really understand the dynamics of how they can help make your business successful.”
The pair managed to secure investment from Deborah and Steven[/caption]
Omni broke a show record as the pet company to receive the highest valuation[/caption]
Dr Guy reflected on how Peter Jones gave them a grilling[/caption]
Dr Guy Sandelowsky (left) Shiv Sivakumar (right) have received a lot of help from Deborah and Steven[/caption]
Dragon’s Den continues weekly on BBC One and is available to stream on iPlayer.
