This final episode of Ireland’s Dragons Den seen two investments made, some arguing between some of the dragons to claim investment opportunities, and Sarah not investing yet again. Here are the main pitches.

Takker – http://takker.com/

Key People: Damien McGrane

First into the Dragon’s Den tonight was Damien McGrane from Armagh with his product ‘Takker’, looking for €50,000 and offering 20% of his business. Takker is a device that assists tacks being put up in walls such as plaster board, wood or concrete, for hanging pictures etc.

The dragon’s asked questions surrounding Damien’s commitment to the product and Damien explained that it was his full time job… for the last month. Damien explained that the product was originally from Germany, but the company couldn’t go ahead with it and the product wasn’t patented because it ran out and wasn’t renewed.

The Dragon’s enquired about prices, it would be sold to the customer for €12.50 and it cost Damien €2.63 to make. After Damien explained that there was no similar product on the market. It was pointed out to Damien that the device was unuser-friendly and Niall enquired about a possible redesign, Damien pointed out that redesigning the product could be very expensive and seemed to not want to go ahead with redesigning.

All the dragon’s declared themselves out expect for Gavin, who even though trying out the device and came across as being quite negative towards the product, offered the full €50,000 but was seeking 45%, after some negotiating it was agreed on €50,000 for 42.5%. Deal made!

Wedding Runner - http://www.weddingrunner.ie

Key People: Alicia Grills Grant, Ann-Marie Hamill

Next into the den were two women Alicia Grills Grant and Ann-Marie Hamill with their business ‘Weddingrunner.ie’. A service offering couples who are getting married, a custom made rug for their aisle or place of service on their wedding day. On their web site there are several designs to chose from and personal details are added.

They were looking for €45,000 and offering 10% of their business. They explained that the business cannot be patented so they were wanting it to get to market as soon as possible. Everything was run through their website and it was manufactured in China keeping costs low, their only competitor was a company in America who were selling the item for $1,200 while theirs were €999.

Bobby made an offer for half of the money for 20% of the business hoping Niall would come in with the other half but Niall was not interested and felt it was too expensive for the market at the moment and declared himself out. All the dragon’s declared themselves out and the two enthusiastic girls left with nothing.

Floaters

Key People: John Boyle

John Boyle was the third entrepreneur into the Dragon’s den and came in with his product ‘Floaters’, floating shelves to hold light things such as plants and ornaments, giving the illusion of it ‘floating’ as it was held by white strings at the back. Also the shelf was a bright colour which would illuminate in sun shine.

John was looking for a €100,000 investment. The Dragons were quite negative about the product as they commented that the product was tacky and the colours were not in keeping with today’s style. Also John hit a nerve with Sarah when saying “even housewives could do it” and Sarah got into a right huff over this demeaning comment towards women. All dragons declared themselves out and John left with nothing.

Surf Seeds - http://www.surfseeds.com/

Key People: Tim Rooney

Tim Rooney was the last entrepreneur for this season’s Dragon’s Den with his product ‘Surfseeds’, a line of healthy snacks that contained mainly sunflower seeds, among others and they were accompanied by blueberries or possibly chocolate coated seeds, no artificial additives were in the product a all.

Tim was looking for €100,000 and offering 20% of his business. Tim gave some background info about himself and explained that he was originally a chef and he had been requested to research products and along the way he came up with Surfseeds.

Sean comes in and makes Tim an offer of €50,000 and for only 10% of the business, Bobby then came in with the rest of the money, offering €50,000 and also seeking just 10%. Tim was happy and looked to see if there was any other offers. Niall declared himself out and Gavin had already declared himself out. Sarah put in an offer of the full amount, €100,000, but was looking for 25% of the business. Tim was left with a difficult decision, both Sarah and Sean were explaining how they would bring the most to the business but Sarah’s patience ran out and after a few minutes, Tim choose to go with Sean and Bobby rather than Sarah as he felt Sarah would constantly be chasing him, Sarah’s loss a blessing for Tim I’m sure!. Deal done!

Sarah, please don’t come back if the show gets a second series

Here are the main pitches on Ireland’s Dragons Den – Episode 7.

Animatazz - http://www.animatazz.com/

Key People: Michael Connolly

First into the Dragon’s Den on this week’s episode is Michael Connolly from Kildare with his business ‘Animatazz’, a kit to teach children aged 8 years and up how to animate, making characters. The product is aimed at children as young as 8 yrs old but at that age they would need a little help from a parent or older sibling.

Michael was looking for €80,000 and offering 25% equity. Gavin first off, enquired about the potential market in schools and Michael agreed that there would be a market there, Gavin also enquired about the retail cost, Michael explained that it would retail at €25 and it cost €650 for 1000 units and as the product becomes more in demand the cost per unit would become even more cost effective.

Niall compliments Michael on the creativity on the product and felt that it should be in every toy store. Micheal commented that he is hoping to develop the product in order to make different kits for different age groups. Bobby comes in and states that he likes the product and enquires about the plan of Animatazz to be brought to market. Michael explained that initially it would be smaller shops like hobby shops and arts and crafts shops and bookshops, as well as toy shops. Sarah states she hates these type of kits as a mother (What does this woman like?), as it is a long term project and will often need more parent involvement than a child’s and declares herself out. Surprised? I think not.

Sean comes in and says he wouldn’t have enough expertise in this area and declared himself out. Gavin comes in and makes an offer of the full €80,000 but for 45% of Michael and not just a. Niall and Bobby both declare themselves out and Micheal asks for Gavin to explain what he will bring to the business and then finally accepts the offer. Success! but was he a bit impolite for Gavin Duffy?

Girls Night In (GNI) - http://www.girlsnightin.ie

Key People: Vera Wade

Vera Wade was the next to pitch her business in the Dragon’s Den with ‘Girls Night In’/ GNI, an idea of nights in that are catering for hen nights, sweet sixteens, pamper nights, salsa pole dancing etc etc… where ‘Girls Night In’ would have mini treatments, drinks, music, chocolate fountains and strawberries etc brought to the customers house and also offer GNI men as waiters.

Vera was looking for €50,000 and offering 15% of her business. The dragon’s enquired about the cost of these parties and Vera explained that it started off at €350 for roughly 6 ladies. Throughout the pitch it came across very clear that Vera was very passionate about her business and knew what she was talking about.

Sarah enquired about the sales over the last two years, Vera explained that in the first year there was €31,000 turnover with €7,000 net profit and in year two it would be €120,000 turnover with about €25,000 net profit. Sarah continued to enquire about what the €50,000 would go towards. Vera discussed that €35,000 would be going on putting packages together so that it could be offered to customers outside of the Dublin area and the other €15,000 would go on trademark protection and branding as it was important for the success and uniqueness of the business.

Gavin cheekily enquires about the employment policy and enquires about whether anyone could become a GNI man and Sean comes in on this and Vera explained that Sean wouldn’t be a candidate, Sean takes off his jacket and jokingly enquires why he couldn’t become one and announces he’s dumbstruck by Vera. Chuckles all round. Sean then declares himself out.

Gavin doesn’t see the scalability of the business and declares himself out. Niall continues to praise Vera and comments that she doesn’t particularly need a dragon and feels she’s just as good as entrepreneur as any Dragon and knows shes going to be a success and declares himself out. No offers on the table. Vera, well done a very polished pitch that was very professional, you’re going to go far!

Zsweet - http://www.zsweet.com/

Key People: Cormac Walsh

Cormac Walsh comes to the dragons with ‘Zsweet’, a sweetener that’s suitable for diabetics, leaves no after taste and is zero calories. Cormac states that he is the exclusive distributor of product in Ireland. Cormac demonstrates his product by having a diabetic take his glucose level after eating something with Zsweet in it and his glucose level stayed normal.

Cormac was looking for €100,000 and offering 20% to a potential Dragon or Dragons. Bobby was very interested in the product in relation to his own business, Insomnia and enquired about about the market. Cormac continued his calm approach and explained that he wasn’t looking at the retail market as he had researched it and found that it would cost to much with marketing and promoting it (€4 – €5 mil!), his proposed route was to link it with ‘zero worry foods’ that already make products.

Gavin enquires further about Cormac’s line of thinking about excluding the retail market, Cormac goes into further explanation about costing millions to promote and advertise the product for it to be successful in the shops. Sarah comes in and states that she feels Cormac is contradicting himself and declares himself out. Bobby comes in next and makes an offer of €50,000 for 22 and a half percent of the business, while Sean enquires about Cormac’s background, Cormac says he was a trained chef and then went into product demonstrating in shops.

Niall comes in and states that he doesn’t know enough about the business and declares himself out. Gavin sharply declares himself out too. Sean comes in again and explains that he’s in two minds as he feels that with Bobby interested and having good knowledge of the food industry it’s making the business more attractive but still feels the risk is too high and declares himself out. The focus goes back to Bobby and Bobby simply puts it he’s not prepared to go it alone and declares himself out. Close but no deal!

Toilet Snake- http://toiletsnake.org/

Key People: Alan Ennis, David Daly

The final entrepreneurs to pitch their idea to the Dragons tonight was Alan Ennis and David Daly with their product, ‘Toilet Snake’ aims to eliminate the need for a toilet brush as the guys feel it is pretty dirty and unhygienic. The product aims to sell between €17.99 to €29.99 to consumers.

Alan and David were looking for €25,000 for 10% of their business. They mentioned that there were two ways to make money with the product. 1.) The sales of the device in shops etc and 2.) Licensing of the product. Sean came in and asked about what route they might go towards (sale or licensing) and the guys honestly stated that they had no experience in manufacturing so licensing seemed to be the best idea.

Niall asks about how the product actually works (A very good question as I still don’t 100% know). Sarah enquires if they have been talking to any bathroom manufactures to which they wing it and try to avoid the question, they eventually tell say that they have not. Sarah then drops a bombshell and says through her extensive travelling, she has actually come across this type of product before that is more smaller than Toilet Snake before stepping out.

Sean goes quickly declares himself afterwords and Gavin states that he wants to bring them home (awww), Bobby then says he’s out and then the last remaining Dragon is Niall to which I though he would do the same, but surprisingly he gives the lads a break and makes them an offer for the full amount for 10% equity.

Talking to Richard Curran at the end of the show, Alan and David say they got the investment because they didn’t give a ridiculous valuation of their company, something I wish we seen more of!

Only one entrepreneur managed to gain investment from any of the Dragons this week, but another came extremely close. Here are the main pitches to this week’s show:

Cleanpass - http://www.cleanpass.ie/

Key people: Lisa O’ Connell

First into the Dragon’s Den this week was Lisa O’ Connell who brought in her business, Cleanpass, for the health service providers. Lisa explained that the Cleanpass was a training qualification for those working in hospitals and health services, whether they are nurses or cleaners or anyone working in the environment, giving a standards approach to people being adequately trained to combat the spread of diseases such as MRSA and VRE infections, which hospitals and care facilities are prone to spread.

Lisa was looking for €130,000 of an investment and offering 12% equity. The Cleanpass training has been developed over a number of years and Dr Maeve Harburn and nurse Ann Byrne, who both work in the health care service, helped develop the training curriculum but the company does still belong to Lisa O’ Connell.

At present the Cleanpass is the only training course on offer to hospitals and medical care facilities. Although Lisa was reluctant throughout the pitch to provide exact cost of the training, she did indulge in the fact that 300 people have so far done the training and with 10 people per class, she estimated from that, her projected turnover this year would be €350,000.

Bobby introduces himself and asked is the course recognised by the HSE (Health Service Executive), and after trying to side step the question and explaining that this is what her objective is, she admits that the HSE is looking for a Fetac qualification, with that Bobby declares himself out.

Sarah then introduces herself and asks if someone like herself went into a hospital job without any previous experience would she not be given some in house training to explain the job in some form, Lisa responded that there wouldn’t necessarily be a standard approach to induction throughout every facility, Sarah felt that she needed to get accredited more for Cleanpass to have more of an impact and declared herself out.

Gavin enquired more about the issue regarding cost of a training session and Lisa again, continued to try and explain that it was sensitive commercial information and she couldn’t divulge it at present, Gavin seemed to get frustrated at this point and was not finding a reason why Lisa needed to be so secretive and declared himself out. Niall also agrees with Gavin’s point about the unnecessary secrecy and declared himself out.

Sean comes in and begins to discuss with Lisa about a possible proposition, Lisa rose her 12% equity to a possible 20%, Sean makes an offer of the full €130,000 but now looking for 35%, Lisa retaliates with the equity going down to 30% but with a kick back clause where in three years time, if the company has reached their estimated turnover that Sean would have 20% of the business. Sean is not happy with this and agrees to go down to the 30% but would not agree to any kickback clause, Lisa declined the offer. Sean stated that he had a lot of contacts in the HSE and is very influential with training and would be a great asset to her and finally declares himself out.

Cordelia

Key people: Tim Rowe

Next into the Dragon’s Den was Tim Rowe with his product ‘Cordelia’. Tim Rowe came up with the unique device called Cordelia in which a mechanism is attached to the strings of the guitar making it so the player doesn’t have to learn the exact cords and instead only having to press down on a button, in my opinion taking away the whole beauty and art of guitar playing as how else can you come up with new and unique sounds to impress the world (obviously I’m a bit a of music lover).

While at the moment Tim only was able to show a rough prototype that did have the essence of working, he projected that the actual product would be ready in a couple of months and it would cost him €30 to make and would sell them on for €100. The selling point of the product was that it can make anyone into a guitar player and it also takes the hard work out of playing the guitar as it no longer hurts the tips of your fingers as your learning.

Niall immediately declares himself out as he feels there would be no return for his investment. Sean comments that he feels that €100 is quite expensive, Tim explains that if you take into consideration the amount of money you pay on lessons for the guitar, €100 isn’t alot and your guaranteed to be able to play songs afterwards, Sean made the point that you do learn a skill with the lessons where you don’t with Cordelia and declared himself out.

Bobby enquired about the patent, Tim explained that for almost 100 years people have been trying to come up with this device and have failed. Bobby understood but continued to declare himself out as he felt there wasn’t a huge market for it.

Gavin wishes Tim good luck but states himself out and Sarah follows declaring herself out too. No Investment for Tim. A comment was made by the dragons that the device would do very well within a special needs environment and I have to agree, otherwise people are false musicians!

Sentinel Fuel Products – http://www.sentinelfuelproducts.com/

Key people: Kurt Reinhardt, Carl Denby

Kurt Reinhardt and Carl Denby came into the Den next with their business, Sentinel Fuel Products. They were looking for €100,000 and offering just 5% of their business. They stated that since 2003, the Garda reported that there has been a rise of 264% of fuel theft in Ireland. They came up with this device as one of them was a victim of fuel theft themselves and felt that it was ironic as he was employed in the security sector.

They explained that their device comes in several options, the standard alerts the customer to when their oil is being stolen via by text alert, with each upgrade the variations range from the simple text alert to the house alarm going off and then right up to the Gardai being alerted that oil is being stolen. The device also monitors when you need an oil fill or if there is a possible oil leak. There was confusion surrounding the patent as initially it was stated that it was patented and then it later was disclosed that it was patent pending, this fueled Gavin and he accused the two men of misleading the Dragon’s, but they denied and stated it a mistake on their part. Gavin then declared himself out.

Niall takes a further look at the product and enquired about the possibility of a down turn in the market as Gas is a huge competitor for the oil trade. It was explained that people in rural areas continue to use Kerosene and there continues to be a good market. They valued the company at 2 million euro. Bobby goes through what happens when oil is running low or a possible leak and enquires about whether he actually wanted an alarm going off and how many texts he would receive.

Sarah enquires about the warranty and safety approvals of the product and the response is that it has yet to go through the approvals. Gavin comes in and states that there is a ‘leak’ in their credibility as they initially stated a worldwide patent but it actually is patent pending and declared himself out. Niall declares himself out even though they haven’t even gone through the finances yet. Bobby declares himself out and Sarah follows soon after stating she’s not convinced. Sean comes in at the end saying that he knows of other products in the marketplace that offer something similar and declares himself out.

Sourcing product design – http://sourcingproductdesign.com/

Key people: Darren Louet-Feisser

The last entrepreneur into the Dragon’s Den this evening was Darren Louet-Feisser who presents his company ‘Sourcing product design’. He already has an existing company ‘Louet design‘, which is a year and a half old and has already dealt with a number of companies and Darren hopes to take it to the next level and go further than just offering product design and engineering, he hopes to manufacture it and distribute the products.

Darren has a partner in the business who is an engineer who would continue to be a partner in the new company. They also have a partnership with a company in China but they have no equity in the company. Gavin states that he feels he’s all over the place with his ideas and declares himself out. Sarah then states that she feels she would have little to contribute to this company and declares herself out.

An enquiry came in about projected profits for the next 12 months and Darren explained that he projected a €200,000 net profit. Bobby enquired about whether there are any ‘Skeletons’ in the closet of ‘Louet Designs’, and Darren assured him there were none. Sean comes in and makes an offer of half the investment… but for 15%. Niall and Bobby then come in on the bidding and make a suggestion that the three of them, Niall, Bobby and Sean all come in on the investment and each of them receiving 15% of the business, meaning that Darren has to give 45% of his business away, three times the amount initially on offer. Darren comments that he would be happier to leave it at 35% of the equity but is happy that he has three Dragons in his corner and accepts the offer of three dragons giving him €75,000 and in return giving 15% to each of the three dragons of his business.

Here are the main pitches to this week’s show:

Buttons - http://elainesarahdesigns.com/

Key people: Elaine-Sarah Comerford

The first entrepreneur into the Dragon’s Den this evening was trained goldsmith Elaine-Sarah Comerford who came with the idea of ‘Buttons’, white gold bracelets and necklaces that have pieces shaped like buttons which have the potential to be engraved to mark special occasions and can be used in a form of a charm bracelet.

Elaine-Sarah was looking for €45,000 and offering 30% of her business. She explained that her market was women aged 30 years and up, and her product was aimed at the top end of the market in Ireland and can be later made into an international expansion.

Niall stated that he was an official silversmith and knew something about the business and enquired about the cost of the pieces. Elaine-Sarah explained that the cost of making each piece was €40 and it was sold to the retailer for €75, and then finally sold onto the customer for €180. Bobby then asked about what the €45,000 investment would go towards and Elaine-Sarah said that €5,000 would go on manufacturing costs, €5,000 would go on packaging and another €5,000 would go on magazines ads and the rest of the money would go on marketing for the product.

Gavin introduces himself and enquires about how would the business go from the small regional market to an explosive international one as she was manufacturing the product herself. Elaine-Sarah explained that it would not be that difficult as it would be easy to make the buttons in large quantities, it’s only the cleaning of them that takes time but would still not be a major issue.

Sean discussed the issue that the jewellery market was very competitive and declared himself out. Niall enquired about the fact that she had to stop working on the product during the year and Elaine-Sarah explained that due to a personal sickness she was unable to continue working on it and it caused a knock on her self-confidence and it wasn’t until now that she felt confident enough to get it back up and running.

Sarah commented that she really liked the product and can really see the attractiveness of it and puts in a bold offer of the full amount… but for 51% of the business as she feels they would work well together but that Sarah would need more stability than the 30% on offer, Elaine-Sarah says that she would be happy to work alongside Sarah but would be uncomfortable in giving someone else the majority share hold.

Niall then makes an offer of the full amount for 45% giving Elaine-Sarah the majority share hold. Gavin then intervenes saying he wants to offer a 4% on either of the offers as someone that would look out for both parties, Sarah is baffled by this offer and immediately says that she will not go in on an offer like that. Niall comments that Gavin is simply trying to ‘Get on the band wagon’. Elaine-Sarah has a think and accepts Niall’s offer.

An OK pitch from Elaine-Sarah Comerford, but an honest and warm one, she did a great job of answering the Dragon’s questions and the jewellery looks top notch indeed!

Leprechaun Hair

Key people: Gary Paul

The next pitch in the Dragon’s Den came from Gary Paul from Dublin who works in the printing business and came with the idea of Leprechaun Hair sold as tourist memorabilia from Ireland, sold both in tourist shops in Ireland as well as sold online through EBay to other countries.

Gary has already had interest from the USA, UK and other countries such as Sweden and has sold a 100 units at €2 a piece. Gary showed the product to the Dragons, it was basically a small card with some writing and pictures of leprechauns with a small plastic bag with synthetic hair in it “leprechaun hair”.

Gary was looking for €10,000 and offering 15% of the business. Gavin introduces himself and enquires about how long it takes to make up a 1,000 pieces, and Gary said it would take about 5 hours. Sean comments that he feels that Gary made a very poor attempt on his appearance in representing himself on the Den and doesn’t feel he’s made enough of an effort.

Niall immediately picks up on when Gary comments that the product was initially made as a joke and Niall felt the whole thing was a joke and stated he shouldn’t leave his job in the printing business and declares himself out. Sean also comments that it’s a disappointment and declares himself out. The other Dragons make various comments about the poorness of the product and how it does little for the Irish name and they all declare themselves out, no investment at all!

Fax Cop - http://www.blockthatfax.com/

Key people: Ken McFeeters

Next into the Den is Ken McFeeters from County Down with his invention ‘Fax Cop’, looking for €85,000 and offering just 10% of his business. Ken explained that fax cop was a small device that sat between the telephone line and the fax machine. It’s unique selling point is that it cuts down on unwanted faxes hence reducing unnecessary ink and paper usage.

Ken put an estimated 10 billion as a potential market projection. Both Gavin and Sean enquire about how the device works and Ken simply states that he is willing to divulge that information only under a non disclosure agreement and not on the show. Sean stated that he felt that Ken may have come too late as emails are being used more often now than faxes, Ken stated that faxes are continuing to be used even though emails exist. Niall comments that he felt that if Ken had come in 1990 it would be an extremely attractive product but he feels it’s too late and unnecessary and declared himself out. Bobby enquires again about how the device operates and again Ken reiterates that only under a non disclosure agreement could he explain, Bobby is not impressed with the cloak and dagger approach and declares himself out. Sarah simply states that it’s too late in the market and declares herself out. Sean comes back to Ken saying that he is interested in the company as he understands the potential market due to the set backs of electronic signatures being secured online and offers half the money for 20%. Gavin says that he feels that he is interested in the product but would like to know more about the operation of it, once again Ken side steps the answer, Gavin was not impressed and declared himself out.

When the focus goes back to Sean he states that Ken over estimated the potential market and wouldn’t feel safe enough to give the whole amount and declared himself out. Very Close but no investment from any of the Dragons. Ken if you’re reading this, What the hell where you thinking, I would have took their hand off?

Green me - http://www.greenme.ie/

Key people: Gina Geagan, Jo Nash

The last pitch into the Den this evening was Gina Geagan and Jo Nash presenting their business ‘Greenme.ie’, a website offering consumers a greener way of life in all shapes and forms.

They stated that over the past two months they made sales of €55,000 and they were looking for a €100,000 investment and offering 10% of their business. Niall enquiries about where the money came from and who were the customers. They explained that at present their main source of income was from their directory on the site which offered businesses inclusion for a fee (and also free, depending on the membership package).

Niall commented that it basically is a greener version of the yellow pages but they explained yes but more as there was more on the site than just the directory but at the moment that was primarily their source of income. It’s the company’s advertising their ‘green’ businesses that have to pay, there are four packages, the first which costs nothing and simply offers a listing of the business and the next three bronze, silver and gold, the company has to pay. The gold option is the highest price and businesses have to pay €5,000 to get in.

Bobby asks about celebrity Duncan Stewart’s role in the business and they explained that he is a non-executive director of the company and owns 20% of the shares in the company as he invested a large amount of time in the business and lent his credibility to Green Me. The Dragons enquired about the potential to sell items online and the two women explained that it is projected in year two to begin an ecommerce platform and they would act as an agent to companies for consumers. Bobby declared himself out as he felt that the credibility of the site could easily be put at jeopardy as anyone could potential buy themselves into the site because at the end of the day they have to make money off the business.

Sarah stated that they were overvaluing the company and declared herself out. Sean enquires about revenue projections and after a while enquires about a better percentage on offer and the two women come back with 25% as the new offer, Sean continues to feel it’s too high and declares himself out. In the afterthought, it came through that they had a hidden agenda of achieving exposure through the show and their only goal was not just a potential investment!

Here are the main Pitches from this week’s episode of Ireland’s Dragons Den

Bags of Fashion - http://bagsoffashion.ie/

Key people: Ana Derham

The first entrepreneur on the Dragon’s Den was Ana Derham who brought with her, her ecommerce business ‘Bagsoffashion’. Ana was looking for €150,000 investment and offering 30% of her business to the Dragon’s.

Ana has already secured 12 design companies to design the bags for her business. The main unique selling point of this business is that the bags are for hire but also for sale. As Bags of Fashion is to be facilitated as an online business, Ana stressed that her overheads would be lower than the usual brick and mortar businesses. Ana also highlighted that her business had four income streams through sales, memberships, hiring and bagit (recycle bags – discounted bags from damaged bags).

The target market was Irish consumers and that eventually spreading to the UK and further on. The projected sales figures Ana stated was €530,000 in the first year.

Bobby commented that he felt that there was a flaw in this business as bags are easily damaged and the bags could be stolen so they would be unsuitable to further customers and declared himself out. Gavin positively commented on how Ana took the constructive criticism and was impressed by this but felt that she had been working on this idea for a year and felt it could go no further. Sarah commented that she felt that expensive bags were no longer a high priority in today’s society and declared herself out. Neither Niall or Sean made an offer and Ana Derham left empty handed.

The Grass Carver - http://www.grasscarver.com/

Key people: Adrian, Adam Channing

Next up on the Dragon’s Den was father and son duo Adrian and Adam Channing. They came with their product “The Grass Carver”, which was essentially a snowboard which was designed to go on grass, gravel and many more surfaces.

Their target market was anyone who wanted to try it as Adrian (father) came up with the idea after trying snowboarding for the first time on holidays a few years back and felt that it was something that Irish society are missing out due to no snow fall and thought of a way to do a similar activity but on grass, sand or gravel.

Adrian did point out that the boards have reached up to 80 Km even though they had not attended to reach this speed. They were looking for €50,000 and were offering 40% of their business to a potential Dragon. Adrian also highlighted that although at present it is costing €200 to manufacture the product and retails it at €400, in mass production he would expect this to be reduced radically.

Bobby enquired about the appearance of the product as he felt that it was quite crude looking, Adam stated that it is still in it’s raw stage of prototype and it would eventually be more attractive and appealing to customers, bobby continued to say that he had no interest in the product and felt he could do little for it and declared himself out.

The Dragons enquired about safety standards for the product and Adrian stated that some of the investment would go towards safety standards. Another enquiry was about what else was the business looking from the Dragons and Adrian commented that he had little business experience and needed help in that area but that he was fully committed to the product. Sarah stressed concerns about the product being possibly banned from area’s such as the beach due to the speed it can reach and declared herself out. Niall commented that he was not willing to run the business for them and declared himself out. Gavin stated that he felt that product needed alot more work and may have come too early to the den and declared himself out. Neither Bobby or Sean made an offer and Adrian and Adam left without an investor.

The Night light Kneeler - http://carfriendly.net/

Key people: Pat Sheridan

Pat Sheridan was next into the Dragon’s Den with his product “The night light Kneeler”. Pat explained that the product had been developed and been put on the market 10 years ago but due to issues with the light going out of production and personal reasons, Pat had to ‘step back’ from the product and commented that when he heard about the Dragons Den he felt it was time to get it back into action.

The product consisted of a black triangular shaped box that has grooves for knees to rest on while changing a tire and a light that swivels up when it is dark out. Pat pointed out that the attractiveness of the product is that even in the rain, you don’t have to kneel on the ground in the wet as this would raise you off the ground. The box also contained a rain protector, gloves and a first aid kit. Pat stated that it cost €7 to manufacture the product, €14 to sell to retailers and it would then be retailed at €30.

Gavin enquired about how was he trading 10 years ago and Pat stated as a sole trader, later Gavin declared himself out after he pointed a flaw where he felt the knee grooves were spaced to closely to get enough energy to take the wheel off. Bobby enquired about the turnover projections and Pat explained that if he could reach 5% of the market of 75,000 units in the first year the product would expand from there. Sarah felt that a car manufacture could wipe him out quite easily by rectifying the product slightly and also felt that he over estimated on the future projections.

The Dragons enquired about whether Pat had a website and Pat stated that the product was displayed on http://carfriendly.net/, it was commented that the website had a good name but as it only sold ‘The night light kneeler’ it wasn’t reaching it’s full potential. Sean commented that he felt that Pat had only begun to reinvest his time in this product because of the show and also felt that the product couldn’t be patented and declared himself out. All the dragons declared themselves out and the issue relating to the product being 10 years old was a consistent issue for the Dragons and Pat throughout.

TileGo - http://tilego.com/

Key people: Cathal Lenard

Cathal Lenard was the last entrepreneur to enter the Dragon’s Den with his product “Tilego”. Cathal explained that he had been working in the area of tiling in the Uk, USA and Ireland for the past number of years. He was looking for a €60,000 worth of investment and was offering 15% of shares in his business.

Cathal demonstrated the practicalities of the product where on a average basis, a baton had to be either nailed or glued to a wall in order to achieve balanced and even tiling on a wall. Cathal pointed out that this can be very time consuming and dangerous (if nails are used) as there are often wires and plumbing in the walls that can be disturbed.

Cathal demonstrated that with “Tilego” there are adhesive strips that just stick to the wall and a click on leveler is attached to assure the tiles are level, there are several adhesive strips so the “Tilego” can be used a few times on one job. Sarah pointed out that when her tiles were being done, the tiler simply tiled from the floor upwards not needing a leveler of any sort but Cathal jumped in swiftly and pointed out that in alot of homes that method will not work effectively as not all floors are level.

Niall enquired about the cost of the product and Cathal stated that it would be sold to retailers at €12 and retailed to customers at €25, each pack containing 3×3 foot sticks with a clip on leveller. Initially Niall felt that this costed more than the ‘old fashioned’ way but Cathal pointed out that it didn’t in the long run as no nails, screws or batons were needed and it was less time consuming which would cost less for customers.

Bobby enquired about the finanical projections and Cathal stated that in the first year based on UK sales and on 1.5% of the potential market and 48,000 sales the gross would be £550,000 and a profit of £130,000 and by year three £5.5 million and a profit of roughly 3.7 million.

Gavin went straight in and offered the full €60,000 but requested 35% of the business and asked a few questions about the patent, it was patent pending from the UK. Gavin also was intrigued about Cathal’s commitment to the product and business sense. (Cathal explained that he had left Clondalkin at the age of 18 and by 21 owned his own business with some high profile clientele .) Sean enquired about what happened to the busniess and Cathal stated issues with Cash flow. Bobby worried about the estimation on the sales figures and declared himself out.

Sarah, Sean and Niall all declared themselves out. Cathal then attempted to bring down the amount of shares to 30% for Gavin but Gavin stuck to his offer as he felt that he was making an investment in Cathal and not just the business and felt that it may be at times a tough going and felt he needed his money’s worth. Cathal agreed to the offer.

Well this just gets better and better. Best episode yet! Here are the pitches of tonight’s Dragon’s Den.

The Hangout – http://www.thehangout.ie/

Key people: Eddie O’ Brien

Eddie O’ Brien from Tipperary came to the Dragons Den with his product ‘The Hangout‘, this was a cleverly designed clothes air dryer that is disguised as an out door wooden gazebo with a table attached, so there could be multiple uses to the product.

Although there were initial reservations from Gavin Duffy who pondered about it becoming a large bird house, Eddie stole that idea away, assuring the Dragon’s that it would not be an issue. Sean Gallagher felt that the patent was irrelevant as it could be easily recreated in a similar but slightly different way and declared himself out early on.

As Eddie’s pitch continued he discussed that he had sold 25 already from trade shows, both Bobby and Niall made an offer of €37,500 each and both receiving 10% of the business. As there were no counter offer from Sarah and Gavin as they felt they could not offer anything better, Eddie snapped up the offer of investment from Bobby and Niall, and left the Dragon’s Den with the €75,000 he came for and giving only 20% of his business away. Great Idea and super pitch, Well done Eddie!

Curtain Cosy – http://www.curtaincosy.com/

Key People: Colm Stundon, Pat O’Shaughnessy

Two potential investees entered the Den next, Colm Stundon and Pat O’Shaughnessy from Limerick presented their product the ‘Curtain Cosy’. They claimed in their pitch that the product was energy efficient as it extended the window out and left room for the curtains to rest on while the curtains were closed in order so that the heat from the radiators continued to be released into the room and not get trapped behind closed curtains and causing condensation to form on the window and mould on the curtains.

It was a quick fix device costing €5 to manufacture and to be sold at €10. They initially claimed that the product’s potential market was for every home owner but when Gavin pointed out that the product could cause quality curtains to be creased, they stated that it may not suit homes with expensive curtains. Throughout this pitch, Sarah found it difficult to compose herself and after stating that she found little demand for the product, she declared herself out. Sean enquired about other ideas that they may have come up with and Pat showed a possible new way of keeping heat in the house rather than having heat go out through the walls by using pipes that are on the outside walls covered up which would be more heat efficient to a home. This idea got many of the Dragon’s interested but as it was not the product presented today and it was not completely developed yet they could not consider it.

Sean, Gavin, Bobby and Niall all declared themselves out as they felt that there was not a huge market for ‘Curtain Cosy’ but wished the two men luck with developing the second product!

The Fashion Shed – http://www.thefashionshed.com/

Key People: Paula Rabbit, Fiona Forde

Paula Rabbit and Fiona Forde entered the Dragon’s Den to present their business ‘The Fashion Shed’, a fashion business which entailed offering the public a personal stylist in keeping up with today’s fashion as well as an online business selling clothes designed by ‘The Fashion Shed’.

They were asking for €100,000 of an investment and offering 15% of their business. The two ladies described their business as having the potential to become not only a nationwide business but also a global one through their online potential.

Paula and Fiona had already held 60 styling parties where in which they would give advice to buyers about their styles and how to hide unwanted shapes in their bodies. They projected to train other women in how to help buyers in their styling options and to run future styling parties but Sarah Newman stated that this would be a difficult fete as it can take years for someone to be trained in design and styling. Paula stated that the potential target market was for women between the age of 24 -36 as they felt that the younger generation are more interested in their styles of designs, Sarah also stated that as this was their potential market and she was 39 years old, she was already out of their demographic and declared herself out.

When it was requested as to what would they do with the €100,000 investment, it was explained that €45,000 was to increase there existing stock, €30,000 was for online marketing and a further €25,000 was for offline marketing. When one of the Dragon’s pointed out that their niche was to offer potential buyers a personal styling service and doing styling parties to offer clients advice about fashion styles and how to hide their unwanted shape, a global market was unrealistic as this service would not be possible. The Dragon’s then all declared themselves out as they felt that other than a local business success, the potential was not there. I think the girls did a great job in their pitch and come across very warm and intelligent. We will be hearing from these two again.

Paddy Games – http://www.paddygames.ie/

Key People: Colin Carroll

Colin Carroll was the last presenter into the Dragon’s Den with his business idea of paddy games. An event to be hosted with sports games with a difference, i.e. three legend race and running backwards etc… Colin caught the Dragon’s eye’s with his luminous yellow suit and the Dragon’s struggled to take the presentation seriously.

Colin presented an interesting and entertaining video to illustrate his point about what the paddy games was about but it wasn’t until he disclosed that other sponsors were interested that the Dragon’s began to perk up and taking the presentation seriously. Sarah asked about what the investment of a €100,000 would be used for, Colin explained that it would be to help in the hosting of an event to take place in August 2009, staging the event in Cork where he expected about 200 – 300 contestants would take part although he said that there was a huge potential for it to be bigger but he felt initially he wanted to keep it small for the first time round.

Gavin stated that he felt that this event would be bad for the Irish reputation and felt that Paddy wackery was already over used and gave bad publicity to the Irish, Gavin also felt that Colin had an alternative motive on coming on the Dragon’s Den, dressed in an luminous suit in an effort for publicity and air time on television and his goal was not necessarily an investment from the Dragon’s and declared himself out. Sarah went onto say that she felt that he had completely over estimated on the potential of profit from the business as she could not see the numbers adding up and declared herself out. Niall and Bobby both declared themselves out as they felt that they would not like to be associated with an event like this. Sean then stated that he also did not want to be associated with this and reiterated what Gavin had stated about bad publicity for the Irish and felt Colin needed more help than an offer from the Dragon’s and declared himself out.

A passionate man with big dreams, who knows he may be the man laughing at the Dragons for not investing.

It’s the second week of Irish Dragon’s Den and I’m really enjoying it and getting into it so far. Here’s a breakdown of the main pitches.

Hen Party – http://www.hen-party.ie

Key people: Kate Hyde

First up was Kate from Hen-Party.ie, an online shop to buy everything you need for your hen party. Kate came across very passionate and energetic and I feel she did a super job delivery her pitch to the dragons. She did stumble a little bit when it came to the financial details, but overall she did very well. She was looking for €30,000 and got the full amount. She did have to give up 40% though. Overall a great pitch, and I have no doubt she will do very well for herself.

Children’s Safety Stabilizer system

Key people: Michael Houghton

Michael Houghton, a maintenance technician from the UK invented what he claims is an improved stabilizer system for children’s bicycles (a safety product that tilts when the child goes around corners to prevent falls). Michael was looking for €60,000 in exchange for 20% of his company but failed to win over any of the dragons with his invention. Sarah Newman made a very good point of children’s bicycles coming assembled with stabilizers already and wanting parents to pay for his product won’t get much attention. Part of Michael’s marketing plan was to distribute flyer’s to houses and this didn’t impress the dragons at all.

Sal’s pizza - http://www.salspizza.eu

Key people: Tony Frattaroli

Tony was looking for a modest €30,000 for 15% of his business. Tony’s idea was one of those gems that are really good, you might glance over and not take seriously. His plan was to create, deliver and sell pizzas to the untapped rural Ireland districts, eventually expanding to other parts of the country and possibly franchising the business. Tony’s pizza recipe comes from Italy and this is definitely one to watch out for. There were a few issues raised regarding Tony not being registered with the health board, but he was adamant that his company was not operating illegally and that he had lengthy talks with the health board about this. Tony failed to get any investment from the dragons but I feel this idea is a winner and we will be hearing more about Tony over the coming years.

Kaylite – http://www.kaylitebags.com/

Key people: Adrian Keegan

Kaylite is a lighting device for handbags that allows women to easily find their miscellaneous items in darkly lit places or at night. Adrian’s pitch wasn’t particularly polished but he did get two offers from the dragons. Sean Gallagher made a very smart move, he made an offer of the full amount but wanted rights to overseas too instead of just Ireland. Adrian, didn’t go ahead with Sean and instead went with Bobby Kerr.

Overall this week’s show was very good fun to watch and alot better over last week’s starting show. I was glad to see an Internet company getting investment and seeing the show’s dragons loosen up alot more. Looking forward until next week.

Just finished watching the Irish version of Dragon’s Den on RTE and was quite worried it would be a little cringey like ALOT of other Irish programming, but it turned out ok, not too bad but not fantastic.

First off, the dragons come across as quite mundane and have no real character in the show (apart from Sean Gallagher) unlike the UK version dragons (I’m looking at you Theo). The production of the show is very good and the set and music resemble the UK version alot, which I really like. The host of the show, Richard Curran does a great job presenting the show.

Here’s a mini run down of the pitches:

Clean Cash – http://www.cleancash.com

Key people: Eamon Nealon, Patrick Fitzgerald

Clean Cash were looking for a €100,000 investment for 15% of their company. Their product is a cash register device that is supposed to clean the money that passes into the cash register. It uses UV light and a clean air system to clean the money. They failed to get any investment – which is what happens when you have a product that nobody really needs anyway.

Booze Berries – http://www.boozeberries.com/

Key people: Michelle Power

Michelle was looking for €125,000 in return for 10% of her premium liquor company. She did get an offer of the full amount she was looking for but she had to give up 40% of her company which she was not willing to do. Not a bad pitch, but you could tell she was very nervous by her voice.

Aqua Images

Key people: Kevin Klatt

Kevin wanted €100,000 for 20% of his tropical fish aquarium company. Kevin’s plan was to offer 3 year contracts to install and service tropical fish tanks in waiting rooms and receptions to make the experience better for the waiting customers. He failed to get any investment or real interest from any of the dragons, but luckily he does have a day job selling photocopiers.

Pedigree Cattle – http://www.pedigreecattle.ie/

Key people: Donall O’Connor, Michael O’Donnell

The guys behind Pedigree Cattle were looking for €50,000 for 10% of the business. Their company’s business is a online marketplace for farmers to buy and sell cattle and I think it’s actually a very good idea and they did manage to secure the investment they needed for 20% I think it was.

Overall I though the RTE did a good job with the show, but the dragons need to pull up their socks and get some more personality going, I suppose it is the first episode of the show. Let’s see how it progesses over the coming months.