Dragons’ Den reject told business was ‘decaying’ secured 6 figure investment after show | Personal Finance | Finance
Ola Goldsmith entered the Den this year seeking £70,000 for 15 percent of her business Naked Weave. The company run courses which teach hairstylists how to discretely instal hair weaves and wigs.
Despite her turning over £192,000 in the first year, Steven Barlett thought her business model was “self destructive” as she was basically teaching her competition, which could cause problems in the future.
He said: “I can’t get my head around this idea of training your competition. That is decaying your business mode;. You need something else to sell but you haven’t done it yet.”
He continued: “This business is decaying and it’s not really growing that fast. It’s not an investable business, I am out.”
When asked about how many hair technicians there are in the UK, Ola could not give Touker Suleyman a straight number.
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She estimated 50,000 in the UK, with 10,000 new people training each year.
Touker said: “Ola you should know this. You’re plucking numbers out of the sky.” He said he could not invest.
Ola explained that she wanted the investment to help her with marketing the product as she did not know much about it. She burst into tears telling the Dragons’ that she just needed helps she felt “on her own” in the business.
She wanted someone to come with her on the journey.
Peter Jones said she needed a mentor more at the moment, rather than an investment from the Dragons’ right now. He said he could not invest.
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She left the Den with no investment as the Dragons’ said they did not think the brand was strong enough yet, there was not enough evidence of growth, especially as she was teaching potential competition.
Ola did not let this stop her and took the advice given to her and decided to look for mentorship elsewhere to help grow.
She was able to secure mentorship from The Group.
They have been providing training of the Naked Weave technique for almost three years, with 1400 technicians now in salons worldwide.
The businesswoman was able to secure a six-figure investment that will allow her to grow her popular hair extension training company.
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Ola told CoventryLive it is a “dream come true” that she has received the financial boost from Cheshire businessman Carl Boulton.
Now, having received the investment the The Boulton Group, as well as mentorship from its CEO, it means she can grow the business further, with the launch of their own brand of premium human hair extensions coming soon.
She said: “I am delighted to be working with Carl who has an incredible track record of success in business.
“Being able to team up with him and make the most of my passion with his input, business expertise and support is a dream come true.
“I’m grateful to have a mentor who truly believes in the company as much as I do.
“Being able to utilise the resources of The Boulton Group is going to be really helpful and a key part to our success.”
Mr Boulton founded The Boulton Group in 2021, drawing together his successful companies in payroll, hospitality, luxury travel and digital marketing to become one.
“I have created six start-up companies now, but this is my first partnership and first mentorship at the same time,” he said.
He continued: “From our first casual introduction, I was impressed by what Ola has achieved in business, the scale of opportunity globally and her vision.
“Ola has overcome so many obstacles to get the company to where it is today, and we’re really excited for this next phase of growth and development.”
