Dragons’ Den candidate told ‘business would never succeed’ now praised by Steven Bartlett | Personal Finance | Finance
Ms Quail founded oral cosmetics retailer Smile Time and was praised by the Dragons at the end of her pitch as being “seriously outstanding” with her million pound figures. However, one fatal flaw saw three Dragons pull out in quick succession, noting “I’m just never going to invest in it”.
Ms Quail entered the den with confidence, relying on her boardroom experience from her previous role as an international tax lawyer.
She shared before entering the den: “I was told that I would never get into law, yet I made that happen.
“I was told this business would never succeed but I think our product is the best on the market.”
Being incredibly busy in her previous role, Ms Quail found she had no time to properly attend to her dental health, and noted a profound gap in the market for convenient solutions.
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She entered the den asking for £50,000 in exchange for a shockingly low two percent stake in her business.
Deborah Meaden was the first to question the ambitious entrepreneur, clarifying that the product was in fact more for cosmetic use and questioned: “Are you making any money?”
Ms Quail’s career as a tax lawyer proved incredibly useful in front of the Dragons as she appeared to know her figures inside out, impressing the majority of them with not just her understanding but the growth of her company too.
She noted that the business had experienced a net profit of £82,000 in 2021 and had a predicted run rate for 2022 of an astounding £1.7million.
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Mr Jones was quick to point out that the business’s website domain was not Smile Time but Smile Time Teeth and when questioned about who owned the Smile Time domain, Ms Quail was at a loss.
Mr Jones reacted: “You’re a lawyer! That’s one of the first things you do to protect your business. That’s a big trigger for me that you haven’t got that. So, on that basis, sadly I’m out.”
The tables quickly turned on Ms Quail’s pitch as Ms Davies and Ms Meaden both dropped out of the investment too.
Ms Meaden commented: “I’m just never going to invest in it, simply because I’m just not interested in the cosmetic dental industry.”
With only two dragons remaining, Ms Quail had to make some compromises as both were absolutely distraught over the two percent stake on offer.
Both Mr Suleyman and Mr Bartlett made an offer to Ms Quail, providing all of the requested money but for 25 percent and 10 percent respectively.
Ms Quail was able to successfully negotiate a Dragons’ Den double up, bringing Mr Suleyman and Mr Bartlett into the deal at 10 percent each.
Half of the dynamic duo, Mr Bartlett has since taken to Twitter saying: “Natalie, an incredibly impressive entrepreneur.
“An early stage business with, £1.7million in revenue, a sharp entrepreneur and she knows her numbers. I’m in.”
