Dragons’ Den pitcher secured the ‘best deal’ in history of show – business now worth £30m | Personal Finance | Finance
Founded in 2012 by ‘dadpreneurs’ Asi Sharabi, David Cadji-Newby, Tal Oron and Pedro Serapicos, Wonderbly entered the Den in 2014 in search of a £100,000 funding boost for four percent equity. During the pitch, the Dragons were impressed by the rapid growth that the business had experienced so far, having scaled by an eye-watering 2,000 percent between the October and November of 2013.
They had a turnover of £460,000 since they launched the business in 2012.
Originally named Lost My Name, Wonderbly has now sold over two million books worldwide, with revenue surpassing £30million.
It has been labelled “the most successful business to have ever passed through the Den’s walls” by investor Piers Linney.
Piers had so much faith in the business that he broke records by investing all of the money for just four percent.
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It was labelled “one the best equity deals in the history of Dragons’ Den” at that time, reported Startups.
Despite the risk, it paid off as Wonderbly has now sold over two million books in countries all over the world.
Wonderbly combines the power of storytelling with a splash of cutting-edge technology to create a personalised experience for each reader.
It uses clever algorithms to create personalised children’s books, placing the young reader within the story.
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In June 2015, the business closed a $9million (around £7.6million) Series A round led by Google Ventures which was topped up with a €4million (around £3.4million) Series A extension in 2016.
Additionally in July 2017 Wonderbly clinched a further $8.5million (around £6.4million) in a Series B led by Ravenburger.
The business has also scooped countless awards and was nominated for a BAFTA in 2016.
In August 2021, the publisher announced a joint IP project with the Roald Dahl Estate, facilitating the creation of personalised books which will place their readers inside Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.
Orders for their first book ‘The Little Boy/Girl Who Lost His/Her Name’, surged after the BBC programme aired in 2014.
The book created a story around the individual letters of a child’s name and cost £18.99.
Wonderbly produces a range of 44 personalised children’s books. Revenue has grown by more than 20 percent per annum over the past three years to over £30million.
Last year, Wonderbly was acquired by UK mid-market private equity firm Graphite Capital, a publishing platform for personalised children’s books.
Wonderbly chief executive Mr Sharabi said the firm had known Graphite for several years, and Graphite had been “top of our list” when the business started thinking about new partners.
He told Printweek: “We were impressed by the experience of their team, their expertise in brand development and their shared vision for our future.
“We look forward to working with them on the next stage of our journey.”
With Dragons’ Den recently coming to a close for another series, Wonderbly has been labelled one of the most successful products over the years.
Along with others such as the Tangle Teezer, a hairbrush company now worth a £200million. Rob’s rejection has also been one of the biggest success stories in the show’s history.
Dragons’ Den is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
