I was offered £136,000 by three separate dragons and I turned it down! Here’s why…
Dragon’s Den one year on……
After I accepted the offer in the den and the cameras stopped rolling, we really got down to business. The first stage was ‘due diligence’ where I had to satisfy the dragons that everything I had claimed was true. Once I had passed this stage, I started having meetings with Tej and Touker and their teams.
We had many zoom calls and met face to face. There was talk of branching out and developing new products, being stocked by all the major retailers etc. Of course it was exciting. It was like having a carrot dangled in front of you. It was easy to get swept up and lose sight of what mattered.
I remember the teams talking about the potential in developing stretch mark oils and various other cosmetic products, slapping the PBC branding on them and rolling them out in John Lewis, Asda, Boots etc etc.
Momentarily I was imagining how awesome it would be to see all these PBC branded products on the shelves in so many major stores. But then, I took a moment, and asked myself: do I really want to start making lotions and potions?!
The answer was no, obviously. There are loads of other companies out there that already do this, and do it well. It’s not and never has been a passion of mine. I barely use lotions or potions myself - my skin care regime extends to a splash of water morning and night. That’s literally it!
But, more importantly, concentrating on developing these new product would take me away from doing what I actually care about and what matters most - PBC’s mission and reason for being: to make antenatal education and support more accessible for everyone. That’s been our mission since day one and it’s something we remain passionate about and committed to achieving.
I came to understand that what mattered to the dragons was making money. Of course, they wanted their investments to be worthwhile and to generate a good return. But what I want to do is use the money PBC makes to create free resources. Ultimately I’d like hypnobirthing to be freely available to everyone, rendering a large proportion of my business void.
In the last 12 months, instead of creating stretch marks creams and oils and trying to increase profit, we’ve invested in creating a workshop addressing the disparity in mortality rates for Black women, which is to be distributed free of charge within the NHS. We’ve donated tens of thousands of pounds to charity and raised £20,000 for Choose Love and their appeal for Ukraine. We’ve also created a free workshop for expectant LGBTQ+ parents to help them navigate the system. We’ve developed new features for our Freya app, to add even more value. None of these things make money. But they make a difference. And that’s what we are about.
Furthermore, the situation was unusual; I didn’t desperately need the cash to create a product and bring it to market. What I wanted was help / guidance / mentorship as I often feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. I have no business experience prior to PBC and nor do my parents or family. It’s not something I grew up with. I am just learning on the job!
So the ‘deal’ at the end of the day was that I return their money to them to reduce their equity share. Essentially meaning they got % of my business for £0 pounds but the promise of help. However the ‘promise of help’ was not going to translate into the actual contractual agreement. Which was predetermined having gone through the TV show as opposed to approaching them for a private equity deal. Therefore I was giving away a portion of my business, for nothing, to complete strangers and just having to trust they would help me. It didn’t feel sensible.
Also, worst-case scenario, what if they didn't help and then I ended up having to buy them out and spending a load of money just to retain ownership? I’d be at a complete financial loss and would have gained absolutely nothing.
I mean, hopefully that would never have happened (!) but there was actually nothing in place to prevent that from happening.
Also, I realised that if I wanted to make the most of the relationship, I’d have to do the legwork. I’d have to go to them with what I needed and then they would point me in the right direction or make an introduction, but ultimately I’d have to make the time to follow these things up and see them through. And actually time is something that I do not have much of at all. I realised what I needed was people around me who could take stuff off my plate and do the doing, as opposed to presenting me ‘opportunities’ that essentially meant more being added to my already full plate. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t have been able to make the most of those ‘opportunities;’.
It felt like the biggest decision for a short while. To say ‘no’ to all these impressive people and turn down their investment and offers of help. But as soon as I made the decision to say no, I felt a HUGE sense of relief and felt strongly that it was 100% the right decision. I listened to my gut, which has served me well so far, getting me to where I am in the world of business!!
I ended up writing a very long, very honest email, outlining all my reasons for terminating the deal. You can read it below, if you wish.
Thankfully it all ended amicably with them wishing me good luck and telling me that the door was always open.
I don’t regret going on the show because the whole experience actually taught me quite a lot… including about myself, and about my business! A year on and I feel happy with my decision and super proud that PBC remains 100% independent and committed to its mission.
And over the last year we have achieved so much - without any help from any dragons! Freya made Apple’s Top 10 Paid Apps of the Year list, our courses are now stocked on Boots.com, and we have been crowned Parenting Brand of the Year 2022, following in the footsteps of huge companies such as Aldi, Tommee Tippee etc.
I can’t help but laugh sometimes though when I think about how I got offered £136,000 (!!) from 3 separate dragons and at the end of the day it was me who said: I’m Out!
That’ll be one to tell the grandkids! (if i’m lucky enough to have them!)
READ SIOBHAN’S EMAIL TO THE DRAGONS’ HERE
Hello All,
I’ll get straight to it…
Having given this a great deal of thought, I have decided not to go ahead with the deal.
I wanted to let you know ahead of our scheduled meeting tomorrow as I’m conscious you are all very busy and your time is very precious and valuable, and I do not want to mess anyone about of waste anyone’s time. I very much hope we can part ways amicably; I certainly don’t want to burn any bridges.
I would also like to stress that I very much appreciate your interest in investing in my business. As well-respected businessmen, famous investors and successful entrepreneurs, your desire to be part of something I created has been extremely flattering, validating, amazing and hard to believe really! I have certainly learnt a great deal about my business and myself going through this process.
However having spent the last few months thinking it all through, i have decided not to go ahead for two key reasons…
From a business point of view, I don’t believe it’s a great deal. My business is already surpassing all the forecasting I shared in the den and I believe the business to be worth what estimated, if not more. To give away 6% equity for free doesn’t seem right. To hope and trust that I get the return I want, after essentially paying up front, also doesn’t seem sensible. I understand now if I were to make a deal with private investors it would not work in this way. I would likely get a significant sum in exchange for the equity or I would have an agreement whereby I would give equity away once agreed KPI's had been met. I knew nothing about investment deals before. Nor the value of my business.
On a personal level, I do not believe we will be aligned. I set out to make a difference and this is my driving force. Yours is, understandably since it’s an investment, to make profit. Although I got excited about the prospect of increasing turnover even more so and creating physical products etc, I now fear this activity will take me away from my core ethos. For example a dream outcome for me would be that hypnobirthing is made available for all on the NHS, rendering a large proportion of my business unnecessary. I am sure this would not be your dream outcome.
Also, having spent the last 5 years working day and night, and having grown a successful business that I love and feel proud of, which does good in the world and provides me with financial return which is more than I ever dreamed of or hoped for, I’m at a point where more money won’t make me happy. I don’t need it. I need time. Working so hard for the last 5 years has taken its toll on my health and I have missed out on a lot of time with my children. I started my business with a newborn, a 1 year old and a 9 year old and they are no 5, 6 and 14 and all at school full time. I can’t get that time back and I definitely don’t regret working as much as I did, but I do need to readdress the balance now before they are all grown up. I am very lucky to be in a position where I don’t need to work 24/7/365 and continue to be an absent parent, so I am hopeful I can scale down and spend more time living and less time working in the coming years. This has been a very difficult decision as I know for a lot of people success is measured by turnover and wealth and I seem to be onto a good thing, so why stop now? And I’m not stopping(!!) but for me, personal success would be more time with my family, love and happiness in my life and good health - mental and physical. And I know that working all hours and making millions doesn’t give me those things, it actually prevents me from having those things - it reduces my free time, is detrimental to my health and negatively impacts my chances of finding love and happiness.
So for that reason I’ve decided to bow out. I hope you can understand my rationale. I was never my intention to mess anyone around or waste anyone’s time. I appreciate your interest and time immensely. I certainly still need help with my business, but perhaps not help growing it and making more profit, but rather help running it day to day so I can step back, whilst the business continues to grow and do good,
I apologise for any disappointment this may cause. If anyone wishes to speak to me face to face on zoom or to discuss anything further, I’d be more than happy to do that.
Please know my decision is not at all personally against any of you. I have the utmost respect and admiration for you all. Perhaps our paths may cross again in the future and we may even end up working together in some way. Who knows!
Thank you,
Siobhan
