Carla Saull knew her last-minute appearance on Dragons’ Den would change her life – but she could never have guessed by how much.
Millions of TV viewers watched her walk out of the Den with a £40k investment into her Winchester-based hair towel company Good Wash Day.
However, within a week of the show being aired, the 55-year-old has secured sales of more than £150k – smashing her previous highest annual sales of £141k.
Saull, who has been working round-the-clock fulfilling orders, only started the business in 2021 but already has customers in 41 countries.
She was only given nine days’ notice of her appearance on Dragons’ Den and says her feet have barely touched the ground since.
Her journey into the Den started when she was approached by a BBC producer on Instagram – but she wasn’t sure she wanted to accept.
“At the grand old age of 55, I had never pitched a business before, or even given a presentation, so pitching on a show to five highly successful entrepreneurs (and knowing that millions of people would eventually watch me) felt more terrifying than I can convey,” she said.
However, the result of her 90-minute grilling in the Den – which ended with a £40k investment from Davies for 20 per cent of her business – has been little short of astronomical.
“My biggest year in terms of revenue was £141,000,” she told BusinessCloud. “In the week after the show I’ve now done over £150,000!”
Saull estimates she relies on technology for 80 per cent of her business and said she hopes her success will inspire other women to follow her lead after launching Good Wash Day when she was 51.
She came up with the idea during the first lockdown in 2020 when she decided to embrace her natural waves and move away from heat styling.
Discovering that traditional terry towels caused breakage, damage and frizz, she developed a unique, gentle hair towel made from ethical, organic jersey cotton.
In 2021, she took the plunge and launched her range of UK-made, sustainable stretch-fit wraps.
She said: “Women used to be expected to sort of fade into insignificance in their 50s and 60s.
“But now I just think ‘gosh, we’ve got so much life experience and skills we’ve picked up and developed through previous careers or through raising kids’, so I love that we’re never too old and it’s never too late.
“This business is like my third baby that I’m raising now.”
She said she’s been inspired by the success of beauty mogul Trinny Woodall, who has also been a guest on Dragons’ Den.
“Trinny Woodall started her business at 53 and she now owns the fastest growing beauty business in Europe,” she said
“I sent her one of my towels three years ago and it went wild. I did about £28,000 in revenue that month – it was ridiculous and that was in year one.
“She’s one of my biggest cheerleaders. She loves my brand. I’ve just been up to spend International Women’s Day at her offices last week.”
Saull also praised the contribution of Davies, who has just announced she’ll be stepping away from the hit BBC show after five series.
She said: “Sara is incredible. She hosts a two-day ‘retreat’ for all of the owners of companies that she has invested in and I don’t think any of the other Dragons do that.
“All of the people who she has invested in on the current season have to wear a different coloured name badge because they can’t be in any footage as it’s top secret.
“She brings in all of her top team, her PR person and they basically give you two days of how to prepare for airing, and that’s invaluable, because if I hadn’t been as prepared as I was, it would’ve been even more overwhelming.
“She’s really involved and she’s really hands-on. I speak to some of her team members a few times a month if I need anything and they come back to me straight away.”
In readiness for her appearance she quadrupled the amount of stock she kept – and she’d glad she did as the orders poured in.
Towels are priced from £28 to £36 and are accompanied by a personalised postcard but Saull has just had to place another order for 15,000 after her original supply of 500 postcards ran out!
Most of her supplies are bought from small businesses and she’s had to enlist help from the local community to meet demand.
“My dream is to have other people around my kitchen table packing orders,” she said.
“I’ve got a 15-year-old, who is one of my friend’s children, and they sometimes pack for me.
“There’s also a lady who is going to be my first freelancer and she is a real generalist.”
Saull recalled her nerve-wracking appearance on Dragons’ Den.
Good Wash Day owner Carla Saull in the Den
“I’ve watched it for years, and when those lift doors open and the people walk out, you can be watching at home and your palms are getting sweaty and you know how tricky it looks,” she said.
“Every week there’s always someone who forgets their numbers or they have a really hard time with the questions.
“Even during the interview process, I still thought that I couldn’t do it and I’d be too nervous.
“I’ve never pitched my business to anyone. I’ve never even done a presentation, so it was terrifying for me.”
She continued: “I knew that if I was well prepared, that I would be fine because I can talk about my business till the cows come home and I know every aspect of my business inside out.
“I think if you can hold your nerve when you go in there and you’re well prepared, you’ll be fine.
“The Dragons are actually really nice. They smile at you throughout and they’re giving you encouragement.
“But for me, I thought ‘I’m not going in there unless I’m absolutely 100 per cent prepared’.
“I’ve loved running my business but I’m really excited to have the investment to be able to help me get to the next level.”
The firm currently has customers in 41 different countries and has been used by celebrities Shirley Ballas and model Ruth Crilly, as well as Woodall.
Saull is very driven by her own ethics and gifts some of her products to people in the cancer community.
“I’ve had so many supportive emails saying, ‘I’ll never forget the kindness you showed me when you gifted me a towel whilst I was going through my chemotherapy’,” she said.
“One said that it was a ‘little pocket of joy in a really dark time’, and I just think that that’s lovely.
“I also had a massive watch party for my episode with about 100 people.
“I invited the first ‘random’ (customer) who bought one of my towels along with her Mum. She was the first person who I didn’t know to buy one of my products and I will never forget her, so I invited her and her Mum to my watch party and I mentioned them in my speech.
“I paid for her to travel down to Winchester from the Midlands, I put them up in a hotel, I paid for their train tickets and she was my guest of honour.
“That summarises how I approach my brands and my business.”
Sara Davies said: “Carla has achieved so much in such a short time. She took a simple idea, poured her passion into it, and created a brand that solves a genuine need. I love her commitment to running an ethical business, whilst retaining that personal touch that makes it special.
“Her hunger to conquer the global market is insatiable and I knew within five minutes of her entering the Den that I wanted to invest in Carla’s business. I’m excited to work alongside her to help more people enjoy the natural health and beauty of their hair.”