It’s been a long-held dream of Jenna Meek to appear on Dragons’ Den – and one which will be realised tonight.
When the REFY co-founder announced that she would join the line-up as a guest Dragon in 2026 to her 14,000 Instagram followers, she wrote: “Been manifesting this one for a long time and it still doesn’t feel real that it actually happened.
“It has always been a massive goal of mine to be on Dragon’s Den.”
Citing departing Dragon Sara Davies, she continued: “It was this show (and Deborah sorry other Dragons haha) that inspired me from day one to want to be an entrepreneur.
“I used to watch this show all the time and would dream to pitch on it one day, never mind be a dragon 😭❤️
“Beyond grateful for this incredible opportunity, it pushed me to new limits and had so much fun doing it.
“The most incredible incredible experience and so grateful for the amazing crew and all the incredible dragons who made me feel so welcome ❤️
“Still doesn’t feel real that it will actually go on TV 😂”
But who is Jenna Meek? And how did she get here?
Starting out
After achieving a BSc in International Fashion Marketing from Manchester Metropolitan University, Meek moved into luxury fashion, beginning as a sales advisor at Hugo Boss.
From there, she moved through a range of respected industry brands, taking on the role of design intern at Rebecca Minkoff, then as product developer at Christopher Raeburn, Emelia Wickstead, and finally Burberry.
The Gypsy Shrine
In 2015, at the age of just 20, she quit her job to found her first venture, The Gypsy Shrine, a festival beauty brand offering a range of face jewels and glitter.
The Gypsy Shrine was invited to paint the islanders on popular ITV2 show Love Island.
Now known as Shrine, the company has worked with worldwide brands such as TopShop, Coca Cola, Spotify, Google, ASOS and Bloomingdales.
Meek also launched an eco-friendly haircare product, Drop It, that is free from single-use plastic. She exited Shrine in 2024 to focus on her more recent venture, REFY.
REFY
In 2020, Meek co-launched REFY alongside influencer Jess Hunt to sell minimalist yet high-impact products with an inclusive ethos.
From its Manchester base, the company has become one of the fastest-growing beauty brands in the UK with an annual turnover of more than £40m.
It is now stocked in Selfridges, Brown Thomas and Sephora globally, with a recent launch in the Middle East (pictured below).
REFY has won multiple industry awards, for both its products and as an overall business, including winning the Most Inspiring Launch Award at The Klicks 2024, being recognised by FEBE Growth 100 as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the UK in 2025, and being named one of The Times’ Best Places to Work for two consecutive years.
Meek was also a top-10 finalist for the EY Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Motherhood
Meek, now 33, has spoken about challenges of switching off while on maternity leave.
Writing on LinkedIn in March 2025, she said: “In November I deleted emails from my phone, and the reaction was ‘WOW that’s crazy, you’re the CEO of a pretty important business’.
“I was addicted to checking my emails. I would wake up and reach for my phone to open Gmail and check them last thing at night from bed. I felt so much pressure to be available 24/7 and it was an obsession. The ironic thing was that the pressure was from myself and no one else.
“I am more present in my personal life. With less notifications on my personal phone I’m not glued to my screen every time I feel my phone buzz. Emails can wait and my family deserves my full attention.
“Has my business died because of this? Absolutely not, if anything nothing has changed. I still check my emails just not every second.
“Were my team shocked? Yes, absolutely. I have been 24/7 available from the day I started my first business in 2017.
“Did I feel uncomfortable? Yes, so badly. Did I think ‘OMG people will think I don’t care?’ My team will think I have checked out, YES. I thought it all. Did I still do it? ‘YES’. Why?”
Meek, who was included in BusinessCloud’s first two annual Northern Leaders lists along with Hunt, explained: “I have to be the one to feel uncomfortable to make that change so that everyone else can make the change without it feeling weird or uncomfortable. I take on those thoughts and worries so the team don’t have to.”
She therefore empowered her staff at REFY to get rid of work phones to create a better work/life balance. Emails on personal phones were also deleted and the workforce were – at the time, anyway – no longer using WhatsApp.
She quipped: “We sell bronzer, we don’t save lives. Will report back if the business dies this time round.”
Meek is thought to be worth between £52-£53 million.