First into the Dragons’ Den tonight was an entrepreneur who showcases personalised pet portraits embroidered onto clothing.
Lucy & Lola, founded by Lucy Bowes, says every portrait is designed from the customer’s own photo – approved by them with unlimited revisions.
It is then stitched – never printed – in its Cambridge studio by a team of local young women, who are also trained by the startup.
The business was founded in 2021 after Lucy took out a £1,000 loan to buy a single embroidery machine. Her co-founder is a rescue dachshund called Lola, who remains the brand’s namesake and ‘least cooperative model’.
Lola appeared alongside Lucy in the Den.
“I had an Etsy shop side hustle drawing pet portraits,” explains Lucy of the early days. “I wanted to see if I could learn to embroider them onto clothes.
“I bought an iPad off Facebook Marketplace and roped in my boyfriend to do all the sewing.
“We had no idea what we were doing and never expected to sell much but… one morning we woke up to hundreds of orders!”
A website was launched; more machines purchased; and a team built. The business has also featured on CNN.
However it has been far from plain sailing for Lucy.
“We’ve suffered cashflow problems, production issues… you name it, we’ve been through it,” she wrote on Instagram.
“So many times I wanted to quit.”
However they have come through it all to build a community of 500,000 ‘pet parents’ on social media, with 77,000 orders and £5m revenue generated.
Lucy also made the Forbes 30 Under 30 list this year.
“Never let anyone tell you it’s ‘just a hobby’,” she wrote.
All Dragons’ Den investments made by Deborah Meaden
All Dragons’ Den investments made by Peter Jones CBE