Dragon Peter Jones was so taken with Murad Huseynov on Dragons’ Den tonight that he practically offered him a managing director role.
However circumstances meant that he refused to invest in his business – and Steven Bartlett stepped in to agree a deal in his place.
Jones owns photography chain Jessops – and charismatic Huseynov is the founder of Mosaic Journal, which transforms smartphone memories into cherished keepsakes.
The subscription service, launched in 2022, prints your photos every month so you can put them in an old-school photo album which lasts for a year.
“I was spending a lot of time on social media and thinking ‘this is not a real reflection of my life’,” Huseynov, who was born in Azerbaijan but has spent most of his life in London, told the Dragons in the first episode of series 23 on Thursday.
“These companies are incentivised to make us spend as much of our time as possible on our phones.
“I wanted to [create something that would] document your life with your friends – but in a more positive and uplifting way.”
Subscriptions cost £9.99 per month but a Dragons’ Den sale gives users a free month of photos, a 365-day album and free shipping for £29.99. Users can send friends or family a framed photograph as a gift through the platform.
Huseynov told the Dragons, which included guest judge Jenna Meek, that Mosaic Journal already has 1,000 paid subscribers – despite only consisting of him and his developer.
When quizzed by Meek – co-founder of REFY and making her debut in the Den – he said he thinks social media is “broken” and this is his way of fixing the preservation of memories.
According to Huseynov, in 2022 Mosaic Journal generated just £400 turnover with a net loss of £30,000; then in 2023 it hit £11,000 sales with an £84,000 loss; and in 2024 £36k, with a loss of £45k.
Speaking at the time of filming, he was predicting turnover of £270k in the following 12 months and said he had raised six months before at a £2.5m valuation. He asked the Dragons for £70k for 4% of the business.
“You’re looking through a crystal ball,” said Touker Suleyman, who described the potential market for the product as limited – and said he could just do the printing himself.
Bartlett responded by pointing out that the platform is saving people time and effort – like Deliveroo, which doesn’t provide food but the means to get it.
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Suleyman later described Huseynov as “credible”, but that was nothing compared to Jones, who said he was “exceptional as an individual”.
Despite claiming that “we could do this ourselves quite easily”, he said that if Huseynov didn’t already have shareholders, he would offer to buy the business, take it in-house and give him a job as MD of the Jessops photo group worldwide.
However he could not invest on those terms and Meek joined Suleyman and Jones in declining the deal, saying: “It’s not perfect.”
Deborah Meaden, however, said he has got “something” and offered the money asked for in return for 12%.
“I’m surprising myself, to be honest… but your valuation is crazy!” she said.
Bartlett offered the money for 15% and Huseynov, keen to “build one of the biggest voices on the internet”, said he wanted to partner with the Diary of a CEO boss for the media power it would give him.
Huseynov tried to counter-offer 9% but Bartlett stood firm at 15% – and a deal was done.
“Do you love it?” he asked Bartlett.
“I do,” came the response.
“Then we have a deal!” said Huseynov.
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