The founder of photo-printing app Mosaic Journal has revealed the explosive impact this appearance on Dragons’ Den has had on the startup.
Last week viewers saw Murad Huseynov walk away with an investment offer of £70,000 from Steven Bartlett for a 15 per cent stake in the business.
Now the 30-year-old has told BusinessCloud about the full extent his TV appearance has had on Mosaic Journal.
Highlights include:
- Receiving 2,000 applicants for a job as head of storytelling;
- A 1,200 per cent increase in website traffic; and
- Surpassing 2024’s total sales in one week
Huseynov is still the only full-time employee in the business, which is on track to hit £2.5m revenue this year and has active users in 21 countries.
He launched Mosaic Journal after becoming disillusioned with mainstream social platforms to create a digital and physical space designed to preserve memories in a tangible form.
Through its secure iPhone and Android app, users upload a single photograph each day and can privately tag friends who appear in those moments.
Each month, the images are printed and securely shipped to customers to be stored in their yearly Mosaic Journal, a linen-bound coffee-table book that arrives empty when they first sign up.
Huseynov was offered the full £70,000 by both Bartlett and Deborah Meaden before choosing the Diary of a CEO host – although the two haven’t met yet since the show was recorded in May 2025.
In 2024 Mosaic Journal generated reported sales of £36,000 and a loss of £45k but had entered a growth phase after securing a £200,000 investment ahead of their TV appearance.
By the time Huseynov walked into the Den in May 2025, monthly sales had increased to £20,000.
The growth continued in the nine months before the episode was screened last Thursday with a ten-fold increase in monthly sales to c.£200,000.
The business has also secured several upcoming retail placements, due to be announced later this year.
On the night the show was aired, Huseynov said traffic to Mosaic Journal’s website increased 1,200 per cent compared to the previous day while weekly sales have surpassed the total for the whole of 2024.
Murad Huseynov, founder of Mosaic Journal
What makes it all the more remarkable is Huseynov remains the only full-time employee in the company, although he does use a team of freelancers.
He’s currently looking to recruit three people and received 2,000 applicants for a job advert for a role as head of storytelling.
He told BusinessCloud: “What I would say about the experience is it’s very legit. It’s the first time you’re meeting the Dragons.
“The cameras might as well be hidden because they’re out of sight. You feel completely immersed in that room. There’s no retakes. You get a good grilling.
“It was incredibly high stakes. It’s not just about being in front of those five Dragons. There’s a sixth Dragon in the seat and that’s the four million people watching at home.
“I did want to get in front of the Dragons and show them the thing that I have poured so much love and hard work into and try and get a deal.
“We had hundreds of emails in the inbox and it’s amazing to hear people feel like they’re on the journey with us.”
Mosaic Journal is on target to hit £2.5m turnover in the current financial year although Huseynov is targeting ‘nine figures’ in the next three-seven years.
Huseynov was approached to appear on Dragons’ Den by the show’s producers just over a month before the episode was screened.
He revealed his appearance in the Den has made headlines all over the world, including in Azerbaijan, where he was born.