Millions of viewers watched as Durham-based tech firm Choppity found itself at the centre of a three-way bidding between three of the stars of Dragons’ Den.
Married founders Zara Paul and Aaron Morris went into the Den offering a 6 per cent stake in their firm for an investment of £100,000.
Veteran Dragon Peter Jones was blown away by the slick presentation of their AI-powered video editing technology.
“They’re the best we’ve seen in the Den”, he enthused – offering the full £100k but in exchange for 15 per cent of the business.
He explained: “What you’ve done is really admirable and impressive. I think I could help you build the business but I have to take more than 6 per cent.”
Fellow Dragon Sara Davies, who has just returned as the CEO of the firm she founded as a student – Crafter’s Companion – said: “Wow, just wow. That is exceptional.”
She offered all the money for 6 per cent while Touker Suleyman wanted 15 per cent for the full £100k.
After some discussion they went with Jones, after he lowered his equity demand to 12.5 per cent.
Despite not being chosen Davies said: “They were brilliant. We couldn’t let them walk out of this Den without getting investment.”
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After leaving Paul said: “It doesn’t feel like this is real.”
However, as often happens post-show, Choppity and Jones have since made the mutual decision to not move forward with the investment.
Reflecting on their experience as a whole, Paul added: “It was an unforgettable moment to be in that room, presenting something we’ve worked so hard on. Then to receive three investment offers from some of the UK’s top entrepreneurs was just incredible.
“The night before our pitch, I had a dream that Peter offered us a deal, so when that happened in reality, I couldn’t believe it. We’re very grateful to the show and the opportunity it gave us.”
Paul proudly represents the LGBTQ+ community as an openly non-binary contestant, an experience they describe as ‘important and deeply personal’.
Steven Bartlett was one of two Dragons not to make an offer.
He said: “To say I know this space is an understatement. I own a company that is essentially doing the same thing and there are a lot of them. What happens if a Photoshop or an Adobe release a similar product?”