As soon as the Dragons’ Den TV cameras turned off, Deborah Meaden whispered something to Jayne Sibley that convinced her she’d picked the right Dragons.
The second longest-serving Dragon might have a reputation for being scary but on this occasion she showed her softer side.
Sibley is the CEO of Sibstar, a UK finance app for dementia patients and other vulnerable people, and had just accepted a £125,000 investment from Meaden and fellow Dragon, Sara Davies.
The idea of Sibstar came from Sibley’s experiences of caring for her parents, both of whom are living with dementia.
After delivering her pitch, the entire panel of investors – including guest Dragon Gary Neville – rose to applaud her and her co-founder, Marty Orton.
However, what moved her the most, was a comment Meaden made as they embraced.
“The first thing Deborah said to me after was ‘I’m so glad you’ve done this’ and I breathed such a huge sigh of relief,” she recalled.
The latest series of Dragons’ Den hit the screens last week and Sibley told BusinessCloud of the impact her TV appearance last year has had on the business.
“I think the outcome was great for us,” she said. “We’ve got two Dragons who are totally committed and believe in what we’re doing and we’ve raised the benchmark for ourselves,” she said.
“If you can stand up in front of those incredibly influential people, be prepared to put yourself in front of five or six million viewers on prime time television and pull that off, then you’ve definitely raised the bar.”
Sibstar empowers financial independence with a debit card and app to safely manage everyday spending.
Originally aimed at people with dementia it’s now expanded to include other vulnerable adults.
Despite appearing on the hit BBC show a year ago, Sibley told BusinessCloud that Meaden and Davies are continuing to support her business.
“They are two incredibly successful businesswomen who are very supportive of what we’re doing, believe in the Sibstar missions, and are dedicated to helping us accelerate the growth of our business,” she said.
“Deborah has been very helpful in the banking partnerships and Sara has helped in the police partnerships and some of our social media content for our campaigns.
“Last year, we launched our ‘Safe Spending for All’ initiative and managed to do a day of filming with Line of Duty actress Vicky McClure, who is also very committed to our initiative.”
Since Sibley’s appearance on Dragons’ Den, Sibstar has doubled their workforce from under five staff to around 10. Its customer service team has grown and they are now helping thousands of customers.
Sibley founded the Southampton-based business in 2020 and her journey has allowed Sibstar to pivot in order to help other vulnerable groups.
She said: “I knew from day one that Sibstar was a product that could help many people, not just those living with dementia.
“We’ve been ambitious from day one to ensure that we build a product that is relevant and can help and benefit as many people as possible.
“My vision for the future is that Sibstar is in the hands of any vulnerable adult who would benefit from our service, whether that’s here in the UK or globally.
“We’re absolutely disrupting the financial services sector, and we are shining a light on those people and want to work collaboratively in order to get our product into the hands of people that need it most.”
Sibstar has grown from pre-revenue before their appearance on Dragons’ Den to being revenue-generating.
Louise Hill, CEO of GoHenry, recently joined as a non-executive director and Sibley praised the impact that she has had.
She said: “She’s made a huge difference, because obviously she’s the co-founder and CEO of GoHenry, who has a very similar product for a youth audience. Not only has she trodden this park with a similar product, she’s done it.
“She’s a FinTech female founder and she’s done it. In terms of leadership, she’s grown that business to 6m customers and raised millions of pounds in investment. We had a huge opportunity to learn from her, and she’s very keen to share her knowledge and the lessons that she’s learned over the years.”
Sibley also lifted the lid on what it was like in the famous Den.
She commented: “We were in there for an hour-and-a-half and they edited it down to 15 minutes, and there was much negotiation.
“I think we went to the wall three times. But they tell you a story, and I think they reflected our story very truthfully and very honestly.
“I’m grateful to the editing team that did that because on an entertainment show they need to get a good story, but they definitely represented us well.”