Getting ‘torn to pieces’ in front of millions of people by Steven Bartlett could finish most founders – but Lottie Whyte is not most founders.
Along with her husband, former professional rugby player Joe Gray, she famously appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2024, offering 5 per cent of MyoMaster for a £100k investment.
In the end, they accepted a combined £100k offer from guest Dragon Gary Neville and Sara Davies in exchange for 10 per cent of their business, but the appearance was most memorable for a feisty exchange between Bartlett and Whyte, which has had more than 30 million online views.
Fast forward two years and Whyte and Gray have definitely had the last laugh.
As well as being included in BusinessCloud’s inaugural Founder 250 list, the couple have gone on to build the ninth fastest-growing founder-led business in the country.
With her tongue firmly in her cheek, Whyte has even joined the latest social media craze where creators film themselves sitting in a chair like an interview subject, supposedly to film a Netflix documentary – complete with dramatic background music.
In her case, the subject matter was how ‘our founder got torn to pieces by Steven Bartlett’.
She told BusinessCloud: “I think this and every ‘no’ on the journey pushed us forward.
Netflix spoof: Lottie Whyte has turned the experience into social media content
“Steven Bartlett rejected us on Dragons’ Den. I’m SO glad we didn’t listen. We went on to build the ninth fastest-growing founder-led business in the country.
“You should never let one person’s opinion define your potential. Relentless belief in what you are doing is 99 per cent of the key to winning in business.”
MyoMaster was launched in 2021 and is one of only 20 British business owners backed by Google.
Whyte raised her first round of investment six weeks after giving birth to her first child, and the company reached a £20m valuation in just four years.
Their appearance in the Den started with Bartlett saying the market was full of businesses selling ice baths and massage guns.
“The big thing for me is I’ve been sent so many massage guns like this that look quite similar from so many different brands,” he said.
“With the ice bath I’ve looked at so many investments in this space because I’m really into this hot and cold phenomenon that I actually can’t remember the name of them anymore and that for me is a real threat to this business over the long term.
“There really are so many brands in this space, what’s your point of difference?”
Whyte explained that, with the help of Google, they were creating the software that would connect the user to a workout tracker that would provide personalised programmes.
She said they’d reached profitability with 18 months and had a targeted exit plan of between six and seven years.
Unperturbed, Bartlett continued: “Honestly, I’ve seen all this before. They send me these massage guns all the time and they’re piling up in my house.”
At this point, Whyte interjected with one of the best responses ever seen in the Den when she replied: “With all due respect you’re not our core customer to be honest with you. Our core customer is not being sent free free Therabodies?”
In the end, Bartlett was the only Dragon not to make an offer.
Reached out: Steven Bartlett has reached out to offer support since the episode was filmed
“My heart is breaking because I love you guys,” he told them. “That’s why I’m squirming in my chair.
“I don’t see the innovation. I’m being honest. I think this business is predicated on the fact that you’re exceptional.
“I think I’m in love with you but I’m not in love with the business so I’m going to say ‘I’m out’.”
In the end, the couple accepted a combined offer from Neville and Davies.
Neville told Whyte she was a ‘class act’, while an impressed Davies told her fellow Dragons: “We haven’t had anybody like her in the Den.”
Whyte told BusinessCloud that Bartlett had subsequently ‘reached out’ to them and had been ‘very supportive’.
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Six months in the making, Founder 250 is a UK-wide list celebrating 250 of the country’s best founder-led and founder-influenced businesses. Spanning sectors including AI, fashion, health and beauty, IT, digital, education and manufacturing, the Founder 250 shines a spotlight on the businesses driving innovation and making a real impact. The list primarily focuses on businesses where the founder is still involved in some capacity, although not necessarily on a day-to-day basis. RSM UK is the headline sponsor of the Founder 250, alongside law firm CG, property specialist OBI and investor Mercia Ventures.