North East businessman Dan Robson has faced the Dragons - and walked away with £80,000.
Teessider Dan appeared on the BBC One's Dragons' Den show tonight to pitch ideas for his company, Grow Sow Simple, created in 2014 to ‘get people growing’, and secured the backing of fellow North East entrepreneur, Sara Davies.
Retail specialist, Sara, who founded and built the multi-million pound craft brand, Crafter’s Companion, saw potential in Dan’s company and jumped at the chance to invest £80,000 in exchange for a 20% share of the business.
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After the show Sara - the guest speaker at April's BUSINESSiQ Awards at Ramside Hall - said: “I liked Dan the moment I met him and I really resonated with his commitment to giving all people, from all walks of life, the chance to grow their own vegetables. This level of passion, along with a strong concept, is critical for business success so I’m looking forward to seeing him developing and growing his fantastic brand.”
Dan, who runs the Newcastle company with his graphic designer brother, Joe, says: “I’ve always been a huge fan of Dragons' Den, and after many years of shouting at the TV, my wife convinced me to apply to appear on the programme.
"Entering the Den is very different to watching it at home; it was by far one of the challenging experiences of my life, but I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. Investment from Sara is the absolute dream having witnessed what she has achieved for North East business.
“The idea for my company was born out of my passions for sustainability and making gardening accessible. I am delighted that Sara, whose phenomenal brand was also created off the back of her own obsession for crafting, saw potential in our company at this critical phase in our journey.”
Grow Sow Simple has multiple ranges to enable anyone to easily cultivate vegetables, herbs and botanicals. This includes its biodegradable ‘SeedCell’ that can be pushed straight into soil, Microgrow kits, for small-scale, indoor gardening, and innovative children’s 3D puzzle gardening sets.
All ranges are sold nationally and internationally and are designed and manufactured at the company’s 6,000 square foot HQ using 100% recyclable, plastic-free materials.
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The seed for Dan’s business idea took root whilst he was taking part in 'guerilla gardening' projects whilst studying at Northumbria University back in 2001.
During COVID, Dan and his team had to make some fast decisions to keep the company afloat amid difficulties with securing materials, growing shipping costs and a shift in the retail landscape.
Despite losing significant orders at the time from traditional bricks and mortar outlets, the team jumped on the exploding ‘grow your own’ lockdown trend by creating mail order products. Now, as global demand continues to soar from consumers and retailers alike, with lucrative orders coming in from as far as California, the company may have found the perfect partner in Sara Davies.
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