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Taking Omni Onto Dragon’s Den: Our Founders’ Story

Taking Omni Onto Dragon’s Den: Our Founders’ Story

Appearing on Dragon’s Den was one of the most exciting adventures of our time at Omni, our novel protein pet food and supplement brand co-created by myself and Dr Guy Sandelowsky back in 2021. 

While we kept it top secret up until the show aired, we wanted to give our readers, customers and supporters an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at what happened to us on the set of Dragon’s Den – and what it means for you!

Did the Dragons invest in Omni? 

To cut straight to the chase – yes! In fact, not one but two Dragons invested in our brand: Stephen Bartlett and Deborah Meaden. 

But to find out why they chose us and how much they invested, you’ll have to go and watch the episode yourself. 

Preparing to go on Dragon’s Den

Dr Guy and I had researched everything we could about the show – because, despite having watched it for many years ourselves, actually going on the programme was a completely different ballgame. 

From the moment we arrived, it felt surreal, and there was plenty that we didn’t expect.

For instance, the famous ‘lift’ that brings entrepreneurs into the Dragon’s Den was not really a lift at all - we walked in the back of it and almost immediately popped out the front! 

What went wrong in the Den… 

Despite having been successful in our pitch, our well-rehearsed presentation was not without its flaws! 

Almost straight away, Peter Jones struggled to open our bag of treats, having pulled the tear away off without breaking the seal of the packet. This threw us off our stride, but thankfully we managed to stay composed. 

After that, we showed them how delicious our dog food was by bringing in a helping hand - a gorgeous Black Labrador - who dutifully wolfed down the entire bowl in one go. Case in point! 

That is, right up until the dog managed to regurgitate up the food shortly after - just as we were discussing the health benefits of our food. 

Unfortunately, the producers had decided to fill the bowl with ten times the amount of food she was supposed to eat (makes the bowl look more full for TV), but she’d eaten the whole thing with a little too much gusto! 

Facing the Dragons in their Den 

A few things really stood out to us about the Dragons.

Firstly, Deborah Meaden was extraordinarily supportive. She spent most of the pitch silent, smiling and watching us as we defended our business as the other Dragons rightfully interrogated us. Even without her saying anything, we felt deeply supported by her throughout the pitch. 

As we went in, however, we knew that it was Stephen Bartlett who could be the ‘wild card’: we thought that, based on everything we knew about him, he would either love us… or hate us. As an investor in a number of health brands, though, we saw potential in him - and, as it turned out, he saw the potential in us, too. 

Towards the end of our pitch, he said he was impressed by our depth of knowledge in the pet nutrition industry and couldn’t fault us as founders.For us, as lifelong fans of Dragon’s Den, that meant more than we can easily describe! 

Tense negotiations in the Den

As a Founder, it is a dream to be able to negotiate with not one but two excited and enthusiastic Dragons as to how much money they should give you in return for a percentage of your business.

However, it isn’t always easy.

Through the jubilation of hearing a Dragon say “I believe in you”, there’s an undercurrent of feeling that you have to now give away a large part of your business - something that we have spent years building, only to give away quite a substantial portion of it after a couple of minutes in the Den. 

Dr Guy and I retreated into the corner of the room, out of the Dragon’s earshot, to decide what to do. 

Ultimately, we felt the wealth of expertise and guidance brought by the Dragons was definitely worthwhile - but, as any Founder will tell you, giving up a portion of your business is never an easy decision. 

Reflecting on our Dragon’s Den experience

As we left the Den, we felt an overwhelming sense of pride in what we had just accomplished - not just as individuals, but as an unbreakable Co-Founder team. 

The experience, to us, really affirmed how much we complement each other’s strengths and weaknesses, both driven by a passion to really revolutionise pet nutrition. 

Being on Dragon’s Den might be a once-in-a-lifetime experience - unless we decide to go back. We left the Den owning slightly less of our business than we once did, with brand-new investment into our business, and with the wealth of experience provided by our two new brilliant investors.

To any other budding entrepreneurs considering going on the Den, our only advice is to go for it. It’s certainly an experience you’ll never forget. 

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