Despite the fact that BrewDog is a multi-billion pound company, James Watt and Martin Dickie failed in their application to the BBC’s Dragons’ Den in 2009. Both men had already been working together for 13 years and had initially hoped to raise PS100 million for a 20% stake in the company. However, the producers decided that the business did not have enough growth potential and wasn’t a good investment. More info – candymarketing.co.uk/
Why James Watt and Martin Dickie Didn’t Make it to Dragons Den
The pair presented a pitch to the Dragons but they were rejected. The reason given was that BrewDog was not a strong enough investment to attract an investor. It did not impress the Dragons during the screen test and they feared the pair would not be able to make a good pitch in front of the cameras. But now BrewDog is worth over PS1.8 billion, so if they’d taken the producers’ advice, it could have helped them achieve their goal.
The founders of BrewDog started the company 13 years ago and went on to make a fortune. They applied to the Dragons’ Den shortly after their startup, and were invited to screen test. The owners were able to convince the two Dragons that they were a good investment. Although they weren’t successful, they managed to convince the two Dragons to invest PS100,000 in the company.