These Bold Entrepreneurs Stick To Fair Pricing For Their Products | Dragons' Den
Summary
TLDRLawrence Webb and Frank Druid, from Rugby, pitched their invention, the Lid Lifter, a pedal device to open wheelie bin lids, on a business investment show. Seeking £50,000 for a 20% stake, they faced skepticism from the investors. Despite low sales, they held firm on their pricing and patent. Deborah Meen and Theo Paphitis each offered £25,000 for a 25% stake, while Peter Jones offered the full amount for 50% of the patent. Ultimately, they chose Peter's offer, gaining investment and a business mentor.
Takeaways
- 😀 Lawrence Webb and Frank Druid are seeking £50,000 for a 20% stake in their business, Lid Lifters.
- 🔨 Their core product is a pedal device that opens wheelie bin lids, aiming to solve a common household problem.
- 🏙️ There are 22 million households in the UK, with a potential market of 21 million bins, which is expected to grow with recycling initiatives.
- 🤔 The Dragons are initially unimpressed, questioning the simplicity and value of the product, comparing it to a piece of plastic and string.
- 💼 Lawrence's background is in physical education, having been a teacher for 35 years, while Frank is a former director of PE.
- 💰 The unit cost of the Lid Lifter is £250, and they sell it for £530 to trade and £9.99 to retail customers.
- 📄 They have a granted patent from 1997, which covers the use of a flexible linkage between the pedal and the bin lid mechanism.
- 📊 Sales have been slow, with only 2,000 units sold between 1997 and 2012, averaging about 150 units per year.
- 💭 Deborah Meen offers £25,000 for a 25% stake, seeing potential in the product despite its slow sales and unattractive retail appeal.
- 🔄 Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones also offer £25,000 each for a 25% stake, recognizing the product's potential and the strength of the patent.
- 🔝 Peter Jones makes a bold offer of the full £50,000 for a 50% stake, positioning himself as the partner with the experience to leverage the patent and retail contacts.
Q & A
What is the name of the business run by Lawrence Webb and Frank Druid?
-The name of the business is 'lid lifters'.
What is the core product of lid lifters?
-The core product is a 'lid lifter', which is a pedal device that opens a wheelie bin lid.
How much investment are Lawrence Webb and Frank Druid seeking?
-They are seeking an investment of £50,000.
What percentage of the business are they willing to give away for the investment?
-They are willing to give away a 20% stake in their business.
How many wheelie bins are estimated to be in the UK according to the script?
-There are approximately 21 million bins in the UK.
What is the unit price cost of the lid lifter according to the script?
-The unit price cost is £250.
What is the selling price of the lid lifter?
-The selling price is £530 for trade and £9.99 for retail.
When was the patent for the lid lifter granted?
-The patent was granted in 1997.
How many lid lifters were sold in the 12-year period mentioned in the script?
-Only 2000 lid lifters were sold in the 12-year period.
What is the main criticism Deborah Meen has about the product?
-Deborah Meen criticizes the product for not being an attractive retail item and suggests a different market approach.
What offer does Deborah Meen make to Lawrence Webb and Frank Druid?
-Deborah Meen offers half of the money (£25,000) for 25% of the business.
What is Peter Jones' final offer to Lawrence Webb and Frank Druid?
-Peter Jones offers the full £50,000 for 50% of the patent.
Which dragon's offer do Lawrence Webb and Frank Druid accept?
-They accept Peter Jones' offer.
Outlines
🚀 Pitching the Lid Lifter
Lawrence Webb and Frank Druid, both from rugby, present their invention, the Lid Lifter, to potential investors. They seek a £50,000 investment for a 20% stake in their business. The Lid Lifter is a pedal device that opens wheelie bin lids, addressing a problem faced by many households. With 22 million households in the UK and an increasing number of bins due to recycling, they believe their simple yet effective product could be a hit. Despite the Dragons' initial skepticism, they demonstrate the product's functionality and discuss their business model, which includes a unit cost of £250 and a selling price of £530 for trade and £9.99 retail. They also mention their granted patent from 1997, which covers the use of a flexible linkage between the pedal and the bin lid, potentially giving them an edge in the market.
💭 Dragon's Dilemma: The Lid Lifter Debate
The Dragons express doubt about the Lid Lifter's potential as a retail product, questioning its attractiveness to consumers and the low sales volume over the years. Deborah Meen suggests targeting specific markets, like care homes, where the product could solve a real problem. She offers half the requested investment for a 25% stake, while other Dragons, like James and Duncan, remain unconvinced of the business's viability. Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones, however, see potential and offer the full £50,000 for a 25% stake each, recognizing the value of the patented invention and the opportunity it presents. Peter Jones, in particular, emphasizes the importance of leveraging the patent and having the right contacts in the retail and public sectors to maximize the product's potential.
🏆 Decision Time: Choosing a Dragon
After considering the offers, Lawrence and Frank decide to accept Peter Jones's offer of the full £50,000 for a 50% stake in the patent. They appreciate his recognition of the product's potential and his experience in leveraging patents and contacts in the industry. The decision is met with applause, and the duo leaves the den with the funding they sought and a strategic partner to help them navigate the market. The episode ends on a positive note, with the Lid Lifter inventors looking forward to a successful partnership and the potential growth of their business.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Investment
💡Lid Lifters
💡Wheelie Bin
💡Patent
💡Retail
💡Public Awareness
💡Product Demonstration
💡Market Potential
💡Business Model
💡Return on Investment (ROI)
💡Invention
Highlights
Lawrence Webb and Frank Druid pitch for £50,000 investment for their invention, the lid lifter, which opens wheelie bin lids.
Lid lifters target a UK market with 22 million households and 21 million bins, with potential for growth due to recycling.
The lid lifter is a simple device that uses a pedal to open bin lids, aiming to solve a common problem.
The duo demonstrate the product, showing its practical use and ease of operation.
Investors express skepticism about the product's market potential and the simplicity of the invention.
The unit cost of the lid lifter is £250, with a selling price of £530 for trade and £9.99 for retail.
A patent for the lid lifter was granted in 1997, protecting the invention for 20 years.
Despite the patent, only 2,000 units have been sold in 12 years, raising concerns about the business model.
Frank Druid's background as a physical education teacher and director is revealed, highlighting a non-traditional career shift.
The product's potential market is discussed, with a focus on care homes and individuals with difficulty opening bin lids.
Deborah Meen offers £25,000 for 25% of the business, showing belief in the product's potential despite the risks.
Theopilus offers the other half of the investment, matching Deborah Meen's offer, for a combined total of £50,000 for 50%.
Peter Jones offers the full £50,000 but for a 50% stake in the patent, recognizing the value of the intellectual property.
The investors acknowledge the high risk of the investment but express commitment to the product's potential.
Webb and Druid decide to accept Peter Jones' offer, valuing his experience and contacts in leveraging the patent.
The duo walks away with the full investment and a strategic partner, indicating a successful pitch.
Transcripts
next up the stairs are Lawrence Webb and
his father's friend Frank Druid both
from rugby now they're hoping to secure
an investment of 50,000 for their
invention
[Music]
hello my name is Lawrence Webb and this
is my business partner Frank druitt and
together we run a business called lid
lifters we are here today to ask you for
an investment of £50,000
in return for 20% stake in our
business lid lifters has one core
product a lid lifter which is a painted
pedal device which opens a wheelie bin
lid there are 22 million households in
the UK this makes a combined total of 21
million bins and with the Advent of
recycling this figure is sure to
increase they say the simplest ideas are
the best and we' now like to give you a
practical demonstration of how the
product
works as you would be going to a wheelie
bin
job done thanks for
listening the dragons aren't looking too
impressed by the pitch from rugby based
Frank druitt and Lawrence Webb you
couldn't have came on here with a piece
of string and a piece of plastic could
you I mean that's a piece of plastic and
a piece of string isn't it and that's
held on a piece of black tip the friends
need a £50,000 investment and are
willing to give away a 20% share in
their wheelie in
attachment hello Lawrence hello Frank
good day to so tell me a bit about your
background who are you I was a teacher
for 35 years what were you teaching
physical education I was a director of
PE wow okay what's the correlation
between director of PE and a wheelie bin
none okay so what are you doing here
Frank I decided to try to see if I could
do things in other ways not just teach
good answer simple as that and how much
does it cost you to make the unit price
is
£250 okay and you sell it for £530 is
the trade and 9.99 would be a retail
okay did you say patent applied for
patent granted granted when did you have
it granted it was granted in
1997 okay in that 12E period how many of
you sold just on 2000
okay
2012 years my math isn't great but that
sounds like what 150 a year not a lot
that's
right the duo are struggling to make the
multi-millionaire investors take their
product seriously will retail Guru
theopus spot any investment potential in
the
lifter Frank on Theo so where how do you
think we're going to make money from
this Frank by public
awareness people just don't know it
exists I went to one or two of the big
people in in retailing what have they
said to you they said yes fine fine fine
we like that look and then they started
talking about prices oh good and I found
that the prices they were talking about
was up at 20 and so on and so forth they
PID 20 for them they they thought that
they would sell for 20 I I'm sorry I
can't see that think you should try to
get value for money and a 20 for a thing
like that isn't on so what happened
Frank tell us what happened I didn't I
didn't follow it up I went to three big
companies and they all said the same
what you thought I'm not going to do
this cuz they're going to sell it for
too much money if in effect
wow Frank has surprised the Dragons by
taking an unusually principal stand
against the retail Giants now Deborah
Meen wants more detail about the product
itself can you be specific on the patent
what exactly have you got a patent for
the patent dictates for the use of a
flexible linkage
between the pedal and the tumbler H the
patent is for a flexible linkage between
the and it covers a solid linkage
between the two so any bin that is
currently got a solid rigid Link at the
back which you've just described one is
actually infringing your pattern
technically infring our UK pay as we
know there isn't any such
thing I think that your reason the
reason that you haven't sold many of
them the moment is I think you've gone
down completely the wrong route this is
not an attractive retail product people
are not going to walk into a supermarket
and think oh that looks nice cuz it
Doesn't what it does do is for a portion
of people it solves a
problem and I think that if you tackled
it from the other end of the market
which is go to the people who are
providing these bins to Care Homes to
people who have difficulties actually
opening their bin Lids then I think
there could
be an opportunity here so I I do you
know I accept this as a complete punt
but there's something in me that is
saying that there could well be it's
worth the punt for me so I'm going to
offer you half of the money for 25% of
the business
it's a daring move by Deborah Meen but
Den rues State the duo need an offer of
the full £50,000 or they'll leave with
nothing will any of her Rivals share her
enthusiasm and make a
bid I just can't believe how obsessed
you are that this is a viable business
proposition it can't be you know you've
V this at £250,000 it's a bit of plastic
and a bit of string I mean even if gave
you £50,000
for 100% of the business I could never
make a return it's not a business so I
can't invest so I'm out thank you okay
Lawrence let me tell you where I am um
I'm not really in the the lid lifting
business and I have no desire to be in
that business um so unfortunately I
won't be investing today so I'm
out with two dragons now out the Duo's
hopes of success in the den rest with
theop petus and Peter Jones
Frank I'm not a million miles away from
making you an offer I've been thinking
would Mrs P use it well you know after
dragging those bins all the way down to
the bottom of the drive and back putting
that on is no hardship so I'm sure she
would do
it so
um I too will give you the other half of
the money for 25% it is a Nutter utter
piece of Madness and punter on my part
something about you something about the
product okay that's very
kind the full £50,000 is on the table
but for half the company but Peter Jones
has been unusually
quiet that leaves just me then
um C I think you got a very good offer
from from Theo and Deborah there but I I
totally endorse what actually um James
and Duncan said you know this is not a
business
um but what it
is
is a opportunity to acquire a
patent and what you need is somebody
that can actually leverage and take that
patent and not just open doors but has
the direct relationships with the major
players to give this the best chance
possible you need somebody that's
licensed products before into retail you
need of somebody that actually has a
good experience potentially with
contacts in the public sector well I
think it's your lucky day because I
think I'm that person right okay I think
you have got a little gem of a potential
product and for me I'm not even going to
make you an offer on the basis of seeing
this as a punt from the minute you
demonstrated the product I actually
think that you have something and you
don't have a business you have an
invention in the purest sense that is
backed
up in the best way
possible with a very solid patent and on
that basis I would like to offer you the
entire 50,000 for 50% of the
patent it's an intriguing offer and one
that has irritated his rival Deborah
Meen can I be clear on the word punt
because sometimes it can sound like
people are not going to take a business
seriously when I say a punt I mean high
high risk what you mustn't glean from
the word punt is that it's just a bit of
fun or just a bit of something that we
do on the sideline because it's not in
my nature and I've worked with Theo
before I know it's certainly not in his
nature to do anything that we wouldn't
absolutely commit to yeah and guys I
just want to say marbit here I mean
Peter gave a really eloquent um uh
Speech there begging you to choose him
because he needs to at the end of the
day not need contacts contacts in this
market we all have you've got to decide
who you best feel you can work with
that's I think the most important thing
about this
product definitely yeah if we could have
just a couple of moments just to you can
absolutely do you want to go
cheers the duo now have a clear choice
will they go for two dragons one dragon
or no dragons at all over here it's okay
then whatever happens it's it's you know
we made the decision knowing me yeah you
you okay yep right okay great right
on right um Frank and I have have come
to a decision thanks very much for both
of the offers I mean they really truly
are fantastic but we thought we'd like
to go with Peter's offer and would
graciously ex accept fantastic well done
very thank you very much
thanks Fant good luck cheers than Frank
and Lawrence have done it they walk away
with the money they wanted and a dragon
on
board I'm sure Mrs P would love that if
you wrapped up and give it as a little
present on our
birthday what'd you get the lady who's
got everything a lid lifter
[Music]
[Applause]
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