Three entrepreneurs from Barnet have won thousands of pounds of investment after braving the hit TV show Dragons’ Den.
Simeone Salik, 67, Janice Dalton, 52 and Dominic Lawrence 38, scooped £40,000 from two of the multi-millionaire dragons for their “instant” window blind business.
During tense negotiations the trio finally agreed to part with 50 per cent of their business in return for investment from tycoons James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne.
Simeone, a former PR executive from Mill Hill, Janice, an interior designer from Mill Hill, and importer Dominic from Finchley, teamed up to set up their business Blindsinabox selling, temporary blinds.
The product caught the eye of the investors despite three of the dragons quickly declaring themselves out. As part of the deal the dragons’ stake in the business will fall to 40 per cent on the condition that the three entrepreneurs hit their sales targets.
After the shoe aired on Monday the company’s website was inundated with more than 8,500 hits in just 24 hours.
The product came about after Simeone saw similar blinds in America but couldn’t find anything like them in the UK.
She said: “We did our best and I think we across as fairly cool. We spent a lot of time preparing and rehearsing, and we have put so much work into what is a terrific product. James Caan is obviously a very successful man and it was quite a compliment that he thought we were good enough. Its only TV but there is a sense of achievement and it was certainly a wonderful feeling getting investment.”
Janice, who runs Imagine Interior Designs in Dawes Lane, Mill Hill, added: “I felt a bit like a rabbit caught in the headlights at some points but I was more worried about seeing it on TV than actually doing it.
“When some of the dragons said they weren’t interested I started thinking that’s it, we’ve had it and we’re going to be going home with out tails between our legs. But it really has opened doors that wouldn’t have been available to us before. Its had a huge impact on business since Monday – the phone just hasn’t stopped ringing.”
For more information on the product visit www.blindsinabox.co.uk
