News / Energy
Bristol Uni duo land best ever Dragons’ Den deal
History was made in the 16th season of Dragons’ Den, screened on BBC1 on Sunday, August 19, when entrepreneurs Will Hodson and Henry de Zoete pitched their business Look After My Bills and secured an unprecedented investment for just three per cent of their business.
The pair first met when they were studying economics at the University of Bristol, and had always planned to be business partners. Henry went on to work in the political sphere as a government advisor and policy in think tanks, while Will worked for the Green Party trying to tackle the way big business dealt with consumers. Four years ago they saw a gap in the market and launched their business, an auto-switching service that finds customers the best deal on their gas and electricity service.
“We’ve kind of been prepping for it for years in a way – what we would say to such important people who can make such a big difference to your business,” Henry de Zoete said on the programme.
“We’re hugely passionate about this. We see it as one of the big issues of our time,” added Will Hodson.
Will Hodson (left) and Henry de Zoete (right) pitched Look After My Bills to the dragons
After a confident pitch, all five dragons – Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Jenny Campbell and Tej Lalvani – were willing to make offers.
Peter Jones said the entrepreneurs “have a real chance of making this a success”, and was the second dragon to make them an offer, followed in quick succession by the other three.
After more than three hours of negotiations, they secured an unprecedented investment, selling just 3 per cent of their business for £120,000 to Tej Lalvani and Jenny Campbell.
Co-founder Henry de Zoete took to social media to express his delight, saying: “We couldn’t be happier to do a deal with the dragons”.
The deal is being described as the most successful in the television programme’s history; previously only publishing business Lost My Name (now Wonderbly) came anywhere near, when the team behind it accpeted an offer of 5 per cent of the business for £100,000 back in 2005, the year Dragons’ Den first aired.
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