65 Roses and a Trunki

Dragons and Strap Hooks

The judgement of even the most powerful people is easily overwhelmed by simple things … … like strap hooks …

The evening before the biggest failure in the history of Dragons' Den, I sat down to dinner and a final run through with my father.

– That's great, Rob, he said. You feel OK?

– Can we go through the financials one more time?

We ended up going through it twice. I got the numbers into my head: three-year growth forecasts, cash flow projections, profit forecasts.

This, I thought to myself, is what Dragons want. Figures tame them. Like all successful entrepreneurs, they're risk-takers but they're also rational decision-makers. All I've got to do is convince them of the commercial viability of a ride-on suitcase on their terms: financials first. My terms might have been on the lived experience of using a Trunki, the fun it would bring to kids and their parents and, above all, the brand itself. But, in the Den, figures put out fires.

After finishing the second run through I was good to go.

When I got up the following morning, I stood in the window of my hotel and looked out. The sky sat grey and heavy over London. Despite the drab landscape, I felt good, reassured by the hum of traffic. I repeated the elevator pitch like a mantra.

About an hour later, Dad met me in the lobby and we began our walk to the Den. We didn't say much on the short walk to London Bridge. My chest felt tight and I needed to get some of the mucus off my lungs. For months, I'd ...