Dragons’ Den cast ‘heart-broken’ as retired nurse puts £94k into business they rejected
Dragons Den winners: The original and the best
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Hannah entered the Den looking for £80,000 for a 15 percent stake in her business. As a nurse, she always cared for people who struggled to bend over the bathroom sink and wash their face or bending low to sit on a toilet, so she created the Knee Bo.
Knee-Bo is a retro-fit accessory to allow the user to raise the height of their bathroom or toilet fitments to alleviate the pain, discomfort or simple inconvenience of using such items if they suffer from back or knee pain.
Her invention was intended to offer relief for millions of people who suffer with chronic back disease.
Despite Hannah being such a “lovely person”, all dragons rejected her proposal as they believed there wasn’t a place for it in the market. They believed there were already products out there which were very similar and doing the same thing she wanted to.
The “problem” Duncan Bannatyne had, he said, was that he had “seen this before”.
As a previous investor in the care home marker, Duncan explained he had seen this in 1997.
He said: “I don’t know how you could have patented it when it’s already on the market.”
Hannah explained to the Dragons that she had spent £94,000 on her product.
Working as a career nurse, the Dragons knew that Hannah was not “getting paid a lot of money”, however she said she used her savings to fund her idea.
As she has passion in her product, over 10 years, she used all her savings to be able to bring her idea to life, without having to ever borrow any of it.
In shock, Theo Paphitis asked Hannah if anyone had ever asked her to stop investing all her money into the product.
She said: “Well everyone who spoke to me encouraged me that it was an excellent idea, and that the demand is there.”
However, in disbelief, Theo offered Hannah some tough love, he said: “Face the stark reality of life.
“Either this will work, or people will buy it or it’s not going to work, and you need to get on with your life.
“There’s only a few phone calls you need to make, and you’ll get the answer.
“This is not an investable opportunity for me, so I’m out.”
Peter Jones explained to Hannah that she was a “lovely person”, however he also could not invest as he knew “there are other ways to raise a toilet” so he didn’t think the Knee Bo was a “perfect solution” for the problem.
Peter “politely declined” her offer as he just didn’t know how he could make money from it.
Deborah Meaden urged Hannah to “please think very hard before you spend any more money,” as she too could not justify investing into this.
After looking through her patent certificate, Duncan explained there were other items that are similar to her products that could argue her patent.
He said: “I’m sorry but you need to face up to that. You’re a nice person but I’m out.”
Instead of money, Hillary Devey explained to Hannah that she would ask her contacts at the Princess Trust for all Carers and the Stroke Association if they require this item in their facilities.
Deborah said: “£94,000. That’s a lot of money, just heart-breaking.”
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