Kiddimoto ventures into the Dragons’ Den

Kiddimoto’s managing director, Simon Booth entered the infamous Dragons’ Den looking for investment into the company. Despite facing stiff interrogation from all five Dragons, Simon overcame adversity, leaving the Den with both the investment and two new mentors in the guise of Hilary Devey and Duncan Bannatyne.

Since 2008, European and US markets have struggled to achieve any positive growth. The downfall of banks and downward spiral of major corporations on the stock markets have caused banks to retract virtually all lending. As a result economies, and more so businesses, have not been able to easily fund growth.

To compound the weakness in the markets, increasing costs and fluctuating currency in China is hitting importers hard.

Kiddimoto has been able to buck the recessionary trends. By continuously introducing new designs, offering the highest levels of service to all customers and pursuing business in a broad range of niche market sectors, Kiddimoto has witnessed excellent brand growth. In addition, Kiddimoto has spread its wings in most European countries, across Asia and into the Americas, resulting in strong year on year organic growth. Kiddimoto has managed to remain financially self-sustainable through holding a tight line to a shrewd business model.

Recently, demand for Kiddimoto products has massively increased from major High Street stores, including the likes of John Lewis and Evans Cycles in the UK, Eveil et Jeux and Le Bonhomme de Bois in France and Imaginarium in Spain.

"We are continuing to expand our number and type of stockist, which has placed a lot of strain on inventory levels. It has become very apparent that we have to significantly increase production to service the demand", commented Kiddimoto’s managing director, Simon Booth. "For the first time since the early days in the history of Kiddimoto, we’ve needed to seek external funding solutions to increase stock levels."

Due to Kiddimoto’s strong position, the banks have been supportive, with offers to help fund the stock, particularly with the government backed Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme. Alternative solutions have also been considered, in particular looking for investors - this is how the idea of entering the Dragons’ Den was born.

"I was left home alone with the kids one Tuesday evening in May" recalls Simon. "After putting the kids to bed and having a bite to eat, I settled down on the sofa with a bottle of red and the laptop. I quickly found myself on the BBC website. About an hour later I had sent in an online application for the Dragons’ Den."

Just three days later, Simon received a call from a BBC researcher. "She said she was very interested by my application and wanted to ask few questions - 'it will only take 20 minutes' she remarked." Almost two hours later Simon’s initial interrogation was over and he was invited for a screen test in Manchester the following Monday. "I had to prepare a three minute pitch for the screen test. So I quickly got to it as I had arranged a weekend away at the races with my wife to celebrate her birthday."

"I polished the pitch on the Sunday evening and headed to Manchester early Monday morning. The screen test was in front of camera with just the researcher and camera man. This was about the fourth time I had said the pitch out loud and definitely the first time in front of a camera. A couple of fluffed tries and the third attempted I nailed it. The guys at the BBC were great and made me feel quite at ease and sent me home feeling good about the audition."

The call came from the researcher on the following Thursday to say that Kiddimoto had been selected for the ‘Den’ and that filming would be in the next couple of weeks. A few days later Simon was given a date… in 10 days! "I had less than 2 weeks to prepare all due diligence, refine my pitch and work out how I would handle it. All this pressure on top of continuing to run the business,which was and still is demanding of my time."

After a refreshing, if somewhat nervous, overnight stay at the expense of the BBC, Simon headed off for the day of reckoning and the most important pitch of his life.

"As I walked up the stairs into the Pinewood Studios ‘Den’, I felt very nervous, but I had Ruby, my 3 year old daughter and greatest ally, with me so I didn’t feel alone. As they say, there is strength in numbers, and I was quietly confident despite not having had long to plan for this day. I felt as if I was stepping inside the television itself. Drinking in the sights in front of me with the Dragons, the crew and the bright lights, it was as if I’d been sucked through the screen in my living room and into a new high-definition world."

"My initial pitch lasted just three minutes. Ruby and I walked into the Den and I unveiled the Kiddimoto range, delivered my pitch, then Ruby did a few demo laps of the Den and away she went. Then ensued possibly the most draining two hours of my life as the five Dragons attacked me from every angle!"

Simon’s agenda was simple; to get the Dragons on his side from the onset, be honest and open and to answer all of their questions to the best of his ability. "I think that I managed to get the concept of Kiddimoto across pretty well but I stumbled with some of the close financial interrogations, and I don’t think I managed to get across the uniqueness of the Heroes range. Deborah Meaden quizzed me about a missing £100K that I just couldn’t account for. Luckily Hilary Devey came to my aid, building in transport costs. The remainder of the £100k could be accounted for in royalties paid to the World Champions in our Heroes range, but I just froze on this and felt that perhaps I’d blown it all when Deborah uttered those dreaded words,'I’m out!' "

"Likewise, I thought that I got on well with Theo and he hinted that he could introduce me to a contact after the show who would invest in Kiddimoto without me having to sacrifice any shareholding in the company. But this wasn’t what I wanted. What I was really looking for in the Den was a friend, a mentor to be on my side that could guide me through the next phase of Kiddimoto’s growth and development."

"Finally, Duncan Bannatyne uttered the immortal words, 'Because I like your product I’m going to make you an offer.' However, not one but two offers followed. The first - all the money for 30%; the second - half the money for 15%. In my mind, I had the maximum figure of 25% to give in exchange for investment but at this stage I was almost relieved after my early faux pas with the financials to be offered anything at all!"

"Hilary weighed in with a few more questions but at this point my head was racing with adrenalin and I accepted a joint offer from both. By the end I felt exhausted but relieved - I’d been dragged through the mire but managed to just about keep my cool, my integrity and self-dignity. Although totally drained, I felt that it had been a great success."

"I’ve pitched and presented to loads of people over the years but nothing really prepared me for the grilling from the Dragons. I got sucked into a vortex of questions that had my head spinning. I had to regain my composure to ensure that the answers I gave wouldn’t ruin Kiddimoto and the excellent reputation it has built up over the years. I managed to pull it all back together and I’ve found the new friends and mentors that I was after!"

And the rest, as they say, is history!

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