Retirees David and Sarah Glashan failed to impress the Dragons’ Den panel with their bag that opens up into a sun lounger topper back in 2006. Fast forward more than a decade and the couple are successful entrepreneurs who have turned their beach towel idea into a multi-million-pound success.
David and Sarah, who used to run a computer company, came up with the idea for a multi-functional beach towel with pockets after days out to the beach left their belongings covered in sand.
The retired couple designed the Itsa – a beach towel with six pockets to store valuables – which retails at £29.99.
But it wasn’t an idea that grabbed the attention of the Dragons when they asked for a £250,000 investment for a 20 percent stake in the business.
Health club owner Duncan Bannatyne said: “I don’t think I would buy the product. How many people have bought it?”
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After David replied 700 people had already bought the product in just three weeks, Duncan added: “I don’t lke it – I wouldn’t use it.
The investment was also declined by dragons Richard Farleigh and Peter Jones who said: “I don’t think you’ll sell the volume you expect.”
The pitch received a lot of views after David threatened to take Theo Paphitis to court for saying someone might copy their idea.
Theo said: “I was selling these eight years ago, the duffle bag type as opposed to a square bag and without the secret pocket at the end and the pockets at the side. Somebody could quite easily do their own.”
To which David replied: “I will challenge you if you want to bring one out to copy me, because I’ll take you to court, I won’t think twice about it.”
Theo then claimed he came up with the idea first before David retaliated: “No, it doesn’t matter. If you put the pockets on the side, you’re copying it.”
It may have been a no from the dragons back in 2006, but since then the Glashans have had the last laugh.
The invention has won a Double Gold Award at the British Invention Show and is now valued at just less than £2million.
It’s not the first time the Dragons have turned down a pitch for it then to be a huge success.
The Dragons’ Den cast branded this pitch a ‘disaster’ – but the business has since sold for £40million.
Co-founders of Pasta Evangelists Finn Lagun and Alessandro Savelli’s appeared on Dragons’ Den in 2018, asking for £75,000 in exchange for a 2.5 percent equity stake in the business.
All five dragons said they would not invest, with Peter Jones telling the duo: “This will be a new one on me if this works, so I’m going to say that I’m out.”
Express.co.uk spoke to the entrepreneurs earlier this year, with Finn recalling: “They tore us to shreds, they destroyed us and they didn’t give us the money.”
By 2021, Pasta Evangelists had raised up to £4million, and was turning over £21million. In January 2021, the company was sold to the world’s largest pasta company, Barilla – for a reported £40million.
Finn told Express.co.uk: “It was quite a big increase. Had the Dragons joined us and invested £75,000 they would have had a big chunk back and made a nice return.
“That would have been a possible £800,000 back on their initial investment.”
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