Three entrepreneurs who wowed the Dragons’ Den judges with their kids’ ski suits made from plastic bottles have revealed how they declined an offer by judge Peter Jones after the show aired.
Dinoski creators Will Chapman, Matt Martin and Ed Lewis-Pratt, all from London, already class the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s children as fans of their products, which are all animal-themed.
And when they appeared on the BBC2 TV show tonight, they wowed Tej Lalvani, Touker Suleyman and Jones with their business story – and had three offers on the table.
They accepted Jones’ £50,000 for a 12.5 per cent stake in their company – but, in a brave move after the cameras stopped rolling, they walked away from the deal after crowdfunding nearly £300,000.
Will Chapman, Ed Lewis-Pratt and Matt Martin, from London, who appeared on Dragons’ Den, told how they declined an offer by judge Peter Jones after the show aired
Will Chapman, 31, whose father is Keith Chapman, creator of Bob The Builder and Paw Patrol, is acting CEO
Each sustainable suit (pictured) is made from 22 recycled plastic bottles and retails at £185, and comes in a range of characters
Will, 31, acting CEO whose father is Keith Chapman, creator of Bob The Builder and Paw Patrol, said: ‘It was all completely amicable but we didn’t end up going forward with Peter Jones’ deal in the end as it was too complicated to close both rounds at the same time.
‘But we are still on good terms with Peter’s team to revisit it.’
Since launching in October 2018, their clothing brand Roarsome – which is on track to turn over £250,000 this ski season – has gained a huge celebrity following – including David Walliams and Elton John.
And Simon Cowell, Fearne Cotton, Harry and Izzy Judd, Binky Felstead and Abbey Clancy’s children have all been pictured wearing the outfits.
Each sustainable suit is made from 22 recycled plastic bottles and retails at £185, and comes in a range of characters, from Patch the Panda and Pounce the Tiger, to Sparkle the Unicorn and Spike the Dinosaur.
Will, Matt, 31, and Ed, have also designed a Peter Rabbit-themed suit in conjunction with the new film that’s to be released in 2020.
Dinoski creators (L-R) Ed Lewis-Pratt, Matt Martin and Will Chapman impressed the Dragons’ Den judges with their kids’ ski suits made from plastic bottles
They accepted Peter Jones’ (pictured) £50,000 offer for a 12.5 per cent stake in their company but later went back on the deal
The trio, who are all skiers but don’t have any children themselves, applied to appear on Dragons’ Den, which sees entrepreneurs pitch ideas to five judges, in 2018, but finally got the call a year later.
‘We spent three hours on our feet, getting grilled by the judges,’ he explained. ‘And they didn’t even question the mountain of documents we were asked to put together.’
Ed, 29, added: ‘There was a moment after around two-and-a-half hours when one of the dragons had to go for a toilet break, and we weren’t allowed to speak to each other.
‘We sat on the floor for about 10 minutes right in front of the dragons! Then he came back in and we carried on for 45 minutes – but you won’t see that.’
What viewers will see is Peter Jones initially grilling the trio, then criticising their product for being too expensive, saying ‘£185 is a crazy amount of money’, adding ‘unless you can introduce it into the market for £34.99, you’re in trouble’.
However, after the two other male judges make an offer, Jones follows suit – impressed by the trio’s contacts.
But behind the scenes, Roarsome’s crowdfunding on CrowdCube had reached a staggering £275,000 – adding to the £155,000 they had raised from family and friends before launching.
It raised legal complications, so the trio decided to walk away from the Dragons’ Den offer.
Abbey Clancy and Peter Crouch’s daughter was snapped wearing one of the suits on Instagram (pictured)
Fearne Cotton’s children Rex and Honey Krissy Wood were also pictured wearing the ski suits (pictured)
Made in Chelsea’s Binky Felstead’s daughter India was snapped wearing one of the ski suits paired with a matching knitted hat (pictured)
Harry and Izzy Judd’s daughter Lola Rose Emma Judd was snapped wearing one of the suits too (pictured)
‘We actually ended up with the best possible scenario, because we will have all the publicity from Dragons’ Den without actually having to give away any equity,’ explained Ed.
They’ve also been approached by and the suits are now sold in Selfridges in London and Le Bon Marche in Paris.
Will said: ‘We launched in October last year after noticing a massive gap in the market for a fun adventure brand for kids.
‘Kids between the ages of one and seven love dressing up as their favourite characters and superheroes when they are at home but there wasn’t really any outdoor brand allowing them to do that.
‘We noticed that, especially on the mountains, with helmet and goggles on, kids all look exactly the same.
‘Our core mission is to remind everyone how great the great outdoors actually is. We also want to encourage kids to get off screens and get outside because that is becoming a bigger issue, and to highlight environmental concerns in a more of an approachable way for young families.’
The brand started with some basic drawings ‘with Kanye West’s kids’ faces Photoshopped on to all of them’, and no measurements, which they sent to their supplier.
The entrepreneurs class the likes of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Elton John as fans of their products, which are all animal-themed
Will, Matt, 31, and Ed, have also designed a Peter Rabbit-themed suit in conjunction with the new film that’s to be released in 2020
The brand started with some basic drawings ‘with Kanye West’s kids’ faces Photoshopped on to all of them’, and no measurements, which they sent to their supplier
Ed, who has been working in hospitality for the past 10 years, explained: ‘It’s a testament to them. Usually you are supposed to send a whole tech pack, with zips and measurements… we literally sent her a drawing, and the first sample wasn’t far off.’
They developed more characters and teamed up with children’s illustrator Jane Foster to create storylines for each making the brand ‘a lot cuter than it would have been’ – and they worked with Penguin to publish a book about ‘mini adventures’.
Each of the creators invested between £8,000-£10,000 into the business – as well as their own time.
They then set about working with ‘cool brands’ and ‘celebrity influencers’, which helped them to sell 1,200 suits in their first year.
‘We made a hit list of who we wanted to target, that we felt had the right audience and had the right age children. We basically just hustled!’ said Ed.
‘We Instagram direct messaged people, LinkedIn, we were being quite forthcoming with offering out free suits to dress kids in exchange for an Instagram post.
‘Some Instagrammers now charge thousands for an Instagram post now but we haven’t actually ever paid an influencer or a celebrity to wear any of our stuff.
The trio revealed they are set to launch a more affordable range of outdoor clothing – such as hoodies, wellies, backpacks and beanies
Each of the creators invested between £8,000-£10,000 into the business – as well as their own time
‘Because it is so unique, people have been very responsive. Through some personal contacts we managed to find our way into in the right circles.
‘The likes of Elton John, Will and Kate, David Walliams have all been sent suits.’
As well as the Peter Rabbit film collaboration next year, the trio reveal they are set to launch a more affordable range of outdoor clothing – such as hoodies, wellies, backpacks and beanies.
Will, who prior to this ran his own design agency, said: ‘In terms of success so far, we are definitely pleased with how it is going but we haven’t even scratched the surface of what the potential is.
‘The ultimate goal is to become the number one kids’ adventure brand worldwide. We do really believe we can do that; we are all confident we can get there.
‘We actually got a message from someone the other day to tell us that they checked on their child in the middle of the night and the child had put on their ski suit on their own and was sleeping in it! How funny!’
He added: ‘We may have more grey hairs because of it but we are on a good path.’