My Favourite Investment from Dragons’ Den

Does anybody remember Peter Moule and his company, Choc Box? Recently, I was asked about my favourite investment on Dragons’ Den. I had already discussed in a Linkedin post how much I enjoyed investing in Sammy French's dog treadmill venture, Fit Fur Life. But, when I’m asked about my investments from the show, Choc Box also comes to mind.

It’s rare in the den that an entrepreneur comes in with an existing, high-performing business. Peter Moule’s business was already generating excellent revenue. It had ￡100,000 in the bank and good traction with customers. Usually, the companies we saw were at a much earlier stage. They rarely have a high amount of sales and a positive cash flow. Because of that, most of the other dragons were pretty quick to dismiss Choc Box. They couldn’t understand why he needed an investment of ￡100,000.

But one of my fellow dragons and I saw something which I believe the other dragons overlooked. Peter was less concerned with acquiring an investment and more concerned with acquiring a mentor. He wanted to grow his business internationally, but this was something he had no experience of. He hadn’t done it before and he didn’t have any contacts that could help make that happen.

For me, it was a no brainer. Peter had recognised that it’s not solely capital which drives success in business: knowledge, experience and contacts can all play a vital role. The other dragons were actually surprised that Peter accepted my offer because they were thinking about the hard figures and not about the mentorship opportunity.

And it really paid off. I helped Peter secure a multi-million-pound order with a German company who loved the product. They signed an exclusive three-year deal to take the product, and that contract was a game-changer for the business. After three years, I was able to sell my stake with an excellent profit.

In that same spirit, I’m looking to mentor one or two business owners in the recruitment industry. I’m looking for someone who employs 10+ fee-earning recruitment consultants and whose business has been trading for 3+ years. The business can be either permanent or contract, you must have a strong training and development culture, and be a true sector specialist.

To apply, you should have a clear plan and vision to scale your business, with the objective of realising its value in the future. You must be in a market where you can demonstrate genuine demand and a growing customer base, both at home and abroad.

If you’re a business owner or director in the recruitment industry, and you fill the above criteria, you can get in touch here: [email protected].

James Caan CBE

https://www.james-caan.com/