Students Impress Dragon's Den

Swindon College students impress as they enter the ‘Dragons’ Den’.

Students at Swindon College entered the ‘Dragons’ Den’ yesterday as they pitched their ideas to six leading business figures from across the region.

Four teams (Candy Crush, Sea-Sational Summer Smooth and Lighter Leash) made up of level 3 students currently studying for their 90 Credit Diploma in Business each had 15 minutes to impress, with ideas ranging from alcoholic smoothies to traditional and American-style sweets.

The pitches addressed everything from initial set-up costs and projected sales figures to marketing and human resources – with individuals from each team given their time to shine.

And they certainly made an impression. Jack Peploe, CEO of Thirdline said ‘’I was really impressed.’’ 

‘’They each delivered much more than I would expect from students at this level. The quality of the business plans was great. They certainly have the right attitude to succeed in business.’’

Fellow dragon Jackie Jolly from Appsbroker Consulting Limited agrees.

‘’I wasn’t sure what to expect’’ said Jackie ‘’but I’m amazed at the confidence displayed by the students, and blown away the amount of thought, effort and research that clearly went in to each of the pitches. They did extremely well.’’

Team ‘Sea-Sational’, whose idea was based around alcoholic and non-alcoholic smoothies particularly impressed – attracting offers of investment from four of the six dragons  - including one of Britain’s leading young entrepreneurs, Jordan Daykin, who himself appeared on Dragons’ Den aged just 19 in 2014.

‘’The team had clearly done their research’’ said Jordan. ‘’I was impressed by their pitch and their business plan – it has real potential’’

In fact, Jordan was so impressed that he passed on his business card. ‘’I look forward to discussing the possibility of some real investment in the future’’ he said.

Sea-Sational team members Alex Blakeley, 18, Emily Nelhams, 19, and Sabina Begum, 18 were over the moon with the positive response from the dragons.

‘’We can’t believe it’’ said Emily. ‘’We all worked so hard for this and are really pleased with how it went.’’

Asked how she felt about the prospect of working with Jordan Daykin in the future Emily said it felt ‘‘surreal but really exciting.’’

‘’I’m really keen to develop the idea and start my own business’’ she said. ‘’I can’t wait to get started.’’

For more information on business courses at Swindon College or to apply now to start this September visit www.swindon.ac.uk or call 01793 491 591.