Dragons’ Den, what happened next...

Published: 13 October, 2011

It all began one Saturday night, Glastonbury on TV and the WedgeWelly trio on the sofa. V Festival was the topic of conversation, Laura and Sarah were all wrapped up in fashion, frantically discussing what to wear, hair and footwear! So in this moment during a conversation about much loved high heels and rubber Wellies, WedgeWelly was born.

Being the crazy kids that they are at WedgeWelly, they dared to enter the BBC2 show Dragons’ Den, and this is where they met Theo. Theo’s a believer, someone who dares to take intelligent risks. He’s also a fierce and scary Dragon! Somehow (and they still wonder how...) the Wedge Welly team survived the Den and left with £65,000 of Theo’s hard earned children’s inheritance, in return for a 25% stake in their business.

Twelve months later, WedgeWelly is beyond a fledgling business. It has expanded rapidly and actively exports to 10 countries globally. Numerous awards have been won, several new innovative products have been launched, and a high profile celebrity following has been gained, including the likes of Dannii Minogue, The Saturdays, Nicole Sherzinger, Alexandra Burke, Jessie J, and new X Factor judge Tulisa.

Theo Paphitis said “The team at WedgeWelly are enthusiastic and determined. The company’s end of year results were spectacular – they made over ten times the net profit that they predicted when they were in the Den! I’m delighted with the investment and really enjoy working with the dynamic team.”

Sarah Longthorn said “People are always interested to know how involved Theo is in our business. We can honestly say his involvement and that of his team has exceeded all expectations. Theo’s not only financed our growth, but his mentorship has enabled us to develop quickly. We feel very privileged to have him on board. The Dragons’ Den experience has had a significant impact on the success of our business.”

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