An entrepreneur who managed to not only withstand the heat of the Dragons’ Den studio but win over all of the investors impressed viewers with his convincing pitch.
Daniel Gray, from High Wycombe, dazzled the dragons – and the audience – after revealing how his make-up for men brand, born out of his own experience of being bullied, had already seen early success.
After wooing all of the investors, and holding his nerve, Gray managed to persuade Tej Lalvani and Peter Jones to invest a combined £70,000 in in company – for just a 12 per cent share of the business.
Tej and Jones were initially offering the money for a 20 percent share, but were convinced to lower their offer.
Entrepreneur Daniel Gray, from High Wycombe, was on BBC2 show Dragon’s Den last night, where he pitched his company War Paint – a make-up brand for men – and impressed both viewers and the hard-to-please investors
They all wanted in! Dragons Peter Jones (pictured left) and Tej Lalvani agreed to invest £70,000 in Daniel’s company for a six percent share of the business each, after initially offering the investment for 20 percent of the company
Viewers were impressed by the negotiation led by Daniel, and said it was one of the best they’ve seen on the show
Daniel got the deal thanks to his coolness under pressure, after he negotiated hard during his appearance on the BBC Two show, where entrepreneurs pitch for investments for their companies.
Viewers took to social media to say how impressed they with Daniel’s attitude to his products – and said he ‘turned the tables’ on the dragons, who normally hold all the cards in the den.
‘Love #dragonsden Danny is amazing! War Paint For Men well done,’ one wrote.
‘I’m getting myself some of that War Paint stuff. What a lovely guy,’ another said.
‘U are the most impressive person I have ever seen on #dragonsden and I watch it always. Incredible, professional and always going to be a top notch businessman! So impressed. Well done and good luck,’ an impressed viewer said.
‘He knew his value. We can learn a lot from him,’ another observed.
Daniel started his pitch in the Den by saying he had suffered from body dismorphia as a teen, which had led him to use make-up and to later create his own brand just for men Stepping into the Den:
Daniel refused to give in, holding his nerve in the face of the five investors, and walked away with a deal
Viewers were impressed with Daniel’s skills, and loved both his company and how he held his ground in the Dragon’s Den
‘Can’t recall seeing investees lead the negotiations in the Den and succeed before today. What a golden opportunity for the dragons’ one wrote.
‘Good #dragonsden bartering today,’ one cheered.
‘Wow. What a guy and what a brand! Congratulations Danny, so deserved. One of the best entrepreneurs I’ve ever seen on Dragons Den. Here’s hoping those bullies were watching.’ another said.
At first, Daniel asked for a seven percent stake in his brand and was looking for an investment of £70,000.
War Paint presents itself as makeup catered for men, as Daniel explained he wanted a brand that was relevant to him
All of the Dragons were keen to invest, three of them offering the money for 20 percent of the business.
Peter Jones was the first one to make an offer, proffering all the money for 20 percent of the business.
He told Gray: ‘I’ve got to say, I’m quite blown away by the positioning and the quality of the product, and I think you’ve really worked really hard to put that together, I’m going to put my war paint on and battle with these guys.’
Sarah Davies and Tej followed suit, asking for the same percentage and offering the same amount of money,
Deborah congratulated Daniel for his ‘flawless job,’ and offered 15 percent for all the money, which was followed by fellow dragon Theo Paphitis.
Eventually, Daniel admitted he had been hoping for a split investment from Peter and Tej, and respectfully declined Deborah, Sarah and Theo’s offers.
Daniel convinced the Dragons with his personal approach to his business, his confidence and his knowledge of the male make-up market
Tej and Peter lowered their 20 percent offer from 20 to 15 percent, then to a split investment of seven percent each. Daniel pushed further for six percent each, 12 percent overall.
Daniel stuck to his guns and refused to budge on his final offer, eventually making Tej and Peter cave and accept his offer.
‘I’ve got a massive track record, we got revenue, we’re good to go,’ he told them.
After a personal pitch where he discussed body dismorphia and his company’s credentials, Daniel got all five Dragons interested and ready to invest.
‘I suffer really badly from body dismorphia,’ Daniel started, standing in front of the dragons.
Daniel gave a demonstration of the product for the panel, applying concealer on Theo Paphitis’ face
Theo, who joked ‘you can’t improve perfection,’ agreed to let Daniel apply the product below his eyes
Good sport Theo enjoyed the make-up demonstration and later offered to invest £70.000 for a 15 percent share
’20 years ago I used to be massively bullied in school because of my appearance.’
He carried on: ‘I started using my sister’s makeup growing up to help me build back up that confidence, and it did just that.’
‘One thing that I couldn’t find though, was a brand that could relate to me as a man, so what I decided to do was create my own brand.’
Daniel claimed his company had a turn over just shy of £200,000 for the first six months following the launch of his business in 2018.
He also boasted an impressive press coverage from GQ and several US TV channels.