7. Dragonsden
Baked beans entrepreneur Ben Mason secured investment in his company after a fierce bidding war on TV show Dragons’ Den (January 24).
Four of the Dragons offered to invest in Masons Beans, which produces premium chilled baked beans with no added sugar and fresh ingredients.
Mason decided to accept investor Nick Jenkins’ offer of £50,000 for 20% equity in the baked beans business, after other potential investors held out for larger stakes.
After the show, Jenkins said: “Ben gave by far and away the best entrepreneur performance of the season and I’m excited to help him achieve his vision.”
Mason finally managed to seal the deal after nearly three hours of negotiations and a “hotly contested pitch” on the show, according to Masons Beans.
“Our time in the den ended up as the longest session of the series and saw Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Peter Jones and Nick Jenkins all battling it out to get in on the beans action,” the firm said.