Dragons hear the pitches.
Pictured above, from left, Dragons Walter Schneider, Brad Nullmeyer, Nigel Morgan and Bob Kafato hear a pitch from MuskClip inventor Steve Smith, during the Parry Sound Dragon’s Den Friday night at the Stockey Centre.
Cody Storm Cooper/North Star
PARRY SOUND – They came, they pitched and for the most part, they were turned down.
Amid a packed house, seven entrepreneurial hopefuls pitched their products and ideas to four “dragons” in Parry Sound’s first Dragon’s Den at the Charles W. Stockey Centre Friday night.
Hosted by the Parry Sound and Area Chamber of Commerce, the Business Centre Nipissing Parry Sound and the Regional Economic Development Committee, the show was geared towards east and west Parry Sound entrepreneurs who would want to expand, modify, or start up a business. The event is a take on the popular CBC television show Dragon’s Den, where wealthy investors pump capital into the business proposition of aspiring entrepreneurs. Pitches the dragons looked at were made by entrepreneurs requesting $10,000 or more.
The dragons, all area cottagers and businesspeople, narrowed down the applications to seven candidates. The dragons included Walter Schneider, co-founder and president of REMAX; Bob Kafato, president of Labx.com; Nigel Morgan, co-chief executive officer of Triple M Metal; and Brad Nullmeyer, president and CEO of A&A Capital.
Months prior to the event, entrepreneurs had the opportunity to attend a number of seminars to prepare them for the event, which included business planning, evaluation, financial planning, presentation skills and intellectual property.
Before the evening got underway host Keith Saulnier told the crowd that none of the dragons’ offers were legally binding and would have to go through numbers and possible contracts following the events.
David Stewart’s underwater object locator and his ice thickness transmitter (the latter presented by his wife Karen Stewart) were both turned down by the dragons.
The dragons also turned down Rick Ineson’s oil dialysis invention, however dragon Nullmeyer offered an hour of his time to allow Ineson an opportunity to better explain his product.
Shelley Raymond’s Solterra Housing, supportive housing for seniors, was turned down but dragon Morgan said he would work with Solterra and Kofato would share his contacts. Additionally Nullmeyer said he would like to work with them as would Schneider, who said he would consider secondary financing condition on credit scores, liabilities and rates.
Mary-Ellen Baldackin and her fiancé Mike Bosley’s helmet system was met with some confusion by some of the dragons as to its purpose and it was ultimately turned down. Dragon Schneider felt the market for the product was too narrow, but Kafato said he would connect the couple with people he knows in the business.
Pauline Leach’s Pressions, baby handprints, dog paw prints, and engagement handprints in sand inside wooden frames received positive praise from the dragons. Nullmeyer offered Leach a $50,000 loan and consulting time in exchange for royalties if she worked with him to get stronger profit margins.
Steve Smith’s MuskClip, a handy drink holder that clips to just about anything, netted him a yes from Nullmeyer who was in based on royalties and Kofato and Morgan were both in on the $50,000 Smith requested.
Andrea Tranter-Tiffen, one of the entrepreneurs set to present Friday, backed out because she received an offer outside of the Dragon’s Den to help her construct a building to manufacture her products from Sisi Started it. Dragon Kafato was so interested in Tranter-Tiffin’s products he is trying to set up a meeting with her.
In 1998 when the Tranter-Tiffins daughter Sierra’s (Sisi) diaper rash would not go away, Tranter-Tiffin and her husband Bruce Tiffin took matters into their own hands, creating an all-natural Baby Balm.
Tranter-Tiffin officially started up the business in 2004 and since then it’s taken off, with her Baby Balm being sold across Canada in grocery, drug and natural food stores.
Based on the success of the event, Kirsten LeDrew, REDAC area economic development coordinator, said there will likely be a Dragons Den 2.
“We feel that the Dragons Den was an absolute success,” LeDrew said Monday. “We accomplished what we wanted, which was to help small businesses and build capacity within our entrepreneurs. A lot was learned from this event and we hope everyone will watch for Dragons Den 2.”