Solvej Biddle studied Economics & Politics at Royal Holloway between 1990-93 and subsequently founded Biddle Innovations, a company which has produced a range of products that have solved the problems she faced as a mother.
She took part in the last series of BBC TV’s Dragons’ Den and was successful in gaining £80,000 investment from Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden for a 22.5% equity stake in her idea, the ‘TrayKit’.
Solvej has lived and worked in the UK, USA, Europe and Africa. She is a lawyer and spent 12 years working in London until she gave up her job to develop the Content & Calm range of sleep canopies.
This podcast is from the Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs Get Inspired! event on 3rd February 2011.
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Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs’ Dragons’ Den is an idea pitching competition based on the hit BBC TV series of the same name. Students will pitch their ideas – for businesses, social enterprises, charities or individual projects – to a panel of ‘Dragons’ which includes:
Jess Ratcliffe, a RHUL student who featured on the real Dragons’ Den
Robin Bennett, author of Start-up Smart, who will be offering attendees the opportunity of up to an additional £5,000 business funding
Rhiannon Horsley from UnLtd, the top UK social enterprise organisation.
The ‘Dragons’ play the role of potential investors in you and your idea. The competition takes place on Thursday 7th October 2010 at 7pm in the Students’ Union.
How do I enter?
The competition is now closed, but you can still attend the event for fun!
What happens next?
All entrants will be given the opportunity to attend a pitching workshop on Wednesday 6th October at 1pm in MX34. At this workshop you will learn how to pitch professionally and be given the opportunity to practise and hone your pitch. The final selection of students who will be put through to face the Dragons will be announced at the end of this workshop and emailed to any students who were unable to attend.
How do I win?
Winning ideas are likely to be those which are innovative, solve a genuine problem or meet a real need, and are likely to be achievable. Although you will not be marked on the quality of your pitch, a good pitch will help you put your idea across.
What is the format of the pitching competition?
You will pitch for just 2 minutes and will have 3 minutes to answer questions.
Who can enter?
Current students at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Jessica Ratcliffe, a founding committee member of Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs, recently faced tough questioning from angel investors on the hit BBC TV show, Dragons’ Den.
First broadcast on BBC Two on Monday 13th September 2010, Jessica pitched for investment for her game-swapping website, GaBoom.co.uk. A passionate gamer and entrepreneur, Jess has been working tirelessly since January 2010, to develop and launch her dream game-trading platform, GaBoom.co.uk. “We have developed a safe, easy and unique way of trading games online; providing users, not only with our automatic user-matching system but two secure and insured postage options to take the hassle and risk out of trading their games online.” says Jess.
Jess told the Dragons the support she had received at Royal Holloway, one of the UK’s top destinations for student entrepreneurs, had been a critical factor in helping her to build her business. As a committee member of Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs, the student enterprise society, she has also inspired other students to follow their dreams.
Jess believes that pre-owned games will remain the choice of many gamers across the UK. “With approximately 12.4 million people in the UK currently buying their games second-hand, it is going to take something massive for all of them to switch to only buying their games brand new,” she says.
Doug Richard, who featured as a Dragon in the first two series of the show, thinks the current Dragons made a mistake by not investing. He told the BBC that GaBoom presents a “clear and wonderful opportunity… Jessica, wherever you are, there’s one ex-Dragon who believes in you.”
Entrepreneurs from across the country once again have a chance to make their business dreams come true by appearing on Dragons’ Den. If you’re genuinely seeking investment for your business idea or invention, the BBC would like to hear from you.
Dragons’ Den is a challenging place to pitch, but it’s also a genuine business opportunity to secure investment. In the most recent series, 15 entrepreneurs accepted offers of investment in the Den and plenty more have gone on to find success even without the backing of the Dragons.
The rules are simple: entrepreneurs ask for a cash investment in return for equity in their business. However, they must get at least the amount they ask for or they will walk away with nothing. The Dragons are prepared to listen to a pitch for any kind of business but they must be convinced that it will make money.
As demonstrated by the investments in the last seven series, ideas, businesses and products that meet some or all of the following criteria stand a good chance of securing the Dragons’ interest:
A Unique Selling Point: a product that serves a need like nothing else.
Scalability: something that can be up scaled to make real money.
Route to Market: the clear way the product can be sold and marketed.
Mutually Beneficial Arrangement: just what will the Dragons get out of it?
Exit Strategy: a plan of how the entrepreneur/Dragon will exit and make money.
The BBC is currently searching for Britain’s best entrepreneurs and will be auditioning throughout the coming months. We want to hear from anyone who thinks they’ve got what it takes to enter the Dragons’ Den.
Some great photos from our launch event on Thursday 8th October 2009 in the Students’ Union. We also have these on our Facebook page – if you see yourself, don’t forget to tag yourself (unless it’s a horrible photo, in which case we’ll let you off).
Entries are now closed for Royal Holloway Entrepreneurs’ Dragons’ Den competition, but you still have a chance to win. On Wednesday we are running an innovation workshop called Dragon Teams. Teams will compete to generate solutions to problems and the best teams could win £250 in the Den. Register in Careers to enter, and good luck!
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Solvej Biddle studied Economics & Politics at Royal Holloway between 1990-93 and subsequently founded Biddle Innovations, a company which has produced a range of products that have solved the problems she faced as a mother.
