Posts Tagged ‘Herbie Porsche’
Programme 7 Investing in HidBin
Sorry at a party!
Apologies I am coming on late with the blog tonight. I am here in Lawlors’ Hotel in Naas at an after show party with Mark O’Loughlin of Hidbin, his lovely wife Ann and their family and friends. Then on my blackberry I started to get loads of emails, “where’s your blog?”
Apologies
First of all sincere apologies to Maureen and Mary of Feel Good Foods and my reaction when I tasted their energy snack. I didn’t help their chances of success by being so negative straight away. I thought it was going to be sweet and threw one into my mouth, whole It was bitter and chunky and I reacted accordingly – Sorry!
Sean & Niall have a row.
“My Project Tracker” really caught Sean’s interest but Niall didn’t like it. In fact they had stiff words in the break after the recording of this one. But they soon made up.
Peter Craig’s Surfbreaks.ie will do well but is not scaleable enough for me. Rhinehardt McLoughlin I loved but not enough to part with my money.
The Jenni’ & Claire Show
Then we had the wonderful women, Jennifer and Claire. When it is edited down to ten minutes from the hour they were there in the Den it comes across differently. I did everything to get them to give me some information about the great event they had in mind for 2011 but they wouldn’t budge. Never, ever mention something like that at an investment meeting unless you are willing to divulge even a little hard information. I exited but I am sure both Jenn’ and Claire will have a big success with their show.
I loved Sinn’s Promoter
Michael McDonald was one of the most like-able presenters we have ever had in the Den. Personally I loved his style but it takes deeper pockets than mine to crack the drinks industry.
Go to www.hidbin.ie
Then we had HidBin. I loved it. The prototype was a bit rough but so too was Takker in the Den and look at its huge success since. This will be huge. Rather than talk about it here just check out the video if the updated, improved product on www.hidbin.ie
The Hidbin will be at the Spring Ideal Homes Show in the RDS the weekend of the 16th – 18th.Check it out there. Also on the stand will be Herbie Porsche and Toilet PipeCover and Noelle O’Connor and TanOrganic.
My next blog is Monday 9am.
Update on Toilet Pipe Cover & TanOrganic
Herbie Porsce
Herbie, my very best friend is in contact everyday and cheers me up no end. These days it is all good news. He is really excited about having his distributors in place, North & South and he and Maire and his local team in his much loved Ardara are packing morning, noon and night in the workshop beside their home.
Noelle O’Connor
Noelle is the genius creator of TanOrganic and, even though it may be commercially sensitive information, I am also conscious of the thousands of you who are loyally and regularly following this blog, so I am going to reveal my inner most thoughts on TanOrganic.
The question that needs answering is, “As a Dragon why have you not ensured the product was in the shops to coincide with its appearnce on TV?”The Toilet Pipe cover goes around your sewer pipe at the back of your loo. TanOrganic goes on your skin so I make no apology for further clinical trials to prove the efficacy of this breakthrough product.
TAKKER
I had the same problem with Takker last year. The retail chains were screaming for it but we went through further testing in the UK and did a redesign tweek before we launched and have never looked back. Remember you only get one shot at a national retail launch.
109,000 Unique Visitors to www.TanOrganic.com
There is unprecedented demand for TanOrganic and in just 12 hours after its appearance on TV and the following morning on Ryan Tubridy 109,000 people made enquiries about where could they get the 100% natural, organic, tanning lotion. But we have to make sure it is with the right distributor, it is packaged properly and most important launched successfully. So, sorry, we are not going to rush it.
ANIMATAZZ – Lessons Learned
Last year we had equally strong demand for Animatazz which is now going on to be an international success. Watch this space and we will be telling you about its launch in Harrods in London. But I leaned a lesson last year. We should have put more advertising behind this toy animation kit. (Michael Connolly, its inventor, assures me he does not believe this that we were after all the number 1 selling craft toy in Ireland last Xmas and after all, he says, we successfully sold the international rights of it to one of the Toy Majors.)
Advertising
So this time Noelle and I may spend up to €250,000 this Summer promoting this product. I believe if we get to Xmas having had “off the richter scale” sales in an awful Irish recession that has hit retail harder than most, then the International market will break down our doors.
Trials & Sampling
However TanOranic is available in all the top beauty Salons at the moment. There are three salons close by to me who are offering it as a spray and I am in touch with them daily to get feedback. It is my own way of researching and test marketing. One little issue. There is a lot of alcohol in nearly all tanning lotions which makes it a little easier to apply as a spray. But alcohol on your skin could NOT be good for it so TanOrganic is a little thicker in its application so we are addressing its viscosity, i.e. its liquidity currently.
It Doesn’t Smell
The major feedback is a lot of people saying it doesn’t smell but actually it does a little but compared to that awful burnt biscuit smell caused by the synthetic chemicals in all its competitors the reports are it doesn’t smell. TanOrganic is like you, 100% natural so of course it is going to be kinder to your skin and because it is natural it wears off naturally not in blotches which is another big plus.
Late May TanOrganic Launches
TanOrganic will launch in Pharmacies in late May. I simply love Dragons’ Den. It is so exciting to be involved in such a revolutionary, breakthrough product, and Noelle, Catherine, Joe and her team are a delight to work with. We all believe we are at the start of something really big.
Do You Like Noelle’s Product More Than Herbie’s?
That’s a fair question considering I have just one paragraph on Herbie’s Toilet Pipe Cover and a lot more about Noelle’s TanOrganic. But here’s what is special about Herbie’s brilliant idea. We make it for a few cent and sell it for a few Euro and that is always the favourite product on any investor. But I am excited and proud of all my Dargons’ Den Investments. Check out Kate Hyde and the continuing explosive success of www.henpartyuk.co.uk never mind her original www.henparty.ie And of course I just love the great grafters Donall and Michael of www.Pedigreecattle.ie and their success.
Also remember the series is not over so I may have one or two more investments still to come. I would say watch out for this Thursday night when four of the Dragons invest in a great idea and another Dragon plunges into a hedge fund.
NEXT BLOG THURSDAY AFTER THE SHOW
My next blog, as always will be up at 11:15pm as the credits roll at the end of Thursday night’s show and also I will be on line for a chat at www.allaboutbusiness.ie from 11:30pm for about half an hour if you have any questions.
A performance that may have been powered by Zanex
I shouldn’t reveal this, but I have it on good authority that Patrick and Anthony who presented Boatel, may not have passed a doping test had one been carried out on them, after their appearance in the Den. You remember, this was a floating boathouse. On the day, I believe, as the time approached for them to go into the Den, they became very nervous. Another lady who had been in the Den met them and told them it was more daunting than she had ever expected it to be.
As I have said before, it is the sheer size of the Den that throws so many presenters. It looks so much smaller on TV. When someone walks down to the back of the Den to think about the offer they are a full 50 meters from the Dragons. With the editing you don’t get to see this. Back to the Boatel boys, who were getting very jittery, so the lady suggested to them that they take a few of her Zanex. She claims the boys ate them like smarties before they went into the Den and I must say they did appear to be very calm.
Catherine deserved more airtime
Catherine Doherty was brilliant. The teacher from Donegal was super with her resource package for teaching Irish in Primary school. This was something I seriously considered investing in and I was genuinely concerned for her that she had so much money tied up in stock.
As all the guys I have invested in on the programme over these two years will attest to, one of my golden rules is I don’t invest in stock until we have secured orders. The first job of any company is to win customers. When you have orders, and money ready to come in, then you go and order stock, not the other way round.
Petzone
Melanie McGuirk was so committed to her idea Petzone.ie. But I could not for the life of me see a return on an investment here. But, her determination means she will stick with it and it will be successful on a modest scale. That is the problem or the attraction if the internet. People can set up a web business for little money and there are very little overheads apart from their time. But only a tiny fraction of websites make big money. When they do they are really something special. www.henparty.ie continues to generate big revenues in on line sales and advertising.
Check out www.allaboutbusiness.ie
Don’t forget to check out www.allaboutbusiness.ie for behind the scenes footage of Dragons’ Den. This Bank of Ireland web site is very worthwhile for anyone setting up a business.
Keep your comments coming and I will talk to you again on Monday with updates on Herbie Porsche’s Toilet Pipe Cover and Noelle O’Connor’s TanOrganic.
Between Recording & Broadcast
When speaking at conferences, the question I am often asked is what happens after the promoter(s) have left the Den? When does Due Diligence take place?
TanOrganic, which featured last Thursday night, was recorded the first week in January. As soon as I have made an investment I am in contact with the promoter straight away. They are often surprised to get a phone call from me at about 6am the next morning as I drive to Rathfarnham from my County Meath home. Within ten days I will have organised a strategy workshop aimed at establishing the best way to achieve the product’s full market potential.
This will be attended by all my other DD investments. There is a lot to be learned from meeting people like Donall O’Connor, Michael O’Donnell, Kate Hyde, Michael Connolly and Damien McGrane, my investments from Series One. They have some great advice and insights to offer as they have all been through the DD experience, successfully bringing their products to market.
At this stage we do NOT have any footage from the Den so I have to tell the assembled experts how the pitch was made and how strong I think it will come across on television. So, for example, I told the group on the day we were focusing on Herbie (of Toilet Pipe Cover fame) that he would be the star of the series and it has turned out like that. Not only is his product brilliant but everyone loves Herbie.
Sometimes you have to ignore the advice of friends and experts
The general view that day was that TanOrganic should be in the shops the day it airs on television. I have a very different view. I believe a product should be seen on DD but should then enjoy a further separate launch when it goes nationwide. This is what I did with Takker and Animatazz and it proved hugely successful.
Also I like to test a product so I wanted TanOrganic to be available for three months as a spray-on in beauty salons so that it would build by word of mouth. This gives us time to get everything right as regards the branding and packaging.
The great thing about Noelle O’Connor is that she is a real entrepreneur. She is totally dedicated to her partner Mark and her two boys but she is also passionate about her businesses. So I haven’t had to hold her hand. In fact I have only been to her place a couple of times and we have done a number of meetings with buyers and distributors.
But she is very hard on herself. If part of your job is kicking people in the backside now and then, it is made difficult if the person never stops kicking themselves. And that is our Noelle. This week I had to listen to her moaning about her hair being too straight on DD. What could I say? So I just said, “Yes it was awful and I thought your ass looked very big as well.” (Joke!) Now she has gone on a diet.
Finally, doing Dragons’ Den is a great experience. Here we are in the middle of a god damn awful recession, but I am fortunate enough to be involved in a number of start ups that I believe are all going to be very successful. On Sunday, I got a lovely email from Herbie Porsche about all that has happened since he appeared on the show, which made me feel great. On Thursday last, although I had had a long day, I drove to the Curragh to Noelle’s house where she was having a party to celebrate her appearance on the show. I just felt so lucky to be a part of all this.
I am trying to respond to all your emails, queries and comments. This Blog has become a very hungry animal but the feedback I get is invaluable so please keep it coming.
My next blog is Thursday 11:15pm right after the show. I will give you the inside story of all that happens on the show. Bye for now.