A Dragons’ Den contestant has left viewers stunned after opting to pick one investor instead of two in a shock decision.
Will Little brought his family-run coffee business, Little’s Coffee, to the Den, asking for £80,000 for just 2% equity stake.
‘Little’s is a challenger brand on a big mission to get people drinking better coffee,’ he explained, introducing his company which had turned over £4,000,000 in the last year.
The 40-year-old entrepreneur went on to reveal his flavoured instant coffee business started more than 35 years ago in Finland by his parents, before offering Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Steven Bartlett samples.
Coming into the Den, he was not only seeking investment, but admitted he needed help with the branding, and quickly discovered numerous Dragons were keen to be involved.
‘I love Little, you’ve absolutely got something to hook the conversation on, which I think is great,’ Deborah praised, offering Will all the money for 4% of the business.
Sara followed suit, requesting 5%, before Steven pitched himself, saying: ‘The journey you need to go on is a journey that I’ve been on several times, and there’s a certain element of fortune when you catch cultural zeitgeist in the way that his brand could – or could not – take off.’
‘I think I’m the perfect Dragon for this business, I can’t say it in any other way,’ he went on, offering the £80,000 for a ‘greedy’ 7.5% stake.
‘It’s more than I’d be comfortable giving away,’ Will admitted, saying Deborah’s offer was also ‘very compelling’.
He was then gifted a fourth offer by Peter, who said: ‘I’ve tasted that coffee and I can say that’s the best-tasting coffee I’ve ever experienced.’
‘It’s first class, I also do think that this brand could be the biggest brand in coffee in the world, globally,’ he continued, before offering £80,000 for 4%, and suggesting a possible team-up with Deborah.
‘Sometimes, joining up with Dragons is better,’ he added.
Trying to convince Will to pick him, Steven hit back with: ‘There’s a reason they teamed up.’
‘I let you guys speak, please let me finish what I’m saying,’ he then shut down Deborah with, going on to convince Will he could bring the skills needed to the company.
‘There has never been, in the Den’s history, a product that is more well suited for me than this,’ he said.
‘And that’s why they teamed up!’
His speech managed to win Will over, with Steven branding his co-stars ‘sneaky’ before securing the investment for 5%.
‘A surprising turn of events as the lowest-bidding and longest-serving Dragons lose out on the deal,’ the narrator commented, echoing several people’s thoughts.
Many viewers had questioned why Will chose Steven when he’d been offered two other Dragons in a team for the closest equity stake to what he’d asked for.
‘Steven?? Ok,’ @jay_jay_84 said, while @JDarbey wrote: ‘Ehhh Steven?’
‘Why did he choose Steven over Peter and Deborah?’ @DoucheAmuse questioned.
‘Christ, that was a strange decision,’ @RikLivetweet said.
Taking Steven’s side, @michelle_hines1 wrote: ‘Loved the fight over Little’s coffee there. @StevenBartlett was set on winning that one.’
@TashAmaka meanwhile said: ‘Mmh thought he was gonna go for Deborah.’
‘I’m glad I don’t gamble. I had Peter & @DeborahMeaden as favourites to help Will with his business,’ @FirstTMaster said.
Dragons’ Den airs at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
Dragons’ Den star shocks viewers with ‘strange’ £80,000 decision