Summary: – Dragons’ Den star was told she’d ‘amount to nothing’ then scored £60,000 investment
- Hannah Saunders, a former RAF member, secured a £60,000 investment for her children’s skincare brand, Toddle, after overcoming a challenging upbringing and parental doubts.
- The Dragons were impressed by her preparation and emotional backstory, with multiple offers made before she accepted a joint investment from Steven Bartlett and Deborah Meaden.
- Following her success on the show, Hannah has transitioned to founding Pitch Fund and Grow, assisting other entrepreneurs in securing investments, while also holding roles in veteran support and tech startups.
Dragons’ Den star was told she’d ‘amount to nothing’ and then scored £60,000 investment
Entrepreneur Hannah Saunders impressed the Dragons with her backstory and as a result secrured a whopping investment.
A Dragons’ Den contestant scored a whopping £60,000 investment in her business, despite previously being told she’d ‘never amount to anything’.
Tonight, the BBC is airing an episode from 2022 that saw former Royal Air Force member Hannah Saunders pitch her business, Toddle, which sells skincare for adventurous kids.
Hannah began by explaining she joined the RAF after her parents told her she’d ‘never amount to anything’ and it was during her time in the armed forces that she developed a passion for adventures and travel.
After becoming a mother, Hannah shared her love for the outdoors with her kids, and founded her business when she realised they had chapped lips and wind-burned cheeks.
When Dragon Peter Jones asked Hannah if her parents’ opinion of her had changed since she launched Toddle, she replied: ‘I have no idea, they haven’t spoken to me in years.’
Peter replied: ‘I’m devastated to hear that on your behalf.’
Hannah touched on her difficult upbringing in her pitch
Hannah added that it had taken ‘years’ and ‘some therapy’, but she was ‘through the other side of it now’.
When asked where her drive came from, Hannah said that as well as doing it for her two boys, aged three and six, ‘There’s a small part of me that wants to prove my parents wrong.’
The Dragons were moved by Hannah’s story, with Steven Bartlett telling her: ‘I think you should be incredibly proud of yourself and it’s made me a little bit emotional, which is quite rare.’
Hannah secured a joint investment from Steven and Deborah
Sara Davies added: ‘My word, you are impressive. Honestly, I feel a little bit in awe of you.’
Meanwhile, Deborah Meaden dubbed Hannah ‘faultless’, while Touker Suleyman turned to her and said: ‘You’ve got every answer,’ after she successfully fielded the Dragons’ questions.
Hannah received offers from three Dragons and, after a little bit of bartering, secured a joint investment of £60,000 with Steven and Deborah.
She has since been dubbed the ‘most prepared entrepreneur to ever enter the Den’.
After striking a deal, Steven said: ‘When I can’t find a fault in an entrepreneur, I have no choice but to invest. And I literally couldn’t find a fault.’
Hannah revealed after leaving the Den: ‘All I did was prepare as thoroughly as I could for the day. I really wasn’t preempting any kind of reaction from them’.
She added: ‘To hear those kind words and to say how well I was doing is just a dream come true.’
Hannah has since sold Toddle and is now the founder of Pitch Fund and Grow, a company which helps other business founders speak to investors and raise money.
She is also the chief marketing officer a weServed, a platform that supports veterans, and chief growth officer at a tech startup called Nudge.
Reflecting on her Dragons’ Den experience, Hannah recently wrote in a LinkedIn post: ‘I stood on that famous carpet and told my story raw and real. I shared my childhood, my military background, and my big dream. The Dragons saw something in me.’
She added: ‘For me, building Toddle wasn’t just about creating a business; it was about creating value. From the beginning, I had a clear goal to grow the brand and sell. And that’s exactly what I did. Toddle has now been acquired by new owners, and I couldn’t be prouder of what we achieved.’
Dragons’ Den is available to stream on BBC iPlayer.