While aspiring entrepreneurs may believe they have a great idea impressing the wealthy and influential people on Dragons’ Den can be extremely difficult.
John Nicholls was one of the participants in 2017 who believed he had an excellent idea to help dog owners clean up after their messy pups.
However, the Judges didn't agree and was left ‘humiliated’ by the ‘unfair grilling’ given to him, especially by tech tycoon Peter Jones.
John’s nerves and the intensity of the questioning meant his nerves got the better of him while pitching his HandiScoop in the den.
The 65-year-old, offered the celebrities of the BBC show a 15 per cent share in his company for £45,000.
‘It felt like I was being humiliated by the Dragons undeservedly,’ he told The Sun in a new interview.
The device is a long handled dog poo scoop with a toothed head which is covered by a bag, meaning owners don’t have to use their hands to pick up after their pets.
HandiScoop claims it can scoop up to four average-sized droppings per bag, so is more environmentally friendly.
John, from Ledbury, Herefordshire, felt Peter was trying to intimidate him by constantly fidgeting and even claims the business mogul lost his temper at him.
These moments were apparently cut from the final show, which the HandiScoop founder says was edited to make him look worse.
Peter, 58, reportedly snapped when he was struggling to remember parts of his pitch and apologised, stating he is dyslexic to which the Dragon quipped ‘So am I.’
John continued: ‘I asked him how he would scoop it up with a normal bag, which can be messy and not pick it all up, and he shouted, “I’d just leave it”. I was surprised by his response, he was very aggressive.
‘You don’t think that’s going to happen when you go to pitch. It made me realise he would be the last person in the world I would want to be in business with.’
The Shark Tank star wasn’t the only investor not impressed as Moonpig founder Nick Jenkins, argued he wouldn’t want to ‘walk around with a big thing that says, “I’m carrying poop”.’
John walked away empty handed and even the shows presenter Evan Davies said the den had been quite harsh on him.
Despite not impressing the Dragons, HandiScoop has made £1.47million in sales since its inception in 2011 with nearly £250,000 worth of stock flying off shelves each year.
One of his clients is retailer Pets At Home, putting the scoops in around 400 stores with a few pallets ordered every week by the dedicated client.
Metro.co.uk has reached out to Peter’s team for comment.
