Kirsty on Dragons Den
On Wednesday 14th July 2010, the BBC broadcast the first episode of series 8 of Dragons' Den. The highlight of the show was Kirsty Henshaw, an entrepreneur from Preston, and her range of frozen desserts under the brand name "Worthenshaws".
The products were a great success with all of the Dragons and Kirsty was in the enviable position of being able to choose between competing offers, eventually settling on a deal with Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne.
'I first decided to apply for the Den after receiving hundreds of emails from frustrated people who had seen my products on my website and really wanted to buy them but couldn’t get hold of them. The problems I faced were distribution, manufacturing constraints and a lack of funds. I knew I had a great product and that there was a real demand for the range that I was offering.
I applied to go on the show at 4am after yet another sleepless night of worrying about whether I could make the business a success. I had been a massive fan of Dragons Den since I used to watch the show with my dad in my teens and we used to try and think up crazy ideas to take on the show.
In spring 2010 I secretly went through the interview process, planned the presentation and collated all my due diligence prior to going into the Den. I will never forget the day I received the call from a producer called Tom saying I had got through to the actual filming! I was over the moon but equally just as terrified! I had 2 weeks to prepare!
I had felt very confident about going on the show as I had really done my homework. I felt as though I knew my company inside out and believed I was fully prepared for everything and anything the Dragons might throw at me.
I got quite emotional on the day , I was in there well over an hour and at one point the pressure really got to me. I am so passionate about my products and I want to achieve so much with my company, that when I received praise and recognition for my hard work I found it very hard to hold back the tears.
My favourite and ideal Dragons to help move my company forward were Peter Jones and Duncan Bannatyne, so when I received an amazing offer from the pair of them, I was over the moon and completely speechless (which doesn’t happen often)! The whole Dragons’ Den experience has been something I will never forget.'