For those who walk away cash injections of tens of thousands of pounds, the daunting prospect of going on Dragon’s Den is well worth the anxiety.
But for the entrepreneurs who walk out of the Den empty handed, there’s a drive to prove the Dragons wrong.
One of those very people is Alessandro Savelli, who co-founded currently serves as the CEO of Pasta Envangelists – a fresh pasta chain which started as letter box posted kits.
Alessandro and his business partner Finn Lagun stepped into the Den back in 2018 asking for a £75,000 investment for a 2.5 per cent cut of the company.
But their pitch was rejected, with Dragon Jenny Campbell even calling Finn ‘delusional’ and ‘a disaster’.
Now worth around £40million, Pasta Evangelists’ success grew and grew in the years after its ill-fated appearance on the show.
For those who walk away cash injections of tens of thousands of pounds, the daunting prospect of going on Dragon’s Den is well worth the anxiety – but for the entrepreneurs who walk out of the Den empty handed, there’s a drive to prove the Dragons wrong
One of those very people is Alessandro Savelli, who co-founded currently serves as the CEO of Pasta Envangelists – a fresh pasta chain which started as letter box posted kits
The company is set to open 100 new restaurants across the UK in the next five years, in the south of England, the Midlands, and Scotland.
Speaking to The Grocer, Alessandro revealed the chain’s plans to expand and shared that they are pumping £30million into the new restaurants.
‘The demand for our fresh, beautifully cooked artisan pasta is growing,’ he said.
‘Our intention is to become the UK’s fastest-growing, casual dining hot spot and the hottest place to eat for pasta lovers of all ages.’
Alessandro added: ‘The hospitality industry is going through tough times at the moment, but we are confident that our business model is robust and dynamic,
‘…and the proof of this is we have already bucked the trend with the confirmed opening of five more restaurants in the space of three months, and more to come.’
Many other businesses walked away from the Den with nothing spoke about how they went on to make millions, including BrewDog.
When the boys behind BrewDog, James Watt and Martin Dickie, applied for the show in 2009, they were seeking a £100,000 investment for 20 per cent of their business.
Alessandro and his business partner Finn Lagun stepped into the Den back in 2018 asking for a £75,000 investment for a 2.5 per cent cut of the company
But their pitch was rejected, with Dragon Jenny Campbell even calling Finn ‘delusional’ and ‘a disaster’
They were turned down, but went on to find enormous success anyway, and the business was valued at upwards of £1.8billion in 2021.
It had a revenue of £366milion in 2023, a 14 percent increase from the previous year.
If one of the Dragons had invested the asking amount, they would have seen returns in the ballpark of about £360 million.
They’ve since gone on to build strong relationships with some of the Dragons, who were each disappointed in the missed opportunity to work together.
‘Overall, they make some good decisions and some questionable ones,’ James previously told MailOnline.
‘It’s very hard to judge a business in five minutes, which is what you get to pitch.’
If one of the Dragons had invested the asking amount, they would have seen returns in the ballpark of about £360 million
James, who is now married to Made In Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo, described it as a ‘stroke of luck’ that they didn’t sell 20 per cent of their business at the time.
He had in the past expressed disappointment in the entire process of seeking investors.
He said: ‘In the US, people who take risks and create jobs are celebrated; in the UK the best they can expect is to be tolerated. We are far from alone in this regard.
‘The BBC in particular has a barely disguised distaste for entrepreneurs (the whole purpose of Dragons Den, for example, is to present entrepreneurs as deluded fantasists. The same is true of The Apprentice).’
