A TEENAGER from Westbury has become the youngest person to secure a deal on BBC television programme Dragons’ Den.
Jordan Daykin made a deal with Dragon Deborah Meaden for £80,000 in exchange for 25% equity in his business Grip It which specialises in an innovative plasterboard fixing which Jordan invented with the help of his grandfather.
Jordan was just 18 when the episode was made and as well as being one of the youngest ever to appear on the show, he is now the youngest ever to gain investment.
The show was filmed earlier this year and aired last week on BBC2 and involved Jordan making a three-minute pitch to multi-millionaire investors with the hope that they will purchase a percentage of his business in exchange for a share of his business. He made his pitch to five Dragons: Deborah Meaden, Duncan Bannatyne, Kelly Hoppen, Peter Jones and Piers Linney.
His new partnership with Deborah Meaden has already benefitted the business as the innovative plaster board fixing is now in nearly all major DIY retail stores nationwide.
The investment is being used by Jordan for new machinery, stock increase and a deposit for a warehouse.
His business ‘Grip It’ produces a new type of universal fixing which has been designed for use with all types of plasterboard and can hold up to 180kg.
Jordan came up with the idea in 2008 whilst putting up curtain rails with his then 74 year-old grandfather Stan. Having difficulty installing the railings via traditional methods, the pair spent the rest of the afternoon in his grandfather’s garden shed figuring out a more effective mechanism.
Aided by his grandfather’s engineering background, it took the pair just a matter of days to come up with a prototype for the fixing and, following months of testing, they applied for a patent in 2009, when Jordan was 14.
Making up the Grip It team with Jordan are 11 of his friends, all aged between 17-19 years old, who look after various areas of the business, from accounts and production to packing and distributing. Jordan’s girlfriend Laura is in charge of sales.
Jordan said, “It is fantastic to get the investment and going into the Dragons’ Den that day I hoped to secure a deal with Deborah over any of the other Dragons, so I am pleased. I was so nervous pitching Grip It to such well-known and respected business people and I just tried to focus on doing the product justice.
“I have already seen massive benefits from my partnership with Deborah and we are in contact almost on a daily basis as she lives in Somerset. I am fortunate I get to see her so much and she has come to Melksham a few times for a catch-up and to discuss the business.
“The main reason I went on Dragons’ Den was that I was hoping to get a deal that would mean I could tap into the contacts the Dragons have and expand to the rest of Europe and possibly the USA. This seems to already be coming together and Deborah has helped push Grip it on further.
“It was an amazing experience filming the episode and discussing my business with the Dragons who have so much knowledge and understanding for business. I was nervous before and I felt exhausted after, but it was definitely worth it.
For more information on his business visit www.gripitfixings.co.uk
