Lincolnshire inventor fails to capture cash with dog lead on BBC’s Dragon’s Den

Sarah, who runs Meg Heath Dog Leads in Metheringham, was looking to get £30,000 in investment to further develop sales of her theft deterrent dog lead – initially offering a return of five per cent to prospective investors.

With her trusty dog ‘Top’ and anxiety off-the-scale, Sarah stood in the lift waiting and a sense of calm descended. As the lift doors opened, she stepped out in front of five of the UK’s most famous investors: Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies, Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, and Steven Bartlett.

She pitched her anti-theft dog lead to the Dragons before taking on their questions.

“It was like being in a dream, you know the type you can barely remember?” Sarah said.

“To think I wasn’t going to do this because of nerves, to date this has been the biggest thing to happen to me and my little handmade company.”

Sarah’s business started out in the old boarding kennels at Metheringham Heath before she developed her range of dog leads, addressing the growing concern of dog theft over the last two years, with criminals especially said to target the most desirable breeds.

Sarah devised a lead with a wire core which is knife-proof, along with handle preventing it being snatched away, however veteran Dragon Peter Jones was alarmed at the thought of being attached to their dog when faced by a criminal with a knife. He said he would be running down the road.

They were impressed with her £72,000 turnover based on social media marketing.

However, it was when the Dragons got down to the figures and asked about what they would expect for their investment in return that Sarah got into difficulty in estimating potential profitsand the final Dragons backed out.

Sarah said she had been contacted by the show’s makers last March and overcame her nerves with the thought of the potential publicity.

“I was driven by the thought that something like this would not happen again,” she said.

It was filmed in July and then she was sworn to secrecy until it aired.

She said: “They film the bit in the lift first and at that point you have not met the Dragons at all, when the doors open is the first time. They were really nice, kind people and I think the dog helped. The programme showed three minutes of something that took nearly an hour.

“I was really grateful they gave those minutes to promote the cause of dog theft.

“Top was an absolute star and didn’t put a foot wrong. In the lift the crew were playing cat noises to keep his attention and he was wondering where the cat was.”

Reflecting on Peter Jones’ attitude, she said the other Dragons thought it was a well made product, but just not something they could see a big enough profit for them. They did not feel she really needed their help to be a success.

Sarah said: “I keep on top of my main figures, but when it comes to forecasts I don’t have much interest and had not prepared that information. I have a successful business. Making things is my forte. I was more worried about getting my pitch right.

“Deborah Meaden is more an animal person and I wanted to impress her.”

Since appearing on the programme she has had more social media followers and interest in her mailing lists, as well as product sales.

“It has kept me really busy,” said Sarah.