The most valuable asset known to man is a good idea. But success and greatness may not be achieved with just the imagination of a good idea but by the thoughtful and meticulous process of transforming that good idea into a profitable venture.

So many factors contribute to the success of any good business idea. For eleven weeks on Dragons Den, we’ve seen aspiring entrepreneurs with ambitious ideas approach the dragons hoping to secure investments for their various business ideas and products. Only five of such entrepreneurs emerged with investments.

On episode 12, we presented to you all the five successful entrepreneurs or the “dragons’ slayers” as you may like to call them – courageous young men and women who were able to secure mouth-watering investments from the dragons despite all the odds of fiery scrutiny and the inherent anxiety in the den.

1.      Yusuf Bello - the first successful entrepreneur on the show emerged in episode 2, slaying the dragons with the idea and application for a mobile directory solution he aptly called www.naijacities.com 

2.      With 10 million naira injected into www.naijacities.com by the dragons, Yusuf Bello’s brainchild has been launched online as the answer to the prayers of many visitors and travelling businessmen and women in Nigeria.

3.      Alsu Odemwingie emerged in episode 4 as the first lady to slay the dragons; securing a 3 million naira investment from the duo of Chris Parkes and John Momoh in Start-Up Sity – a business she conceived in order to nurture and resuscitate the profitability of ailing start-up companies.

4.      In episode 7, Aaron Adegoke Wright articulately convinced the dragons to commit a 5 million naira investment in Indigenes Creations – a fine culture-based business aimed at exporting the cultural heritage of the Nigerian state through creative greeting cards.

5.      Femi Odeleye, the brilliant inventor of the Trike-tor wowed the dragons with his three-wheeler mini-tractor, and in turn was able to secure a 6 million naira investment from the five dragons in episode 9.

6.      Food business was definitely good business in episode 10, when Philomena Izuka walked away from the den with 1.5 million naira after convincing Ibukun Awosika and Femi Tejuoso that the passion she had for “House of Plantain” could be transformed into a larger food venture.

Now that you’ve been adequately reminded of the reasons why these entrepreneurs were able to secure investments from the ferocious dragons, then I’m sure you agree with me that what they have achieved was no easy fit.

Next week we shall bring you highlights of some of the more pensive, hilarious, and tension-filled moments that made the first season of Dragons Den Nigeria both very educative and entertaining for millions of viewers all over Nigeria.

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–Den Sweeper

5^th Entrepreneur

The fifth entrepreneur was a website developer who came seeking a 7.7 million naira capital injection in his already existing web-related solutions company; he was ready to part with 15% equity to the dragons. This entrepreneur seemed to have kicked off his presentation on a friendly note with the dragons.  But one couldn’t help but wonder if his business proposition would elicit more than just cheerful smiles and laughter from the dragons?

His opening pitch seemed to have captured the attention of the dragons, but during the questions and answers session, this entrepreneur failed to effectively communicate the viability of his business plan.Femi Tejuoso confessed to being worried about investing about this business.

He had presented “low-pricing” and “quality customer support” as his unique selling proposition, but he couldn’t convince the dragons that he’d be able to surmount competition and attract enough patronage for his business?

Four of the dragons opted out, but the entrepreneur packed his bag with a frown ready to walk away even before John Momoh made his stance known. John Momoh later revealed to the entrepreneur that he was thinking of investing but his attitude towards an unfavorable presentation was not a good quality in a budding entrepreneur. Alexander Amosu the IT guru also advised this entrepreneur to always retain a positive attitude even in the face of business rejection.

6^th Entrepreneur

Capitalizing on the growing need for alternative fuel for both industrial and domestic purposes, AYODELE MICHAEL came to the den in search of 11. 9 million to invest in the development of a bio-diesel product - He is willing to forfeit 25% equity in his company to secure this investment. The botanical name he presented to the dragons stirred up a momentary comic relief in the den, because the weed the entrepreneur was talking about had a very strange name that sounded like a song young pupils sang in kindergarten.

AYODELE was basically proposing to develop bio-diesel by extracting certain ingredients off a relatively common weed -but AYODELE’s inexperience with bio-chemicals, and inability to communicate his team’s relevant experience or expertise in this field may  do very little to convince the dragons. Coupled with the absence of a demonstrable sample and proof of the product’s functionality – the dragons were having a hard time understanding the business plan.

Ayodele had presented a seed as evidence of the sample of the product, and the dragons almost laughed. He told them that the person who had the working knowledge of the project was currently in Abuja. He was also unable to prove to the dragons that the product had a scientific research backing it –nor was he able to tell the dragons where and when this product had been tested in the past.

3^rd Entrepreneur

OSAINDE EDMOND ALOHAN was in the den seeking 30 million naira in exchange for 50% equity in his trading and import business.  He was looking for finance to import some computer-related boards used in the assembly of mobile phones and computers. According to him he had already discussed with some Chinese designers to manufacture the product for him to sell in Nigeria. The product was not currently distributed in Nigeria, according to him. But without being any concrete evidence that it was a unique idea at all. The dragons felt it wouldn’t be prudent to invest in such a potentially competitive trading business.

4^th Entrepreneur

Clothing forms an essential part of the basic human needs. With this in mind, OLUWAFEMI CLOTHINGS came seeking a 4.6 million naira investment in exchange of 30% equity in their fashion retail company. They distributed samples of their designs to the dragons. Tokunboh Ishmael and Ibukun Awosika really scrutinized the fabrics they presented. Femi Tejuoso advised the entrepreneurs to create a unique afro centric style and identity for their brand to make it appealing.

These entrepreneurs were convinced that they could supply discerning professionals with high quality clothes for very affordable prices. But they couldn’t convince the dragons that they were unique enough to compete in an already saturated industry.

The dragons opted out, but they however offered the entrepreneurs some advice as to how to go about improving on their present clientele. Chris Parkes recommended that they tried direct-marketing their services and products by introducing their company to banks and other large corporate organizations in the city.

In episode 11, we saw the beauty of persistence and perseverance. We also witnessed how much of a put of a defeatist attitude is to investors. In this episode, the dragons shared their knowledge and experiences in the art of pitching with ambitious entrepreneurs. From within the fiery den the dragons sent forth invaluable words of wisdom for everyone who aspires to be an entrepreneur.

1^st Entrepreneur

Like they say, the older the wine – the better it tastes. Our first entrepreneur in episode 11 who came to the den was a 58 year old Agricultural veteran -MAKOJUOLA he came seeking 9.6 million naira to expand the scope of his agricultural business. He offered 25% equity to the dragons.

He was pitching a profitable way to put agricultural waste to better use, whilst protecting the environment. He stated that entire project was estimated at about 40 million naira. According to him, the project was currently ongoing with infrastructure and some machinery already in place. But the dragons wanted to know why he didn’t approach the banks for financing; to which he replied that the current interest rates were discouraging, coupled with the fact that banks hardly believe in new projects.

Based on this entrepreneur’s testimony, it was revealed to the dragons that this entrepreneur planned on running two businesses at once, but they were curious about the duplicity of his business, and why he wanted to limit their investment in the new business alone. John Momoh was concerned with the entrepreneur’s policy on succession in his business, while Tokunboh Ishmeal felt that the entrepreneur had his hands in a lot of pies and may not be dedicated to this new project he was pitching.

But this entrepreneur was a brilliant negotiator – he never allowed himself to be boxed into a corner by the dragons. He kept his options open and declared his willingness to accommodate the dragons’ suggestions and recommendations.

In the end he got the dragons interested in his idea, and willing to invest, but they urged him to speak to the producers because the idea they were interested in was not exactly the same as that which the entrepreneur had come to the den to pitch.

The dragons did not opt out. They simply opened up a window for further discussions with this articulate pitcher.

2^nd Entrepreneur

With an idea that could make the production of entertainment and media content more cost effective in Nigeria, TONY SAMUJE was next in the den seeking a 30 million naira investment in ENTERTAINMENT WAREHOUSE – a soundproofed audiovisual facility designed to encourage indigenous filmmakers to produce their feature length films in a world-class environment located in the city of Lagos.

He presented was what seemed to be an interesting opening pitch in which he claimed that about 50% of the film and media content currently broadcast in Nigeria were produced abroad- he sounded genuinely patriotic when he told the dragons that Nigeria was losing a lot due to this development, but the cracks began to appear in the viability of his plan when the dragons began their probe to ascertain the entrepreneur’s level of experience and expertise in the film industry.

In defense of his resume, he informed the dragons that he was trained in South Africa, Kenya etc. But when John Momoh probed deeper to find out his level how much experience he had, Tony stated that he had worked as associate producer on several movie sets. But Tokunboh wanted financial clarifications, when she discovered that the entrepreneur had valued the worth of his company at 150 million naira which he later revealed to Femi Tejouso was the figure of the potential amount he was worth.

Tony Samuje claimed that a certain South African was ready to bring half a million dollars worth of filming equipment into Nigeria, but couldn’t do that on his own as a foreigner – this information did not settle in well with Chris Parkes who told Tony that it was arrant nonsense to think that a foreigner needs a Nigerian partner before establishing a company in Nigeria. He revealed that all was needed was for the foreigner’s business to be capitalized up to ten million naira.

In the end the dragons opted out based on the fact that this entrepreneur was ill-prepared and lacked the necessary facts required to establish and run such a facility. They however encouraged him to go back to the drawing board, and really work out the logistics of this business.

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Our last entrepreneur, Philomena Izuka came seeking 1.5 million naira in exchange for 30% equity in her fast food business -House of Plantain. Her idea was to repackage the presentation of the popular roasted plantain. She made an emotionally compelling argument that exploited the consumers’ desire for hygienically prepared and packaged local delicacy. The roasted plantain, popular known as bolle in Nigeria is a common snack enjoyed by people of various classes.

She had conducted a survey where 200 respondents were polled in Victoria Island, and based on her findings she discovered that the working class people who wanted to buy roasted plantain where reluctant to do so from the roadside vendors. Her package made the dragons’ mouth water, and they compelled her to present her package for tasting. Well, like they say the shortest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. And Philomena felt that she would be able to get through to the dragons’ pocket through the taste of her variety of plantain delicacies.

Chris Parkes seemed to like the taste of her dish, but felt her profit margin was not worth the effort. Tokunboh Ismael and John Momoh opted out. Femi Tejuoso was unwilling to declare his stance until Ibukun Awosika made her summation.

Ibukun Awosika was impressed with the entrepreneur’s passion and felt strongly that she would effectively run one of her pet projects. Ibukun Awosika made an entirely different proposition to this entrepreneur – a proposition that had very little to do with her proposed business idea. Ibukun Awosika offered this entrepreneur 1.5 million naira for 30% of this business. Essentially, Ibukun Awosika, following the rules of the den wanted to make sure that the entrepreneur got the full amount she was requesting, but insisted that the new business she was proposing was going to be larger than was the entrepreneur had pitched. At this point Femi Tejuoso declared his interest, and was willing to take 30% from whatever Ibukun Awosika was getting.

In the end, Femi Tejuoso and Ibukun Awosika jointly offered Philomena 1.5 million naira to kick off this new business; Philomena accepted the deal of which she was to own 30%.

She shook hands with Femi Tejuoso and Ibukun Awosika.

–Den Sweeper

5th Entrepreneur:

Richard Usman, another ICT specialist came looking for 16 million naira in exchange for 30% equity. Richard’s idea was to market automatic integrated home systems which would allow for doors, curtains, and electrical appliances to be activated and controlled by the human voice. His presentation revealed the beauty of the idea. He convinced the dragons that the technology was very user friendly, in the sense that it could be programmed to recognize voice-commands from even people who pronounced words with a heavy influence of their mother tongue.

The idea was novel and captivating, but the dragons were uncomfortable with investing because they felt there was a need to investigate the technology- since the entrepreneur was not armed with a prototype neither was he able to offer a demonstration of the product.

The dragons opted out.

6th Entrepreneur 

The next entrepreneur, Steven Obioma Akidi – a catfish farmer from Umahia Abia state was looking for 12 million naira to expand his business. He based his pitch on his desire to improve productivity in his farm with the funds he is asking for. He wanted to reposition his farm and take it to the next level. He was going to acquire 6 plots of land – stocking 60, 000 cat fish juveniles – improving their weight to 1kg in six months, with a guaranteed production of 48, 000 kg of catfish in 6 months. Femi Tejuoso was concerned about the mortality rate of the fish. Ibukun Awosika also wanted to know how this entrepreneur utilized the profit he made from the last farming season – but the entrepreneur revealed the fact that he invested the money in the purchase and supply of livestock feed to customers around Umahia. This proved to be a fatal flaw for his business, because according to Ibukun Awosika, if the entrepreneur was passionate about expanding his business, he ought to have reinvested his profit into the farm and not in a different venture.

The dragons opted out.

3rd Entrepreneur

With an ICT-based business idea geared towards servicing small businesses in Nigeria, OLUMEFU TOYIN has come to the den seeking 2 million naira in exchange for 30% equity. His opening pitch was neither persuasive nor compelling. He posited that most ICT firms targeted the large conglomerates and ignored the small businesses, but his business was strategically designed to cater to the needs of small businesses. His idea was to partner with large software manufacturers as a reseller of their products, then resell these products to small business for a commission.

His presentation did not elicit the dragons’ interest. He had also committed one of the cardinal sins of business presentations. He came to the den to seek 2 million naira from shrewd investors, dressed in very casual clothes and slippers. The dragons rebuked him for such a callous representation of himself and his business. Femi Tejuoso advised, “If you’re going to an investor to get 2 million naira, you must try to look like someone who can manage 2 million naira”

On that note the dragons opted out.

4^{th Entrepreneur}

GEORGE HEFZIBAR, an “innovative livestock entrepreneur” was next in the den. He is seeking 4.5 million naira in exchange for 30% equity in his snail farm. GEORGE seemed to have impressed the dragons with his nice-looking suit, but will he be able to convince these shrewd businessmen and women that his business idea was worth their investment? Half-way into his presentation, the dragons discovered that George had designed innovative snail-farming equipment for the racking and shelving of snails-they felt would be a more viable business than the proposed expansion of the snail farm. The dragons advised this entrepreneur to get a patent for his “racks system”, produce the racks for commercial purposes. The dragons felt strongly that there was a better business opportunity in the production of the racks. But the entrepreneur was stubborn, and according to Chris Parkes, he was paranoid about his racks system and confused about his entire business priority. With GEORGE choosing not to commercialize this innovation – the dragons opted out with the feeling that this entrepreneur was just passionate about his business, but lacked the business smarts to identify a viable business opportunity.

Tony Eboh, the first entrepreneur in episode 10 came to pitch the idea of an elite sports bar – with strategically empathized on soccer. He was seeking 30 million naira, and was offering 60% equity. He explained that the idea behind the bar would be to create an atmosphere where soccer fans could meet, network, and discuss soccer. The bar has been designed to admit members only. His idea seemed to have captured the dragons’ interest – but the dragons wanted to know why he was basing customers’ admission into this bar on membership only.

Femi Tejuoso and Chris Parkes felt that the price Tony has placed on membership was too high, explaining that his competitors were more affordable – and with their reputation, and from the variety of products offered by his competition, it was the dragons’ opinion that his competitors were likely to attract more patronage.

However, Chris Parkes obviously interested in the idea made an investment of 10 million naira- requesting for 25% equity. But the entrepreneur was still 20 million naira short, and without having been able to convince the other dragons to come onboard he lost out. John Momoh’s interest had been kindled but somehow the entrepreneur was not able to convince him that his business was “the way to go”. Ibukun Awosika was emphatic with her position – she stressed that she would only invest if she was assured that Tony Eboh wasn’t going to manage the business. Tony Eboh couldn’t accept this condition.

The dragons opted out.

2^{nd Entrepreneur}

Teslim Owonikoko, a scientist and inventor was next in the den. He was seeking 26 million naira in exchange for 5% equity. He proudly announced himself as the recipient of the BEST INVENTOR IN NIGERIA award from the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, and he was briefly congratulated by the dragons. However, he went on and on describing the chemical components of a bouquet of inventions and products he had assembled in the den. He came across as someone who took so much pride in his inventions, but John Momoh was curious as to why the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology had not funded the best inventor in Nigeria. In trying to explain, Teslim stated that he was not impressed by the government’s offer, and felt strongly that the dragons were more suitable investors.

But half way through his presentation it was still very unclear what this entrepreneur wanted from the dragons. The dragons wanted to know what he was going to do with the money he was asking for. They also wanted to know exactly was deal he was proposing. And basically, they wanted to know if his intention was to get their investment in order to develop one of the products to launch into the local market. But Teslim seemed more eager to ‘advertise’ his innovations one by one – frustrating the dragons every move to get clarity.

He was not able to communicate his demands, or needs effectively to the dragons, and this development seemed very numbing and unwholesome to the dragons. Tokunboh Ishmael tried to no avail to guide the entrepreneur towards getting to the agenda on ground. In the end, he seemed to have annoyed and frustrated the dragons. They all opted out of his proposition, but Ibukun Awosika in her classic mother-dragon role was not about to let this entrepreneur walk away without being taught the basic principle of business presentations. She decried his pride, recommending a very strong dose of humility; she rendered a lengthy but emotionally compelling career counsel to Teslim. According to Ibukun Awosika, the entrepreneur had products with high value but the pride and arrogance of an inventor would not let him get value for his innovations.

Teslim listened intently, apparently moved by Ibukun Awosika’s concern. He expressed his gratitude to the dragons as he humbly exited the den.