Students of martial arts are taught to FOCUS, to CONCENTRATE their energies towards every dynamic challenge, because victory hardly smiles on scattered efforts. In business, the technique absolute concentration is paramount in obtaining the desired result and overcoming every obstacle present in the journey to successful achievements. Upholding the most elementary technique required for business success, the dragons return in episode 8 like the wise business tacticians that they are, guiding the entrepreneurs through the basic principles of focus and concentration of skills, energy, and efforts to the successful actualization of one particular goal at a time. We watched Chris Parkes, John Momoh, Ibukun Awosika, Femi Tejuoso, and Tokunboh Ishmael as they lit the den with the fire of their business wisdom.

Capitalizing on the booming fashion industry, and the increasing desire by women to look attractive, our first entrepreneur for episode 8 was the fashionably dressed microbiologist, Ayobola Adediji. She came to pitch a “one-stop-beauty place” to the dragons. Her idea was to combine a beauty spa, hair salon, a pedicure and manicure clinic, and a make-up shop in one big beauty mall.

Ibukun Awosika seemed to have warmed up to Ayobola immediately, complimenting her nice suit. Half way into her presentation, she revealed her plans to acquire one plot of land, of which she would lease out one-half to a developer, and build her beauty place on the other half. But the dragons soon became uncomfortable with her projections. She had stated earlier that she was buying the full plot of land for 6.5 million naira, whereas she expected to generate an income of 10 million by leasing one-half to a developer. Femi Tejuoso could not see the logic in this – he wondered why the developer would pay her 10 million naira for half a plot for 10 years when he can buy a full plot next door for just 6.5 million naira.

Tokunboh Ishmael and Ibukun Awosika seemed to like the idea. Though they couldn’t invest at the moment, but they encouraged the entrepreneur to fine-tune her plan and forge ahead.

“Get my details from the producers, I’d like to spend time with you (to discuss this business further)” Tokunboh Ishmael offered as her farewell words.

 

 

Our second entrepreneur believed he could transform billboards from being mere marketing tools to functional utilities with Bright Streets Incorporated. To do this, he needed 25 million naira in exchange for 60% equity. He opened his presentation well, dressing his business idea in the garments of a socially responsible initiative. But will this seeming “social responsibility” take precedence over business viability? He explained that the billboards won’t just be there to advertise brand and products anymore, but also serve as a vehicle for lighting the street up. But the dragons could not see the where the income stream was going to come from. John Momoh was also disappointed that the entrepreneur was not affiliated to any of the advertising regulatory bodies.

The dragons felt he had a lot of ground work to cover. And they all opted out.

 

The third entrepreneur in the den was the C.E.O of Futuristic Concepts; he came to seek 10 million naira in exchange for 70% equity in his online advertising venture. From his very brief presentation, it was deduced that his business was built on the platform that he was going to offer advertisement slots to customers. However, he prompted for questions without having given an elaborate presentation, and from this action it seemed that this entrepreneur was taking a futuristic route to stretching the dragons’ patience.

Without a running website, his ambition to sell online advertising slots was rebuffed as a prematurely nurtured ‘futuristic’ endeavor.

The dragons opted out.

The fourth entrepreneur in the den was Ayo Falano, the C.E.O of Alexander Blakes Solutions; he was looking for a 14 million naira investment in a company ear-marked to offer a ‘loaded’ bouquet of IT Solutions and services. He was talking about deploying WiFi services, offering doorstep deliveries of goods purchased online. But Chris Parkes discovered a discrepancy in the equity stake on offer. Ayo had announced to the dragons when prompted that he was giving away 41% whereas he was actually offering 25% as documented in his business proposal. Well, this did not mar his chances. Because the dragons still gave him ample time to pitch his business. But when he was unable to explicate his business plan, and unable to prove his affiliation with his overtly mentioned partners; the dragons quickly lost confidence in this entrepreneur. His business became confusing, and contradictory.

The dragons unanimously opted out.

 

Olubumi Adeyemi, a London-trained interior decorator came in search of 10 million naira. He was ready to part with 25% equity in Homemade Interiors Limited. But without giving the impression of a confident and eloquent salesman, the dragons may not have seen the benefits of investing in this young man. Femi Tejuoso prompted him to confide in the dragons, and tell them if his business was actually in existence. This prompt led to an unsavory revelation which showed the absence of an operational business, and that the entrepreneur did not have enough experience in managing an interior décor firm.

After a few questions – the dragons remained unconvinced that this entrepreneur had the prerequisite traits to successfully run his proposed business.

The dragons opted out.

 

 

Our last entrepreneur, Yinka Oyenuga came in search of 45 million, 220 thousand naira in a social-entrepreneurship  initiative he tagged “Heart Trick” in exchange for 45% equity. His projected 1, 000% returns on equity investment roused dragons’ curiosity in the operations and administration of such a venture. While he was explaining the concept behind this business, John Momoh deduced that this entrepreneur wanted to make money by exploiting the sentiments of the invalid – he wondered how the entrepreneur wanted to generate funds from what was supposed to be a charitable venture. Yinka’s explication of his business plan produced a feeling of doubt and suspicion on the actual economic motives of this proposed venture.

The dragons began their probe to establish if this entrepreneur was proposing to trade on the disadvantages of invalid people, while remitting a meager percentage of the proceeds to the invalids. Ibukun Awosika quickly opted out because she felt strongly that the entrepreneur was proposing to exploit a disguised charitable course for financial benefits.

Convinced that Yinka was not being honest with his core motives in this venture; Ibukun Awosika rebuked his presumed deceit, advising him to desist from such exploitative schemes.

The dragons opted out.

 

Though, the dragons didn’t invest in any business idea in this episode, the entrepreneurs who came before them in the den went home with more knowledge on how business ideas ought to be presented to investors. A few of the ideas were brilliant, but due to the lack of concentrated efforts, the dragons felt the entrepreneurs could put in more time and work into their business plans to make their ideas investable.

The dragons are still looking for businesses to invest in. Join us next week for more educative action on Dragons Den Nigeria.