Femi Odeleye walked into the den to seek 6 million naira to invest in the manufacture and assembly of the Trike-tor (in exchange for 20% equity), a little tense at first, but in a matter of minutes into his presentation, he displayed a commendable level of confidence, and exhumed sincerity and reliability. The 6 million naira he was seeking was essentially intended to be used as the capital to facilitate the grant of a bank loan of 54 million naira, but John Momoh was curious – he wanted to know what would happen if Femi, after getting the 6 million naira investment from the dragons, is unable to secure the loan from the bank. And Femi Odeleye, with admirable honesty assured the dragons that their 6 million would be returned intact in a situation where he isn’t granted the 54 million naira loan by the bank.

Femi was able to further convince the dragons of the viability of his business, by the fact that he had also succeeded in securing a patent for the Trike-tor, and the patent covers the design and concept behind taking a motorcycle and converting same into a three-wheeler tractor. The fact that he already had a patent for this design was an added incentive, which drastically reduced the risk of poachers stealing his idea or replicating his technology once the product hit the market.

Cutting to the chase, Femi Tejuoso presented Femi Odeleye with a rhetorical question about the value of the equity he was offering to the dragons, implying that if the entrepreneur was in the dragons’ shoes would he settle for just 20% equity after providing the prerequisite funding for the business?

“If I was presented with such an offer, as an investor – I’ll jump at it” Femi Odeleye responded confidently.

On that premise, Chris Parkes moved forward to the negations – Femi Tejuoso indicated his interest in negotiating with this entrepreneur, followed by Ibukun Awosika who decided to consult with the other dragons to find out if they were all interested in going into a deal with the entrepreneur as a group or if any individual dragon wanted to go ahead and negotiate competitively – John Momoh and Tokunboh Ishmael both agreed to come on board with Chris Parkes, Ibukun Awosika, and Femi Tejuoso, collectively asking the entrepreneur for 49% equity – since Ibukun Awosika had insisted that it would be prudent to let the entrepreneur own the controlling equity in this business.

The dragons advised Femi Odeleye to consult with a partner or his business advisor before making up his mind to accept or reject their offer. Femi Odeleye decided to take a short break from the den to consult with a business associate who advised him to take the deal.

He returned to the den – facing the dragons with a triumphant smile, he announced that he would take the deal, relinquishing 49% equity to the dragons for 6 million naira.

He was fulfilled and grateful for having the dragons on board his business – and was even more satisfied with the deal because he had controlling equity in his own business.

Femi Odeleye will go down in the history of Dragons Den Nigeria as the first inventor to have slain five dragons with one idea – the Trike-tor, a three-wheeler tractor. 

Sure the farmers who have found it difficult to afford the conventional tractors, will definitely embrace the Trike-tor as a cost-effective, and easy-to-maintain machinery that will generate more profits for less running cost.