Steven Bartlett’s ‘biggest regret’ on Dragons’ Den is now worth £40m

Steven Bartlett has revealed his ‘biggest regret’ on Dragons’ Den is now worth £40million and on track to double its value in a year – despite the BBC hopefuls asking for just £50,000 on the show. 

The businessman, 33, has made a number of investments with budding entrepreneurs since joining the BBC programme in 2021. 

But there is one company that he wishes he got on board with.  

Eddie Fisher and Matt Kennedy appeared on the 19th series of the show back in February 2022 to ask for £50,000 for a 1% stake in his natural deodorant brand Fussy.

The company impressed Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones, and he ended up going home with the money that they asked for, but at a price of 5% of the business.

Speaking with Metro, Steven said: ‘I was sat in the chair, and I could see the regret.

‘Sometimes you have that moment where you go, “I think I might regret this one”, but for whatever reason you choose not to [invest] and that was Fussy.

‘I was sat in the Den thinking there’s so many reasons for me to invest in this, and I was on the fence and I fell over the other side of the fence and the minute when I got back to the green room, I was sat there thinking, “Jesus I should have should have done this,” and the business has absolutely done brilliantly.’ 

Steven also told the publication that he ‘begrudgingly’ uses the product because he is a fan of it himself. 

Fussy is now a popular natural deodorant brand that boasts 195k followers on Instagram, and can be bought in various shops and supermarkets around the UK. 

After the episode aired on our screens, Fussy managed to sell over 20,000 deodorants and is still a popular brand that people use four years on.  

Fussy is described as ‘natural and effective’, ‘planet friendly’ and ‘smells amazing’. 

Speaking about their success from the show with Metro last year, Eddie confessed: ‘To give you an idea of the journey we’ve gone on, in the last three years we’ve gone from 0 to £20,000,000 in revenue this year, and a valuation of around £40,000,000.’ 

It comes after a former Dragons’ Den participant revealed his luxury camping business earned £500,000 just over two weeks after the episode aired. 

The Secret Garden Glamping company, owned by Derry Green, appeared on the BBC show in January 2024.

Green received investment offers from four ‘Dragons’ – namely Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Sara Davies and Touker Souleyman. 

Each put forward the full £100,000 asking price in exchange for a 5% stake in the business.

He ultimately accepted Deborah’s offer and has now opened up about the ‘immediate’ impact after the show.

Green told Business Cloud: ‘Dragons’ Den was a huge moment in our journey and it’s been incredible to see how much the business has grown since the episode aired

‘Our episode aired on January 16 and by February 1 we had generated an additional £500,000 in bookings,’ he said.

‘The exposure introduced The Secret Garden Glamping to a national audience overnight and website traffic, enquiries and bookings all surged.’

He added: ‘‘What’s been particularly powerful is that the impact wasn’t short term.

‘Demand has remained consistently strong in the two years since the show aired and it helped accelerate the growth of the brand significantly.’

Meanwhile, the business owner also shared advice for future hopefuls entering the Den.

He said: ‘The Dragons see hundreds of pitches, so they can quickly tell when something is over-rehearsed.

‘Be clear about what problem your business solves, why you’re different and what you’re asking for.

‘It also helps to have a tight pitch that explains the opportunity in simple terms.

‘Investors respect founders who understand the risks as well as the potential.’

The Secret Garden glamping company began as a lockdown project, but went on to become a viral sensation with a two-year waiting list.