Entrepreneurs backed by BBC’s Dragons’ Den panel do WORSE than random aspiring start-up moguls who go it alone, study finds

• Study compared investments by Dragons to random start-ups in 2011 and 2012
• Winning contestants had growth rate of 16% up to 2018, random ones had 28% 
• Several Dragons’ Den rejects have gone on to have very successful businesses  

They are regarded as the undisputed masters of the boardroom – but a new analysis has found entrepreneurs backed by the Dragons’ Den panel actually do worse than random start-up businessmen who go it alone.

The study compared the financial performance of investments made by the Dragons in 2011 and 2012 with a sample of 500 aspiring business stars who sourced funding from elsewhere around the same time.

Winning contestants enjoyed an average growth rate of 16 percent until the end of 2018 – but in the random group the figure was a far more lucrative 28 percent over the same period.

Hairbrush entrepreneur Shaun Pulfrey (left, in 2015) and Rob Law (right), who developed his own suitcase brand, are two Dragons’ Den rejects who have enjoyed great success 

The figures, produced by investment platform Syndicate Room and published in The Sunday Times, will provide reassurance for anybody who has felt the wrath of the Dragons, who at the time included Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones.

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One of the rejects was Shaun Pulfrey, who was told by Duncan Bannatyne that his Tangle Teezer hair brushes would never make any money – only to net sales of £21.74million in 2017 after attracting clients including Victoria Beckham.

Another, Rob Law, brought his Trunki suitcase before the Dragons, only for Robert Dyas owner Theo Paphitis to break one of the handles – causing the other panel members to question their quality.

The Dragons have backed plenty of winners  though, including Reggae Reggae Sauce inventor Levi Roots (seen in 2008)

But now Trunkis are stocked at 2,500 retailers including John Lewis and pulled in sales of upwards of £9million last year.

The other Dragon on the panel at the time was Hilary Devey, who made her fortune developing freight firm Pall-Ex.

The Dragons have backed plenty of winners though, including Reggae Reggae Sauce inventor Levi Roots. He secured a £50,000 investment in 2007 and has since become a millionaire.

‘Their return was still pretty good, but it’s below the market average,’ said Gonçalo de Vasconcelos, chief executive of Syndicate Room.

‘If you had chosen a random selection from this cohort, then you would have done better than the Dragons.’

The BBC said: ‘Judging the value of investment in the Den through the prism of one year is misleading and doesn’t accurately reflect the guidance and advice small businesses receive from the Dragons.’ 

The Dragons in 2011 and 2012 when the study was carried out were, from left to right: Duncan Bannatyne, Peter Jones, Hilary Devey, Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis

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