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 Weston – Super – Mare based company, Babéco will be featured in tonight’s episode of Dragon’s Den. Directors Al Jimenez (42) and Kate Ingram (36) will be pitching their product the Baby Station, looking for an investment of £150,000.
Kate and Al met at a BBQ 3 years ago, where Kate was celebrating finishing her Business Degree in Wolverhampton. Bristol based Al was in the process of conducting market research on his invention and Kate agreed to help by completing questionnaires from the public in the Midlands.
A partnership was born and they soon began working together and today jointly own the company. Their product, the Baby Station was spotted by BBC researchers 2 years ago at a Baby Show and Al and Kate have previously turned down 2 invitations to go on Dragon’s Den. However this year, with product ready and sales growing, they decided to brave the Den once and for all.
Kate said “It’s been a rollercoaster ride since we made the phone call to the BBC to go on the show. They were actually in the middle of filming when we called, so we were rushed up to Manchester for an audition”. However not everything went smoothly, their car broke down on the outskirts of Manchester. Kate continued “Instead of practising our pitch on the journey, we spent the time in garages trying to get the car fixed, in the end leaving it to get a cab to the BBC just in the nick of time.”
Despite the unneeded additional stress the audition was a success and just 10 days later they were invited to Pinewood to record the show. “It was so nerve wracking waiting for the day to come – it’s a mixture of not knowing what to expect on the day, knowing how cut throat they can be and hoping that the experience doesn’t damage us or our product” Said Kate.
Not content with the stress of this alone, Al and Kate insisted on bringing a 5 month old baby onto the set to demonstrate their product. “It’s a fantastic product and when you see a baby in it, it really shows the benefits, so we felt it was essential for the Dragons to see it in action. There is a saying, don’t work with animals or children, and a 5 month old baby is not exactly a walk in the park in terms of getting him in the right frame of mind. But the BBC was excellent, timing our slot to suit the best time for the baby – getting the balance right between sleep and food.”
However, things did not go according to plan, when baby and mum missed their train in the morning and arrived 45 minutes late! “It was a bit worrying because the filming schedule had to carry on, so we missed our slot and had to wait with the baby to go on. As we were ready to walk up the stairs to face the Dragons for the first time, Ewen started to cry a little as he was getting tired and I think everyone’s heart sank at that moment! But like a true star, as soon as the director called us up, Ewen smiled at the Dragons and played happily in the Baby Station for the entire pitch.
It seems the risk of taking a baby in with them paid off in terms of softening up the Dragons. There was definitely a room full of smiles rather than the glares you sometimes see on TV and that helped calm the nerves that Kate and Al were feeling. Deborah Meadon apologised for not listening to the pitch at all as she was so distracted with baby Ewen.
Peter Jones said “Well you certainly don’t need to sell this product to me!”
Considering this was the first time there has been a baby on Dragon’s Den, it went very smoothly. Of course little Ewen did not have to endure the grilling from the Dragons that the entrepreneurs do and after the demonstration, he was passed back to the safety of mum, while the entrepreneurs stayed in the Den to face the music.
“It is very tough in there because they are very astute business people and are used to the cameras. They also have the comfort of each other to support them, whereas we feel like lambs to the slaughter a bit! But we followed the best piece of advice prior – know your business – so we answered all questions reasonably well and held our own under fire!”
“We are really pleased with how it went – they all liked the product – one of them wanted to order 2 there and then! They also complimented our pitch, Al’s design and my business acumen – so we can’t wait to watch it” Said Kate.
The Baby Station is a baby seat and play base, suitable from 4 months, that allows babies to sit upright in a comfortable position. A flexible foam seat offers comfort and an adjustable 3 point safety harness ensures safety. Unlike other floor seats, the Baby Station allows babies to reach their toys around them, which encourages confident, independent play. This is an important feature, as it means babies are still happy to sit and play in this comfortable seat even when they can crawl or walk, for those moments when Mum or Dad need to know they are in a safe place. More information is available from Babéco who can be contacted on 01934 514076 or by email at info@babeco.org and on the web at www.babystation.com
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Lesley-Ann Simmonds, Managing Director of Shoes Galore Limited and master franchisor will be featured in one of the most popular television programmes this coming Monday on BBC2 at 9pm – Dragons Den! As a female franchise her company was selected out of 4,000 applicants of entrepreneurs who applied to be featured on this show hoping to get funding from the Dragons. 