Dragons Den

Teen sisters Cat and Honor Black were among the youngest entrepreneurs ever on BBC Dragons’ Den at just 16 and 17.

A Dragons’ Den contestant has shared a powerful message after making history on the programme, becoming one of the youngest-ever entrepreneurs to walk away with five investors. Cat Black and her sister Honor Black were just 16 and 17 years old when they entered the Den, putting forward their brand Maiden to Steven Bartlett, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Peter Jones and guest Dragon Gary Neville.

The sisters pitched their venture business Maiden, a brand committed to empowering girls and women. Their company, which creates cricket clothing, teamwear and equipment exclusively for women and girls, had been established following their own experiences.

“We started Maiden because we were tired of being at the sidelines,” Honor explained. “We felt when playing at every level that we were forced to make kit with boys’ kit or unisex gear that wasn’t designed for us. And so we decided that we would make something that worked for us and others like us.”

Cat recalled a moment that left her wanting to quit cricket, after a “humiliating” experience during her time of the month where the other players laughed and she felt misunderstood. “The kit we had was not designed for such a situation,” she went on. “This pushed me to help create something that made girls feel confident and comfort in the sport they play.”

They had walked in asking for £15,000 for a 10% stake in their business, having launched in 2024 to roaring success from girls like them, parents and schools. “The message was clear, we weren’t alone,” Honor said.

Talking about scaling their business, Cat went on: “Women’s cricket is going, the timing is perfect and we’re at the forefront of change. We want Maiden to be the go-to brand for female cricket.” Honor added: “And as our brand does always say, it’s ok boys, we will take it from here,” reports Wales Online.

Leaving the Dragons more than impressed, Cat and Honor secured five investments, giving away a total of 25% of their business. Their product was hailed as “fantastic” by Touker Suleyman, who admitted: “I’m very impressed.” Steven meanwhile praised: “If you’re this capable at 16/17 years old, I can’t imagine what you’re going to be like at 18/19/20.”

In an exclusive interview, Cat spoke to The Mirror about the experience, and building the company with her sister. She said: “When we ended up getting all five Dragons, we were like, oh my god, no way. We’d never even thought about what would happen if we had got Dragons!”

After filming in the Den, Cat was given the opportunity to meet the other Dragons. “It was hugs all around, I met all of them, definitely a bucket list moment ticked off,” she said.

She added: “I remember hugging them so many times, I was so overwhelmed. Peter Jones really understood the situation more than the others, just because he started a business at 16, so he was like, ‘This is an amazing achievement, and I hope it all goes well for you’.”

Talking about their journey to build Maiden into what it is today, she continued: “You always look up to other business, and aspire to be bigger and aspire to be better. I didn’t know that I’d been the youngest contestant on Dragons’ Den [to receive five offers].”

Cat continued: “I don’t think I realise how far we have come until someone tells me, which is always amazing. I am honestly proud that we’ve managed to do this and inspire other women to do the same.

“It’s such a big thing because it’s not just around cricket. The whole Maiden mission is more like for women who see a problem, you can fix it, you can do something about it.

“That’s what inspires me and hopefully it inspires lots of other women, not just in the sports industry but everywhere. You can change and you can do something.”

Dragons’ Den is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

A Dragons’ Den contestant opened up about the traumatic experience she suffered before launching her business.

A Dragons’ Den contestant has opened up about the harrowing experience that led to her business.

The BBC programme returned to screens on Thursday, August 20, after a months-long break.

Joining Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett in the Den were guest Dragons Jenna Meek and Susie Ma, who stepped in for Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies after they announced their exits from the show.

Among the entrepreneurs pitching their companies in the Den was Louise Truman, the founder behind group travel company for young backpackers, Plotpackers.

As she convinced the Dragons to invest in her business, Louise opened up about her journey to building her company, focused on empowering women.

She began: “For as long as I can remember growing up, all I wanted to do was travel. And as much as that’s a cliche, I’m now 25 and my most treasured memories are from my adventures around the world and all of the incredible people I have met along the way.

“But I am also no stranger to the dangers of travel, from the environmental toll to the personal safety risks that I’ve faced.”

Louise said she suffered “an extremely traumatic event” at the age of 21 while she was on a solo backpacking trip, and started to look into group travel as a safety measure.

After discovering a lack of budget-friendly options that were also sustainable and ethical, Louise decided to found Plotpackers, adding: “I aimed to create a way for people to travel freely, whilst minimising risk to both themselves, and the world around them.”

As she went on to discuss her business, which helps young travellers like her by building itineraries and designing trips around the world, Louise was probed by Peter on the reason behind creating her own company.

“You said this came from an event that happened to you, but you didn’t explain what that is, do you not want to talk about it? If it’s private and you want to keep it private, please do, if it’s not too traumatic for you,” he asked.

Louise replied: “It is obviously a very traumatic thing. I was sexually assaulted very violently and consider myself very lucky to be alive.

“As much as I don’t enjoy talking about the topic, it is a big reason why I did this. 70% of the people who travel with us are women, and if you look at studies, women’s primary concern when it comes to solo travelling is safety.”

“I’m so dreadfully, dreadfully sorry, and you’re inspiring,” Peter told Louise, as the other Dragons praised her bravery in opening up.

Louise continued: “It could have made me never travel again, but I’m glad it led to this.”

Dragons’ Den airs Thursdays at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

Dragons’ Den is back on our screens tonight, and for the first time ever, the number of female Dragons outnumbers the males.

A Dragons’ Den star has a surprising link to Love Island.

The BBC programme is returning to screens tonight, and for the first time ever, the number of female Dragons outnumbers the males.

Following the departures of Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies from the beloved BBC show, a string of guest Dragons, including Gary Neville and Tinie Tempah, have joined regulars Peter Jones, Steven Bartlett and Deborah Meaden in the Den.

After a months-long break, the series is continuing with new episodes from Thursday, August 20.

Joining Peter, Steven and Deborah in the Den, North East businesswoman Jenna Meek and The Apprentice star Susie Ma are returning as investors, reports Chronicle Live.

After making her debut on Dragons’ Den earlier this year, Jenna was supported by her followers as she wrote on social media: “The secret is out… Your newest Dragon.

“Been manifesting this one for a long time and it still doesn’t feel real that it actually happened. It has always been a massive goal of mine to be on Dragon’s Den – it was this show (and Deborah sorry other Dragons haha) that inspired me from day one to want to be an entrepreneur.

“I used to watch this show all the time and would dream to pitch on it one day, never mind be a dragon beyond grateful for this incredible opportunity, it pushed me to new limits and had so much fun doing it.

“The most incredible incredible experience and so grateful for the amazing crew and all the incredible dragons who made me feel so welcome.”

Who is Jenna Meek?

Jenna is the co-founder and CEO of beauty brand REFY.

Since its launch in 2020, the company — which Jenna co-founded alongside influencer Jess Hunt — has grown into one of the UK’s fastest-rising beauty brands, boasting an annual turnover exceeding £40m.

Prior to REFY, Jenna held positions at Burberry and Rebecca Minkoff, and set up festival beauty label Shrine from her bedroom at just 20 years old.

First known as The Gypsy Shrine, the company popularised peel-and-stick face and body gems and biodegradable body glitters, with Jenna even visiting the Love Island villa to decorate the likes of Olivia Attwood and Montana Brown in her products for a glitter party.

She previously told Mail Online: “We were just brainstorming and thinking of new ideas. I was like, ‘Let’s get on to Love Island’.”

She continued: “It was so crazy. I had nearly given up but my mum was like, ‘don’t let me down on this’, I had to figure it out and I kept pestering I guess.”

She went on to recall: “Kem [Cetinay] wanted [a lot of glitter], he was like ‘Do this do this!’ I had to tell him, ‘No we’ll keep it silver otherwise you are going to look like an idiot on TV!’”

The 33-year-old has firmly established herself within the industry, earning recognition in The Sunday Times beauty rich list and Forbes’ 30 under 30 list in 2022.

Jenna’s net worth is thought to be in the region of £52m.

Dragons’ Den airs from 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.

Two Dragons’ Den entrepreneurs were branded “delusional” by Touker Suleyman over their valuation after he turned down their pitch, but their vegan pet food brand is now worth £11,000,000.

Dragons’ Den stars who Touker Suleyman once labelled “delusional” have revealed their company is now turning over £11,000,000.

The Dragon confirmed at the weekend that he would be departing the show after “ten extraordinary years”.

In a social media post, Touker shared: “It has been an immense privilege to sit in that chair, to meet so many passionate and talented entrepreneurs, and to invest in businesses and people I truly believed in.

“The show gave me a platform not only to invest in leading British founders and companies, but to share hard-won wisdom built over decades in business – and I hope that, in some small way, I made a difference to those who stood opposite me.”

Yet one particular pair of entrepreneurs who faced Touker in the Den were on the receiving end of some scathing criticism from the businessman, reports Wales Online.

Omni founders Dr Guy Sandelowsky and Shiv Sivakumar appeared on the programme last year, seeking investment in their protein-based, vegan pet food brand.

Established in 2021, their brand centred on improving pets’ wellbeing through lab-grown food that was calorie-controlled and environmentally sustainable, while also delivering on taste.

Within two years, they had racked up over £2,500,000 in sales, and were seeking £75,000 from the Dragons in exchange for a 1% stake in their business.

Touker, however, remained wholly unimpressed, declaring he “wouldn’t even get out of bed for” that sum, and bluntly stated: “You’re delusional about what this is really worth.”

Although Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett championed the entrepreneurs, Touker rejected Omni’s lifetime value projections, and was swift to utter the infamous words, “I’m out.”

Yet, despite his scathing assessment, the Omni entrepreneurs disclosed in a 2025 interview that their business was valued at £7,500,000, and shortly afterwards, they’d soared to £11,000,000, even collaborating with Springwatch’s Chris Packham.

Reflecting on Touker and also Peter Jones’ brutal comments in the Den, Dr Guy and Shiv previously told Metro: “I feel like when we were in the Den, they were looking at our historical numbers and basing that on our valuation, but what we were basing it on was actually what our revenue was like at that point, because we’re so fast-growing.”

Dr Guy went on: “We can make quite reasonable assumptions about what we’re going to do in the coming months as well, and I felt like that wasn’t necessarily as much their focus. When you look at our run-rate based on our revenue, it’s not as crazy as they were sort of alluding to at all.”

He continued by stressing that their experience in the Den came down to their product, not their numbers.

He added: “In hindsight, the one disadvantage of it is that we didn’t get to show the nation so much of the other stuff we filmed, like the details of our products.”

Speaking back in March 2025, they said the response from the series had been “amazing”, adding: “We’re trying to keep up, honestly, we’re just a small business trying to help pets live happier lives, and we knew that going on the show would increase our exposure.

“But we never imagined the demand that we’re seeing now, we’ve had to re-evaluate our stock levels and the number of people helping with our customer service and packaging, so it’s been really, really positive.”

He went on: “It’s just a testament to the fact that so many people out there watching the show understood what we’re trying to do, aligned with our mission and were willing to give it a go.”

Sharing his announcement that he was stepping down from Dragons’ Den this weekend, Touker’s statement went on: “Stepping back from Dragons’ will give me more time to mentor the entrepreneurs I have invested in, and to give back the 50 years of business experience I have accumulated.

“If I can help the next generation avoid the pitfalls I’ve faced, seize the opportunities I almost missed, and build businesses they are truly proud of, then that will be the most rewarding chapter of my career yet.”

Touker concluded: “To the BBC, to my fellow Dragons past and present, to the production team, and above all to the entrepreneurs who dared to walk through those doors – thank you.

“It has been one of the greatest joys of my career. The fire in the Den burns on. I simply pass the torch.”

After Sara Davies’ departure last year, it has yet to be confirmed who will be joining Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones and Steven Bartlett in the Den.

Dragons’ Den is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.