An Amersham entrepreneur and founder of Timeostat Ltd secured a £80,000 investment after pitching his business to television’s infamous multimillionaire investors on BBC’s Dragons’ Den.
In an episode that aired on March 14, resident Anthony Cherry took on the dragons as he sought investment to help launch new models of the Time:o:stat.
The device is intended as a solution to high heating bills in rented accommodation. The ide came to Anthony, an experienced landlord himself, when he noticed spiralling heating bills in his shared student houses. Tenants would often leave the heating running when whey went out to work or university, resulting in wasted energy.
Anthony said: “Whilst carrying out routine maintenance at a property, I noticed a big problem. It was a hot summer’s day, the tenants were out, the heating was on full blast, and the windows were wide open. When I spoke to the tenants, they said the thermostat was too complicated. They had no idea how to set the different heating times, so they just left the heating running continuously.”
The Time:o:stat, which helps landlords reduce their heating bills while allowing tenants to easily turn on the heating whenever required, impressed the dragons, in particular Touker Suleyman.
Suleyman made Anthony an offer for the full £80,000 investment that he was after, but proved a hard negotiator; he wrangled 20 per cent of the business, 10 per cent more than Anthony had originally wished to part with.
Anthony said: “Being a huge fan of Dragons’ Den, walking through the lift doors was both exciting and terrifying! It is every entrepreneurs dream to be pitching in front of the entrepreneurs, but I was definitely very nervous.”
The episode can still be viewed on BBC iPlayer.
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