Earlier this month, Forrest Hills at Lancaster University played host to North & West Lancashire Chamber’s ‘How to slay the dragons’ event. 

We sat down with two of these business owners, Derry Green of Secret Garden Glamping, a luxury glamping company that was started in Derry’s back garden. Alongside this, Gemma Connolly of Scoff Paper, a producer of high-quality greetings cards for dogs. 

The pair unveiled what motivated them what to take part in the long running BBC series, how to be successful on the show as well as giving us a look behind the curtain into how the show really works.

Q) In terms of Dragons’ Den being a massive national platform, it’s more than just about the investment, really. Obviously, you touched on that in your presentation, you both did. So, beyond investment, how has it helped the businesses? 

DG) So from my point of view, it’s the reach that we have now with a new audience.

What I’ve found, I genuinely believe it’s showing what glamping is now, compared to what people’s kind of thought process is and what it was.

A lot of people watching will think it’s, you know, it’s still a tent in a field with a porthole, where they’re looking at it now and going, ‘oh, you know, I’m interested in going glamping’, which as a sector, that was my whole intention, was to bring more people to the sector and have a wider audience for it.

GC) I think it definitely succeeded in that because people now have a different look at what it can be rather than what it traditionally was.

I think from my perspective, because it’s a brand-new product I haven’t got any competitors yet.

Whether it’s a greeting card with human, or it’s pet gifting or pet treats. It can cross multiple different categories. So, I think it was, for me, it was trying to raise awareness that this product existed.

So, it’s just making more people aware that such a product exists.

Q) obviously going on national television is different way of doing things. How did you feel when you got the call to go on the show to do it first of all? How do you keep your emotions in check when you’re there?

DG) For me, I’m not used to doing pitches. I’m not used to speaking to anyone. 

My worst fear is standing on a stage and doing like a performance or whatever. I can speak to people individually like this, but actually doing a pitch in front of somebody wasn’t on my radar. So that’s why I tried to get over my yeah, inhibitions with it.

I had to rehearse and rehearse to try and get it down. And then when I was there, like I said before, it felt, even me watching it then, I feel like it’s very robotic, even though I didn’t think it comes across like that. In my head it does, because it was just a thing I had to remember.

It didn’t feel like it was real. Afterwards, when they’re asking me questions, that’s easy. I can talk about the business, till the cows come home. 

GC) I was really robotic and I can hear it big time when I watch that back now, but I sound like I’m talking really slow and really clear and somewhat stop start and then I felt like I just snapped into me and I was just; just chatting away like I normally do.

I felt like I was just performing. I broke down when I came out of it. Because I didn’t know what to say. It was all the emotions of putting myself out there.

Q) So, how active have the Dragons been, respectively, for both of you, with advice and just help with the business in general?

DG) I think that’s what it mainly is for me. It’s more, if I need anything, you know, somebody’s going to be there. Someone on the phone. 

GC) Yeah, same goes. I think it’s as much or as little as I need. They will, you know, you are still running your business day to day, nothing changes in that sense. 

But, you know, if you need to ask a question, get a bit of advice, or get a contact.

Q) Gemma, this is one for you specifically. You talked about your heart attack during the presentation and how much that’s put things into perspective for you. That struck a chord with me. I think it struck a chord with everyone in the room. How much of a motivating factor was that to pursue this as a full-time endeavour?

GC) I had nothing to lose. Like, I had no money coming in. I didn’t have any savings, I didn’t have anything because I’d started living my life very differently because of the guide dogs, so I wasn’t earning what I was earning when I was working full time for people.

People don’t understand why you work all the hours, for the little return. But they don’t understand what the big picture is, it’s not about that day to day or taking a steady wage.

Q) And both of you really, following up on that, I’m sure, even though you’re massively passionate about the ideas, I’m sure at one stage or another you had doubts about what you were doing? and if so, what were they?

DG) I mean, I’ve always, I’ve never doubted myself. It’s usually the doubters from outside.

This is why I keep a lot to myself at times, I’ve been called insane God knows how many times. 

If I just keep it in my head and go on with it, I’m kind of self-assured in what I think.

And at the end of the day, if it goes right or wrong, it doesn’t really matter. It’s stupid, it’s like the old thing, at least you give it a go that’s all that matters to me in my head. 

But I think if it There’s always going to be doubts creeping in your mind, are you doing the right thing? We’re never going to know, because if you’re trying, if you’re second guessing yourself all the time, you’ll never get anywhere. 

GC) I didn’t have another solution at the time as to what I could do, it felt like hell, you know? 

The story’s bigger than I tell in there, but yeah, everything just lined up for me, really. And I met my partner now, who was the, the support I’d never had before. And I, when I wanted to do something myself, it was like, you were told you couldn’t.

So then meeting Matthew (Gemma’s Partner), I was like, that was meant to be as well. And yeah. But yeah, I just keep my head down and keep going. 

I Don’t tell people about stuff because they neck me out. Especially friends. And I realised how many, for me, how many people I’ve lost through. Running my business, you know.

Q) Derry, in your presentation you mentioned a lockdown, you’ve began to spiral slightly. Yeah. So how important is it to remember why this business started even when it gets bigger? 

DG) You know, I was talking to somebody else about it before, it’s like the devil and angel on my shoulder.

I started it for me and the kids, and it gave me a balance of life where I could spend time outdoors with the kids doing what I wanted to do, and I loved every minute of it, and I’d do it for free. Because at the time, I was doing it to make money, I was doing it because I needed to have that distraction.

And then everything that’s come from it, you know, I forgot to mention, Chelsea (Derry’s wife) will kill me. We met because she was one of the first guests to come and stay. So, she so she was one of the first guests to stay. She stayed in the keep, and this is when I didn’t want to run a business, so I went out for the day, and she was locked out the gates. 

She was locked out for two hours, I went down to apologize to her. And that’s how we met. And then three and a half years later, we got a new baby. So, this business, more than money, has bought me a work life balance. Yeah, the business has bought me a work life balance that I never thought I’d have.

And it is hard because, as an entrepreneur, it’s a constant tug of war where I can’t let it go. Because I know what I can do and how far I can push it. But then also, and Dragon’s Den did make me realize that as well, is what I’m doing it for. So, it’s, it’s playing that balance. What I’m doing it for, which is me to spend time with the kids.

It is about you as a person, isn’t it? What you want to do, what you want to achieve. Because that’s what you’re selling to the dragon.