@bluehorse888 if you were him and went for the 40% deal then by all rights you dont own the company and it could be awkward if the dragon and the university (who own 10% shares equaling 50% between them) disagreed with you on something to do with the company but you couldnt enforce what you want to do because they own just as much. The most he could afford was 39%
I would have taken the 40 % deal. Unless you're independantly wealthy, in which case you wouldnt be on the show to begin with, you need cold hard cash to do anything. And also being a business owner myself, I know the value of knowledge in business. You can't buy it, it's trial and error. You could probably learn so much from those dragons about business and with the cash injection it's really a goiod deal IMO. You could have lots of money and still flop without guidance.
he did get better offers, i attend London South Bank University and he is my lecturer, he got the 150,000 for 22 percent of his company, and now operates in many countries, mainly through hotels.
o good finally someone not dumb enough to give up half of what they have worked for to these idiots for chump change....compared to what this invention will actually, most likely, profit
4. The patent price the university offers shows how much they believe in your product.
5. Anyone as smart as you would realize, time is money, settle for 20% with a big smile on your face, or 30% if its going to take too long, either way its better than sitting here and negotiating when its suppose to be time for money to roll in.
Hello NovaFlo, I think you definitely made some smart moves here:
1. Free advertisement for your product. (I don't know if there is any sort of fee for being on the show).
2. There are like a gazillion entrepreneurs in the world, when they hear your presentation, they should have a general sense of how much money your product can make.
3. Even though the dragons might not offer you below 40%, I have confidence to believe other investors will offer you more.
Your product is brilliant, but I would really like to know your current business position, are you manufacturing the product currently and at what scale? do u have any growth or marketing blueprint???
This is an interesting situation how exactly did the university come about filling the patent to your idea, was this idea your final year project? I think it's unfair how others try to profit off of your great idea and of course 40% is just too much.
@mkadiri05 The development of Nova-Flo was through a Masters in Enterprise course at London South Bank University. The Uni paid the Patent costs and supported me greatly to get the business up and running. They originally retained 10% of the business and held the Patents which was an exceptionally good deal for me. They assigned me exclusive rights to the Patents and provided enormous security against infringement. A wonderful deal! The Dragons were just trying to pick holes wherever they could.
Well done, mate, for being brave enough to refuse their best offer. I watch the program regularly and mostly the pitches aren't so great, so the Dragons are spot-on in their assessments...but in your case I feel, and hope, you made the right decision.
Theo Paphitis is the most stuck up bastard.. "I hope he doesn't live to regret it.".. If he was so smart, why isn't is he standing beside Bill Gates and Buffett?!?! Go Nova Flo!!!
I just checked out your site and read some of the material there. It says you can check the novaflo bi-annual however for the average person to get into the piping area of a bathtub is not easy. I assume it doesn't really need maintenance.
Also have you found a way to fit these on toilets. This would grab a ton more consumers including schools and shopping centres.
Does it work on sinks? If so, my university desperately needs it. Hundreds of taps and not enough maintenance. Some of them get stuck and can spit out water for hours. They probably lose gallons and gallons of water per week. Contact University of Bath!
@ricktbdgc The push fittings will only leak if you ignore the fitting instructions. Accelerated Life Testing on the push fits on the Nova-Flo valves by a leading UK testing laboratory tested water running through a sample of the valves switching between hot and cold every ten minutes for 5000 cycles. Additionally the valves were pressurized to 10bar constantly throughout the test.
This is a very good indicator that no possible leaking will occur over time even in these very high parameters.
@NovaFlo 40% might have been to much but your valuation of the company was way off at the time of your offer! 1.5 million pounds for the company under the specific circumstances you were in regarding the patent & partnerships? Are you mad? They were right in rejecting your offer at the time & any sane investor would have done the same.
So what was the turn out? How is your company holding up after all this time? Have you turned a profit? Are you happy with the outcome?
2-3 million for that patent???? Just file your own similar patent quick. Because the university's patent is PENDING, dispute their filling and point to your patent filling. Easy as pie. No need to pay 3 million. THEN and ONLY THEN would I invest in something that the business owner does not own and includes a greedy professor in the deal as well. Otherwise bad investment.
@grumpone It is not quite as easy as that. You can't jump the Patent queue because a patent is pending. A pending patent means that it has been applied for and it is within the 12 month period that all patents go through prior to the second filing when it is finalised and written up including any modifications since the first filing. Any later patent submission will be blocked.
Great pitch. Since this was uploaded over 3 years ago, I was wondering how your product is faring right now. Are you indeed getting the return that you estimated in the video?
@CooksleyMaths Yes, you are right although baths fill quicker these days with modern plumbing and pumped supplies, so often the existing overflow can't cope. Besides, current designs suggest you keep pouring heated water straight down the drain until a user returns. Not exactly green is it? The Nova-Flo automatically shuts the water off when the bath is full, so it is a far better method of handling overfilling baths by actually saving heated water as well as preventing bath and basin floods.
That was a fantastic call at the end. Through the show, other investors outside of the show would have got a glimpse of your invention, plus, they also get to see that you are firm with your expectation and will not be swayed so easily. I'm quite sure there were numerous other offers after this show.
Really good pitch man, i hope it worked out for you. Wannabe entrepreneurs like me could learn from this. Is there an australian equivalent on the way?:P
@hamadeh26 Thats very kind of you to say. If I can give any advice, it is just to work really hard at the things you are best at and to take good advice from people you trust who can help you along the way.
James shouldn't have asked Theo if he was willing to negotiate the price, b/c that only showed his uncertainty. He should have just given another offer to Theo and wait for his response.
There are a number of things I would have like to have answered in a different way when I was on the show. Lots of it comes to you afterwards when you watch yourself on TV! The first I saw my pitch was when it was aired.
The video shows a cut down sequence of events as we were in the den for nearly an hour, although it was cut down for TV viewing, so not everything I said was shown.
Maybe a different approach to Theo would have been better... Hard to say.
I sincerely hope both you and the university prosper from this excellent product.So often the dragons terms are unrealistic and it was nice to see a cool head prevail here.
It is quite difficult to hold your composure in the Den, although it was really worthwhile for us since it ended up being the best marketing we have ever done!
We secured investment and manufactured Nova-Flo and the American equivalent Flowban here in the UK. Nova-Flo was launched in mid 2008 and is now installed in numerous properties such as hotels, care homes, private residences etc.
dragons are complete rip off merchants, duncan complaining about university taking potentially 14% yet the dragons are asking for 40% for 150k for doing very little as most of the work has been done. Max 25% wud be a deal. Well done NovaFlo for telling them to stick it. Every single time they are refused a deal they make negative remarks about the person. These hypocrites would rather swim thru a river of shit with their mouths open than give 40% stake in their own companies for peanuts
When they say they want 40% what do they mean exactly? I'm a new viewer to this show and I don't understand business, maybe if someone can explain..? That would be very helpful!
@Greenduck40 To explain this reasonably simply; If a company is deemed to be worth say £500,000.00 and £200,000 investment is needed for any reason, it may be considered fair to sell 40% of the companys shares for this ammount if the money can't be obtained elsewhere. The Dragons will usually try to convince the business representative pitching to them that the business is worth less than suggested so that they can get a larger percentage for their money.
shame he should have taken the deal, i dont think the university taking a bit of the money is big deal, that is just the dragons tactics to get more out of the deal.
some people are too greedy even if he gave away 40% he would still get 46% at worst but this ofcourse depends on how much profit he makes.
We actually spent about and hour in the den and it was condensed to 14 mins for TV. What was not shown was that we needed £320,000 for the first year. £150k from the dragons then using this as leverage to get the other £170k as a business loan. The Dragons wanted 40% of the company for stumping up under half of what we needed just for the first year!! There was no way I could accept the deal.
We did get a better deal elsewhere and are now trading. see nova-flo.com
He is only working on this idea. Never put all your eggs in one basket :)
He talkes about it like this overflow thing will save the world. I think this idea is great but not for a bathtub. Put this overflow thing in the oceans so when there is a flood you can turn it off :D Then you have a really good idea. Now it doesnt benefit anybody.
I work with water and all sort's (hospital),And you made one mistake El and water Don't mix + how to get power to the tap.. The Dragon's where greedy F...Them.
Great idea spot on fast fit poly J guest and so on Hope you make it big time .
You can make more out of it Better than flow switch and more systems ...
Just to clarify - Nova-Flo is non electrical. It works with powerful magnets and the water flow.
We have a number of other designs which utilise the magnetic valves I designed and patented, from water escape to failsafe products for the petrochemical industry.
People occasionally forget things like running the bath or get distracted. More often as we grow older. Young children don't know the consequences of walking away with the taps/faucets left on. Tenants sometimes flood the bath intentionally if they have a dispute with a landlord when they are leaving. Hotel guests from countries with wet room bathrooms (a drain in the floor) assume it is the same and cause massive floods and disruption. Why not come up with a great solution like Nova-Flo??
the dragons are so stupid... I mean the uk dragons. Not that I dislike the uk, I really like the uk, but these dragons are like so stupid... they are really the theory of idiotism... they do not seem to have any idea how to negociate and see the truth.
I only like dragons den from the canadian version to be honest...
It's a great product and you were excellent at the presentation NovaFlo! Good luck with the future.. I hope to see this product in Wickes or B&Q soon!
I like this version of the Dragons Den better than the American version, haha. Much better presentation and of course the actual product itself. I was laughing at some of the people today, kinda feel bad.
Thanks for asking: The business is going great. We have some very prestigious customers who have protected their properties from flooding and water wastage who are delighted with Nova-Flo and are reporting no more floods and the associated costs! The launch of the American version called Flowban has been exciting and we receive new interest all the time.
It is great to have a product I designed from the bare concept right through to UK manufacture and worldwide demand !
If your a fan of Dragon's Den, I wanted to let you know about PODIUM Participation Funds. It's the online version of Dragon's Den, except instead of 5 Dragon's, we will have 5000 shareholders who have all invested $5000, and will vote/comment on what local Calgary deals they think should receive funding. You can sign up to be a participant (no charge) to see the first round of video deal submissions and to vote/comment on what deals should get put through to the second round!
I think $150,000 for a non-controlling share is a great offer! If you don't sell another single unit - you made $150k for nothing. If the product takes off (hopefully with the dragon's industry connections) then you've still got 60% of revenue - its a Win Win situation! Great product and demonstrated perfectly. Good luck!
Shut up, Capitalism is about taking "personal responsibility" for your life and that includes educating yourself enough so that you don't get ripped off. It isnt about having the fucking gov't help you out(or rip you off, which is what happens.)
It's not a creative object where he requires 90% of the decision-making power so he can retain creative control. He's still the majority holder at 60% and has all the decision-making power. Even if he lost the decision-making power, he's going to the dragons for their expertise. In other words, to make the big decisions for him. Foolish decision on his part.
Thanks for the comment but what you didn't hear in the edited TV version was that the £150k I pitched for was under half of the money I needed to Get Nova-Flo up and running. The Dragons wanted nearly half the company for coming up with under half of what we needed for just the first year. If costs had spiralled or we couldn't get the other money together and we needed to go back to them, how much more of the company do you think they would have demanded?
Oh, really? lol, I didn't realize they editted the negotiations to make the offers seem more fair. I wonder if they do that with Shark Tank too. Well you're clearly a gifted lad, you'll do just fine with or without them.
Thanks for your kind comments. We were in there for about an hour which was edited down considerably for the TV.
I succeeded in raising the money for a far fairer equity chunk. We have had to go back for more funding as there were delays (just as Theo said) - mainly designing Nova-Flo to be suitable for other countries and to pass the stringent plumbing standards.
Nova-Flo has been available in the UK since mid 2008 winning six awards and in America for nearly a year under the name Flowban.
Yeah, I know that. My point was it's not really something that needs anymore alterations, it's already a finished product that works perfectly. And I'm sure if the boy genius thinks up a way to improve it, the investors would take it to heart. But if their valuation was so ridiculous, then yes, I agree with not giving away your hard-earned company short.
I actually find this so annoying to watch. The guy is clearly a good inventor and has potential. While it is tough to tell if he is a businessmen, he MUST realize that he has given any potential investors ZERO chance of investing based on his joke of an evaluation. Plus the money he has to pay out to South Bank University. Even intelligent people can lack basic common sense.
Thanks for your thoughts but all our investors who have backed Nova-Flo with considerably more than the Dragons offered would disagree with you. Remember that watching the show you only heard a fraction of the hour long discussions that went on.
this is a good show...love it at the first watch....btw...i am from Singapore....and i think Mr. James Bond...should have taken the offer of 40% for 150,000 pound...just discovered no pound sign on my laptop....this is only one development...and if he is willing to share and learn...other developments will rope in the profits later....sign
Thanks for your message. What you didn't hear (as an hour in the den was condensed for TV) was that we needed £320,000 for the first year. I was asking the Dragons for under half of that and they wanted nearly half the company. It just didn't add up.
We now have an exciting company up and running without their support.
Yes, existing overflow drains do just that although are typically too small for the large volume of water we push through the taps these days, so it is only a matter of time before the water overwhelms the overflow outlet.
This is very wasteful too as you are pouring away up to 100 litres per minute of heated water. With Nova-Flo the water is automatically shut off and will work with most overflow drains. Floods and water wastage prevented automatically.
Funnily enough, when we were in the den Deborah did make an offer to come in with Theo although when the BBC edited the hour we were in there, they edited out her offer unfortunately.
Wow, they really try to bite, don't they? You may not have gotten the investment but you can't say you didn't leave with nothing. You left with sound advice and renewed determination to prove Theo that you can get it moving without his face plastered on it. Good luck!
dude, im watching this show for entertainment! first i must ask how old u are, because that may determine weather u would be interested or not. people can really learn about buisness and how things really work to a certain extent from this show. take advantage from it friend :)
Thanks for the interest. We have had Nova-Flo on the market for just over a year now but launched it just as the recession bit. This has made it hard to secure many sales as spending has been put on hold for many of our customers. However we have found that hotels are our main customers so far. London's Dorchester hotel and the Firmdale Hotel chain amongst others have installed Nova-Flos and are delighted with them. We continue to receive interest as this is still a completely unique product. JB
Ha ha! It sounds like that but I actually said 'your friend phones'! I think my mouth was dry from the anticipation of giving my pitch and it didn't come out properly!.
Well done and brave turning down the Dragons. I note you previous comment about cash flow requirement. There was a deal there i suspect at approx 25% but as usual greed overtook common sense as far as the dragons were concerned.
We know how expensive it is to bring a product to market. and then they want to leap in for 40% of the action for a lot less than the costs to date plus a slice of your patent.
this is an excellent product. they see its great and are trying to fuck you over with there 40% come on. your company is worth more than 1.5m pound. so they are really trying to snow ball a novice. so thats great you turned it down
I just watched your pitch and quite honestly I thought it was the best idea I had heard in the Dragons' Den.
Theo Paphitis wanted you to give him 40% equity?!?! I was literally shouting DO NOT TAKE IT! DON'T DO IT! Its good that you didn't. He wanted nearly half you business.
I do have a few questions and I would appreciate your answers.
First how is the product doing currently?
And in the UK how much could I expect to buy one of these standard edition NovaFlo apparatus?
Not really... An Investment Angel can be one of the greatest things in bringing a business forward and you can agree to buy back the share of the company once turnover reaches a certain ammount.
Only a fool would rather own a big chunk of nothing, than a smaller slice of something.
Example:
Amazons founder, Jeff Bezos would not be a fraction of how wealthy he is today if he hadn't given awa equity. He now owns ~25% of a multi-billion dollar company, rather than his business losing momentum.
He was asking for too much. They are millionnaires. He could have easily made a profit with half the equity. And who's to say he would have sold his share?
You are right in your example. We however needed £320k for year 1 which was explained to the Dragons. They were offering under half of what was needed just for year 1 and wanted 40% of the company which I couldn't possibly agree to.
Well, you don't get to meet the Dragons or any previous pitchers after they have been in and you get wound up behind the scenes. I was asked to change my pitch 5 mins before I went in!
When you do go into the den it is like walking into your TV and a very surreal experience! When you are there apart from it being hot from the lighting, there are big cameras and 20 or so people hiding in the shadows, some taking notes!
It was actually a very exciting thing to do and I quite enjoyed it though.
@bluehorse888 if you were him and went for the 40% deal then by all rights you dont own the company and it could be awkward if the dragon and the university (who own 10% shares equaling 50% between them) disagreed with you on something to do with the company but you couldnt enforce what you want to do because they own just as much. The most he could afford was 39%
jackassyeahboi 16 hours ago
I don't really watch much TV but I just saw this as a little clip on Charlie Brooker's ScreenWipe S02E04, FYI and had to see what it was about.
paft 3 weeks ago
Fantastic invention & very professional pitch.
dilwich123 1 month ago
this is genuinely a good idea
sirpico123 1 month ago
I would have taken the 40 % deal. Unless you're independantly wealthy, in which case you wouldnt be on the show to begin with, you need cold hard cash to do anything. And also being a business owner myself, I know the value of knowledge in business. You can't buy it, it's trial and error. You could probably learn so much from those dragons about business and with the cash injection it's really a goiod deal IMO. You could have lots of money and still flop without guidance.
bluehorse888 3 months ago
he did get better offers, i attend London South Bank University and he is my lecturer, he got the 150,000 for 22 percent of his company, and now operates in many countries, mainly through hotels.
TheMikelee93 3 months ago in playlist BBC Dragons Den 2
The Canadian Dragons Den is by far more entertaining and interesting.
teeray12 4 months ago
I don't see the issue here. It's like there isn't really a problem and the product is being talked up using fear and "what ifs".
How much does this item cost to buy? And to retro fit you will not get a plumber charging for 20mins to retrofit (more like 1/2 a day).
Probably more useful to sell to developers, hospitals, hotels, landlords....
Jez2008UK 4 months ago
o good finally someone not dumb enough to give up half of what they have worked for to these idiots for chump change....compared to what this invention will actually, most likely, profit
colossus3200 6 months ago
4. The patent price the university offers shows how much they believe in your product.
5. Anyone as smart as you would realize, time is money, settle for 20% with a big smile on your face, or 30% if its going to take too long, either way its better than sitting here and negotiating when its suppose to be time for money to roll in.
j124life 6 months ago
Hello NovaFlo, I think you definitely made some smart moves here:
1. Free advertisement for your product. (I don't know if there is any sort of fee for being on the show).
2. There are like a gazillion entrepreneurs in the world, when they hear your presentation, they should have a general sense of how much money your product can make.
3. Even though the dragons might not offer you below 40%, I have confidence to believe other investors will offer you more.
j124life 6 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Your product is brilliant, but I would really like to know your current business position, are you manufacturing the product currently and at what scale? do u have any growth or marketing blueprint???
anubhavbhrigu 6 months ago
Comment removed
anubhavbhrigu 6 months ago
Pure genius. What makes him even smarter is that he just got free advertising to millions and millions of people.
theyear2102 7 months ago
Mate, you're a legend for turning them down.
I hope you succeeded on your own.
MrHowToDoIt 7 months ago
This is the most exciting sales pitch of a bath over-flow mechanism that I've ever seen! :O
Soundfrequency 7 months ago
I couldn't resist clapping tremendously after realising he DIDN'T give out 40% to those greedy dragons.
poetoria 7 months ago
This is an interesting situation how exactly did the university come about filling the patent to your idea, was this idea your final year project? I think it's unfair how others try to profit off of your great idea and of course 40% is just too much.
mkadiri05 7 months ago
@mkadiri05 The development of Nova-Flo was through a Masters in Enterprise course at London South Bank University. The Uni paid the Patent costs and supported me greatly to get the business up and running. They originally retained 10% of the business and held the Patents which was an exceptionally good deal for me. They assigned me exclusive rights to the Patents and provided enormous security against infringement. A wonderful deal! The Dragons were just trying to pick holes wherever they could.
NovaFlo 6 months ago 4
Great invention and hope youre doing well with it. Have you ever regretted turning down Theo's offer though?
matthewc1990 7 months ago
cool idea.
SunnyGoFish 8 months ago
Good job for not getting scammed.
idricool 8 months ago
Easily the best presentation of anyone on the den
rugbyfitness792 9 months ago 26
@rugbyfitness792 Thanks for your kind comment.
J.
NovaFlo 8 months ago
Awesome invention!
bnrshdydvdrtrk 9 months ago
Well done, mate, for being brave enough to refuse their best offer. I watch the program regularly and mostly the pitches aren't so great, so the Dragons are spot-on in their assessments...but in your case I feel, and hope, you made the right decision.
Where can we read about what happened next?
dhollseed 9 months ago 2
Theo Paphitis is the most stuck up bastard.. "I hope he doesn't live to regret it.".. If he was so smart, why isn't is he standing beside Bill Gates and Buffett?!?! Go Nova Flo!!!
BrigadierFrankHummel 9 months ago
You're a very smart man on not making that deal my friend. You'll be more rich without them anyways. Keep up the great inventions!--D.L.G
DLG12311 10 months ago
I just checked out your site and read some of the material there. It says you can check the novaflo bi-annual however for the average person to get into the piping area of a bathtub is not easy. I assume it doesn't really need maintenance.
Also have you found a way to fit these on toilets. This would grab a ton more consumers including schools and shopping centres.
littleripper333 10 months ago
Good choice mate. These people are douche bags so well done for sticking it to the dragons. Best of luck for the future.
notat22 10 months ago
Next thing you know, your phing rones
BL4CKV4LOR 11 months ago
did you get the NovaFlo to market? how many have been sold so far, since 2007?
zeineguy 11 months ago
i got 0wned
FartyFartyPoopyPants 11 months ago
you have a beautiful speaking voice. One in a million.
FartyFartyPoopyPants 11 months ago
Does it work on sinks? If so, my university desperately needs it. Hundreds of taps and not enough maintenance. Some of them get stuck and can spit out water for hours. They probably lose gallons and gallons of water per week. Contact University of Bath!
Seikhupatz 11 months ago
nice pitch! from CAN
ndsong 11 months ago
dragons den on The I.T, crowd. Best thin ever!
BloodKid13 11 months ago
bet the push fittings will leak and cause 50 million in damages
ricktbdgc 1 year ago
@ricktbdgc The push fittings will only leak if you ignore the fitting instructions. Accelerated Life Testing on the push fits on the Nova-Flo valves by a leading UK testing laboratory tested water running through a sample of the valves switching between hot and cold every ten minutes for 5000 cycles. Additionally the valves were pressurized to 10bar constantly throughout the test.
This is a very good indicator that no possible leaking will occur over time even in these very high parameters.
NovaFlo 11 months ago 5
@NovaFlo 40% might have been to much but your valuation of the company was way off at the time of your offer! 1.5 million pounds for the company under the specific circumstances you were in regarding the patent & partnerships? Are you mad? They were right in rejecting your offer at the time & any sane investor would have done the same.
So what was the turn out? How is your company holding up after all this time? Have you turned a profit? Are you happy with the outcome?
iloveb00bs00 5 months ago
@iloveb00bs00 I heard he later got better offers from other entrepreneurs. not sure though
mrskywalkerr 3 months ago
Everybody needs this plus if your toilet clogs no overflow to
Dorisequador 1 year ago
sometimes life is about timing, wow.
MsOrabora 1 year ago
2-3 million for that patent???? Just file your own similar patent quick. Because the university's patent is PENDING, dispute their filling and point to your patent filling. Easy as pie. No need to pay 3 million. THEN and ONLY THEN would I invest in something that the business owner does not own and includes a greedy professor in the deal as well. Otherwise bad investment.
grumpone 1 year ago
@grumpone It is not quite as easy as that. You can't jump the Patent queue because a patent is pending. A pending patent means that it has been applied for and it is within the 12 month period that all patents go through prior to the second filing when it is finalised and written up including any modifications since the first filing. Any later patent submission will be blocked.
Thanks for your comment.
JB
NovaFlo 1 year ago 5
Great pitch. Since this was uploaded over 3 years ago, I was wondering how your product is faring right now. Are you indeed getting the return that you estimated in the video?
AWES0MEVIDS 1 year ago
Forgive me if I'm wrong but doesn't excess water go out the overflow drainhole just below the taps?
CooksleyMaths 1 year ago
@CooksleyMaths Yes, you are right although baths fill quicker these days with modern plumbing and pumped supplies, so often the existing overflow can't cope. Besides, current designs suggest you keep pouring heated water straight down the drain until a user returns. Not exactly green is it? The Nova-Flo automatically shuts the water off when the bath is full, so it is a far better method of handling overfilling baths by actually saving heated water as well as preventing bath and basin floods.
NovaFlo 1 year ago 2
pro prodeuct very smart but i would never use it because i dont take bathes and i never fill up the sink im very conservitive with my water :P
videocriticbitch 1 year ago
Amazing pitch!
sendbas 1 year ago
@sendbas Thanks very much!
NovaFlo 1 year ago
@sendbas ya smart choice 40% are they nuts for 150,000 only ? no way
Dorisequador 1 year ago
That was an amazing pitch, so confident and clear. Well done, truly great.
RonBurgundy161 1 year ago
"eh, can I answer any questions?" FANTASTIC!!!
jacku032 1 year ago
savages, i know their game now, they help eachother out to get deals
parce86 1 year ago
That was a fantastic call at the end. Through the show, other investors outside of the show would have got a glimpse of your invention, plus, they also get to see that you are firm with your expectation and will not be swayed so easily. I'm quite sure there were numerous other offers after this show.
nasri 1 year ago
Brilliant bloke!
samluke8121 1 year ago
Richard Farleigh is so sexy!
LadyBowie30 1 year ago
Really good pitch man, i hope it worked out for you. Wannabe entrepreneurs like me could learn from this. Is there an australian equivalent on the way?:P
grrss 1 year ago
@grrss We are looking into Australian distributorship so watch this space!
NovaFlo 1 year ago
@NovaFlo Ya? What about Canadian distributors? My family has a lot of connections in the trades industry over here :)
littleripper333 10 months ago
Your brilliant bud, i wanna become like you one day.
hamadeh26 1 year ago
@hamadeh26 Thats very kind of you to say. If I can give any advice, it is just to work really hard at the things you are best at and to take good advice from people you trust who can help you along the way.
Thanks again.
JB
NovaFlo 1 year ago
James shouldn't have asked Theo if he was willing to negotiate the price, b/c that only showed his uncertainty. He should have just given another offer to Theo and wait for his response.
ivansofun 1 year ago 3
@ivansofun Thanks for your comment.
There are a number of things I would have like to have answered in a different way when I was on the show. Lots of it comes to you afterwards when you watch yourself on TV! The first I saw my pitch was when it was aired.
The video shows a cut down sequence of events as we were in the den for nearly an hour, although it was cut down for TV viewing, so not everything I said was shown.
Maybe a different approach to Theo would have been better... Hard to say.
JB
NovaFlo 1 year ago
I sincerely hope both you and the university prosper from this excellent product.So often the dragons terms are unrealistic and it was nice to see a cool head prevail here.
Chubcatcher 1 year ago
@Chubcatcher Thanks for your kind words.
It is quite difficult to hold your composure in the Den, although it was really worthwhile for us since it ended up being the best marketing we have ever done!
JB
NovaFlo 1 year ago
Hi James
Great invention.
Good decision on the show.
Did things work out?
I really hope so.
Kind Regards
onezerozero1001 1 year ago 11
@onezerozero1001 Thanks for the comments.
We secured investment and manufactured Nova-Flo and the American equivalent Flowban here in the UK. Nova-Flo was launched in mid 2008 and is now installed in numerous properties such as hotels, care homes, private residences etc.
JB
NovaFlo 1 year ago
dragons are complete rip off merchants, duncan complaining about university taking potentially 14% yet the dragons are asking for 40% for 150k for doing very little as most of the work has been done. Max 25% wud be a deal. Well done NovaFlo for telling them to stick it. Every single time they are refused a deal they make negative remarks about the person. These hypocrites would rather swim thru a river of shit with their mouths open than give 40% stake in their own companies for peanuts
takewhole 1 year ago
When they say they want 40% what do they mean exactly? I'm a new viewer to this show and I don't understand business, maybe if someone can explain..? That would be very helpful!
Greenduck40 1 year ago
@Greenduck40 To explain this reasonably simply; If a company is deemed to be worth say £500,000.00 and £200,000 investment is needed for any reason, it may be considered fair to sell 40% of the companys shares for this ammount if the money can't be obtained elsewhere. The Dragons will usually try to convince the business representative pitching to them that the business is worth less than suggested so that they can get a larger percentage for their money.
I hope this helps.
James.
NovaFlo 1 year ago
@NovaFlo Yes that helps, thank you. I hope your business goes how you planned it.
Greenduck40 1 year ago
shame he should have taken the deal, i dont think the university taking a bit of the money is big deal, that is just the dragons tactics to get more out of the deal.
some people are too greedy even if he gave away 40% he would still get 46% at worst but this ofcourse depends on how much profit he makes.
omerkha 1 year ago
@omerkha Thanks for thecomment.
We actually spent about and hour in the den and it was condensed to 14 mins for TV. What was not shown was that we needed £320,000 for the first year. £150k from the dragons then using this as leverage to get the other £170k as a business loan. The Dragons wanted 40% of the company for stumping up under half of what we needed just for the first year!! There was no way I could accept the deal.
We did get a better deal elsewhere and are now trading. see nova-flo.com
NovaFlo 1 year ago
that actually sounds good.
DarkEarthDragon01 1 year ago
I'm happy he didn't take it , They wanted to rip him off !!
r0rozx 1 year ago
He is only working on this idea. Never put all your eggs in one basket :)
He talkes about it like this overflow thing will save the world. I think this idea is great but not for a bathtub. Put this overflow thing in the oceans so when there is a flood you can turn it off :D Then you have a really good idea. Now it doesnt benefit anybody.
yourinair 1 year ago
I work with water and all sort's (hospital),And you made one mistake El and water Don't mix + how to get power to the tap.. The Dragon's where greedy F...Them.
Great idea spot on fast fit poly J guest and so on Hope you make it big time .
You can make more out of it Better than flow switch and more systems ...
Want more idea's writer to me Hansen3111
Hansen3111 1 year ago
@Hansen3111 Thanks for the comment.
Just to clarify - Nova-Flo is non electrical. It works with powerful magnets and the water flow.
We have a number of other designs which utilise the magnetic valves I designed and patented, from water escape to failsafe products for the petrochemical industry.
Kind regards,
James
NovaFlo 1 year ago
are you a millionaire yet?
gothicNightwishFan 1 year ago
Who the fuck is moronic enough to let their tub overflow? If there are that many morons on earth to turn a profit with this, the future is bleak.
FaceMyTruth 1 year ago
People occasionally forget things like running the bath or get distracted. More often as we grow older. Young children don't know the consequences of walking away with the taps/faucets left on. Tenants sometimes flood the bath intentionally if they have a dispute with a landlord when they are leaving. Hotel guests from countries with wet room bathrooms (a drain in the floor) assume it is the same and cause massive floods and disruption. Why not come up with a great solution like Nova-Flo??
NovaFlo 1 year ago
the dragons are so stupid... I mean the uk dragons. Not that I dislike the uk, I really like the uk, but these dragons are like so stupid... they are really the theory of idiotism... they do not seem to have any idea how to negociate and see the truth.
I only like dragons den from the canadian version to be honest...
wow btw,... I bet ur a rich Sir now!
ChateauSiran1986 1 year ago
It's a great product and you were excellent at the presentation NovaFlo! Good luck with the future.. I hope to see this product in Wickes or B&Q soon!
oOSpaceOo 1 year ago
I think it was a wise decesion of James.
MrBokai 1 year ago
I like this version of the Dragons Den better than the American version, haha. Much better presentation and of course the actual product itself. I was laughing at some of the people today, kinda feel bad.
angryinternetguy991 1 year ago
james 1 dragons 0
tperedfox 1 year ago
excellent invention and presentation! be proud! :)
annie000 1 year ago
Hows the business doing NovaFlo?
BerryJoy 1 year ago
@BerryJoy
Thanks for asking: The business is going great. We have some very prestigious customers who have protected their properties from flooding and water wastage who are delighted with Nova-Flo and are reporting no more floods and the associated costs! The launch of the American version called Flowban has been exciting and we receive new interest all the time.
It is great to have a product I designed from the bare concept right through to UK manufacture and worldwide demand !
JB
NovaFlo 1 year ago
140,000 viewer. cool
angryher0 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
If your a fan of Dragon's Den, I wanted to let you know about PODIUM Participation Funds. It's the online version of Dragon's Den, except instead of 5 Dragon's, we will have 5000 shareholders who have all invested $5000, and will vote/comment on what local Calgary deals they think should receive funding. You can sign up to be a participant (no charge) to see the first round of video deal submissions and to vote/comment on what deals should get put through to the second round!
PODIUMcalgary 1 year ago
It is very impressive. Would love to see what else you come up with.
ScottyTheBullet 1 year ago
That's pretty cool I over flooded my kitchen sink before and it flooded the ground
TheRock163 1 year ago
never thought i would see the day when they actually had a useful product on dragons den
reaputt 1 year ago
I hope you done well since and very well done on standing your ground in the den.....Great Stuff!
dilwich123 1 year ago
I think $150,000 for a non-controlling share is a great offer! If you don't sell another single unit - you made $150k for nothing. If the product takes off (hopefully with the dragon's industry connections) then you've still got 60% of revenue - its a Win Win situation! Great product and demonstrated perfectly. Good luck!
JamesJames4 1 year ago 2
They were trying to rape him for 50%, even the 40% was a rape. They saw a good idea and they tried to steal it.
Filthy capitalists!!! :)
mrgimp420 1 year ago
@mrgimp420
Shut up, Capitalism is about taking "personal responsibility" for your life and that includes educating yourself enough so that you don't get ripped off. It isnt about having the fucking gov't help you out(or rip you off, which is what happens.)
TheROCKandOrROLL 1 year ago
well done James, wonder what are the other coupla ideas u have? good luck
jamalsaud 1 year ago
good on you not giving them 40% for 150 000, your idea is pure gold and the dragons are just stupid. your idea is easily worth 1.5 million
AlexanderP96 1 year ago 35
"Suddenly, your ring phones..."
baconair 1 year ago
Yep, it did sound like I said that !!
I tried to say 'your friend phones', but my mouth was dry (a typical problem many people pitching report) and friend became freng...
NovaFlo 1 year ago
Ok.
Sorry for pointing THAT out. :P
Well done! Nice invention. If every household had it we'd sure be saving a lot of energy.
baconair 1 year ago
@baconair haha sounded like ur friend phones 1:24
jamalsaud 1 year ago
Nice invention
owned1171 2 years ago 2
It's not a creative object where he requires 90% of the decision-making power so he can retain creative control. He's still the majority holder at 60% and has all the decision-making power. Even if he lost the decision-making power, he's going to the dragons for their expertise. In other words, to make the big decisions for him. Foolish decision on his part.
HittokiriBatosai 2 years ago
Thanks for the comment but what you didn't hear in the edited TV version was that the £150k I pitched for was under half of the money I needed to Get Nova-Flo up and running. The Dragons wanted nearly half the company for coming up with under half of what we needed for just the first year. If costs had spiralled or we couldn't get the other money together and we needed to go back to them, how much more of the company do you think they would have demanded?
JB
NovaFlo 2 years ago
Oh, really? lol, I didn't realize they editted the negotiations to make the offers seem more fair. I wonder if they do that with Shark Tank too. Well you're clearly a gifted lad, you'll do just fine with or without them.
HittokiriBatosai 2 years ago 3
Thanks for your kind comments. We were in there for about an hour which was edited down considerably for the TV.
I succeeded in raising the money for a far fairer equity chunk. We have had to go back for more funding as there were delays (just as Theo said) - mainly designing Nova-Flo to be suitable for other countries and to pass the stringent plumbing standards.
Nova-Flo has been available in the UK since mid 2008 winning six awards and in America for nearly a year under the name Flowban.
NovaFlo 2 years ago
anything over 50% entails losing intellectual control over the company.
darkknightbob101 2 years ago
Yeah, I know that. My point was it's not really something that needs anymore alterations, it's already a finished product that works perfectly. And I'm sure if the boy genius thinks up a way to improve it, the investors would take it to heart. But if their valuation was so ridiculous, then yes, I agree with not giving away your hard-earned company short.
HittokiriBatosai 2 years ago 3
depends on twothings. do you want to control the equity or make a one of big payment by selling you company.
Depending on the situation I would want the equity in most cases.
darkknightbob101 2 years ago
Great stuff, hey novaflo, hows the current profits?
Salao212 2 years ago
I actually find this so annoying to watch. The guy is clearly a good inventor and has potential. While it is tough to tell if he is a businessmen, he MUST realize that he has given any potential investors ZERO chance of investing based on his joke of an evaluation. Plus the money he has to pay out to South Bank University. Even intelligent people can lack basic common sense.
theguvnorjimmy 2 years ago
Thanks for your thoughts but all our investors who have backed Nova-Flo with considerably more than the Dragons offered would disagree with you. Remember that watching the show you only heard a fraction of the hour long discussions that went on.
JB
NovaFlo 2 years ago
Great Invention,Good market prospect. all about getting more or less
ZGJDJD 2 years ago
Nice product guys!
DoorDean 2 years ago
Do you have it set up in Australia NovaFlow?
fitto7 2 years ago
hi fantastic product i all ready send a email, i have a marketing business, i want to bring to mexico, which ways i have to contact you.. thanks
mrmauabraham 2 years ago
this is a good show...love it at the first watch....btw...i am from Singapore....and i think Mr. James Bond...should have taken the offer of 40% for 150,000 pound...just discovered no pound sign on my laptop....this is only one development...and if he is willing to share and learn...other developments will rope in the profits later....sign
josephsim 2 years ago
Thanks for your message. What you didn't hear (as an hour in the den was condensed for TV) was that we needed £320,000 for the first year. I was asking the Dragons for under half of that and they wanted nearly half the company. It just didn't add up.
We now have an exciting company up and running without their support.
Thanks for your comment.
JB
NovaFlo 2 years ago
Wow its actually you in the video... You are a genius.
Gigatone00 2 years ago
Hi Guys! Great Invention has a lot of potential and utility.
I the Nova Flo Available in México? Or how can i buy it in order to have it here?
Thanks
ALEXEADI3234 2 years ago
Thanks for your interest. It is available in USA and Mexico and called Flowban there.
Do a quick websearch and you will find them.
JB
NovaFlo 2 years ago
hi mate great product is it actually u who was in the video?
kingtyson999 2 years ago
How well is this company doing now?
Syetactic 2 years ago
easly fixed, just shit in a hole
bigbother1 2 years ago
its not long term though. good idea regardless, im sure u like to shit alot :)
JouninNeji 2 years ago
well i shit in abag and place it in my neigbours bin
bigbother1 2 years ago
couldnt you just have an overflow drain which doesnt turn of the tap?
nopebbletossed 2 years ago
Yes, existing overflow drains do just that although are typically too small for the large volume of water we push through the taps these days, so it is only a matter of time before the water overwhelms the overflow outlet.
This is very wasteful too as you are pouring away up to 100 litres per minute of heated water. With Nova-Flo the water is automatically shut off and will work with most overflow drains. Floods and water wastage prevented automatically.
Thanks for your comment.
JB
NovaFlo 2 years ago
That lady never seems to bid for a share on anything from what I see
musharoom 2 years ago
Funnily enough, when we were in the den Deborah did make an offer to come in with Theo although when the BBC edited the hour we were in there, they edited out her offer unfortunately.
JB
NovaFlo 2 years ago
Those greedy fucking millionaires must be so pissed off now that Nova Flow has done so well.
funnygames1 2 years ago 5
Comment removed
churchward 2 years ago
Wow, they really try to bite, don't they? You may not have gotten the investment but you can't say you didn't leave with nothing. You left with sound advice and renewed determination to prove Theo that you can get it moving without his face plastered on it. Good luck!
blehblehoi 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
omg this is so boring xD i gotta watch five of these and list whats good about tehre pitchs :/ 1 down 4 to go xD
olie266 2 years ago
dude, im watching this show for entertainment! first i must ask how old u are, because that may determine weather u would be interested or not. people can really learn about buisness and how things really work to a certain extent from this show. take advantage from it friend :)
badass147 2 years ago 12
lol :)
olie266 2 years ago
@badass147 im 16 n i enjoy it
vietsoldier01 1 year ago
this man was impressive
ExNihiloJimmy 2 years ago 4
How about just putting a balloon attached to the plug, when the water rises the balloon will float and pull out the plug...simples
ACNC1 2 years ago
Ha ha! nice idea.
What are you left with though? An empty bath, no more hot water in the tank to refill it again and you have just wasted 75 litres or so of water.
Products like you mention do exist but they just haven't taken off.
Thanks for your comment.
JB
NovaFlo 2 years ago
Comment removed
Erasistratus77 2 years ago
One of the greatest pitches ive seen so far on DD. Good luck to you in the future sir.
badass147 2 years ago 15
DId you say your names was James bond?
AxiumKnight 2 years ago 5
Had to play it again to check that wasn't what he said. ;D
Chaosvex 2 years ago
that was great! your really a talented man. Very smart design and i hope your product astonishes the world! cheers,
SA
sorajsm 2 years ago
how about a phone in your bathroom?
pizzaking3645 2 years ago
How's Nova-Flo selling nowadays?
ihateuutube 2 years ago
i would like to know this aswell!
flyersbro18 2 years ago
Thanks for the interest. We have had Nova-Flo on the market for just over a year now but launched it just as the recession bit. This has made it hard to secure many sales as spending has been put on hold for many of our customers. However we have found that hotels are our main customers so far. London's Dorchester hotel and the Firmdale Hotel chain amongst others have installed Nova-Flos and are delighted with them. We continue to receive interest as this is still a completely unique product. JB
NovaFlo 2 years ago
shark tank owns this
IKnowWereYouSleep 2 years ago
A textbook example of a good presentation.
L4mbda87 2 years ago 2
AN EXCELLENT PITCH MY FRIEND !! GREAT
grifgrif1 2 years ago 2
1.22 minutes in btw
ottomobille 2 years ago
lmao your ring phones
ottomobille 2 years ago
Ha ha! It sounds like that but I actually said 'your friend phones'! I think my mouth was dry from the anticipation of giving my pitch and it didn't come out properly!.
NovaFlo 2 years ago
Well done and brave turning down the Dragons. I note you previous comment about cash flow requirement. There was a deal there i suspect at approx 25% but as usual greed overtook common sense as far as the dragons were concerned.
We know how expensive it is to bring a product to market. and then they want to leap in for 40% of the action for a lot less than the costs to date plus a slice of your patent.
I thought it a seriously good product
womford 2 years ago
agreed they were greedy.
good luck to the owner of this company, I really want it to be a success so they all feel like idiots for not negotiating.
chrcoluk 2 years ago
this is an excellent product. they see its great and are trying to fuck you over with there 40% come on. your company is worth more than 1.5m pound. so they are really trying to snow ball a novice. so thats great you turned it down
XXXxxxAMBITIONxxxXXX 2 years ago
The dragons take the piss sometimes... 40%!! I'd politely tell them to fuck off
SvedeboXque 2 years ago 6
he should have counter offered for all of them..
Basfoo 2 years ago
nice idea, nice pitch, definitely good potential here
so how is the venture going? did u get the funds you needed and from whom?
kentso1983 2 years ago
I just watched your pitch and quite honestly I thought it was the best idea I had heard in the Dragons' Den.
Theo Paphitis wanted you to give him 40% equity?!?! I was literally shouting DO NOT TAKE IT! DON'T DO IT! Its good that you didn't. He wanted nearly half you business.
I do have a few questions and I would appreciate your answers.
First how is the product doing currently?
And in the UK how much could I expect to buy one of these standard edition NovaFlo apparatus?
StandardUser555 2 years ago
Not really... An Investment Angel can be one of the greatest things in bringing a business forward and you can agree to buy back the share of the company once turnover reaches a certain ammount.
Only a fool would rather own a big chunk of nothing, than a smaller slice of something.
Example:
Amazons founder, Jeff Bezos would not be a fraction of how wealthy he is today if he hadn't given awa equity. He now owns ~25% of a multi-billion dollar company, rather than his business losing momentum.
urveen 2 years ago 2
He was asking for too much. They are millionnaires. He could have easily made a profit with half the equity. And who's to say he would have sold his share?
StandardUser555 2 years ago
You are right in your example. We however needed £320k for year 1 which was explained to the Dragons. They were offering under half of what was needed just for year 1 and wanted 40% of the company which I couldn't possibly agree to.
JB
NovaFlo 2 years ago
Bloody good invention!!! Fantastic work.
scenic456 2 years ago
JB, You were absolutly right to turn down this offer. to this unscrupulous and ridiculous 40% of the Equity of your company... What a Shark !! ,
Really well done, JB.. I am sure the investors will come to knock your door now...
BECAJOHNS 2 years ago
Well, you don't get to meet the Dragons or any previous pitchers after they have been in and you get wound up behind the scenes. I was asked to change my pitch 5 mins before I went in!
When you do go into the den it is like walking into your TV and a very surreal experience! When you are there apart from it being hot from the lighting, there are big cameras and 20 or so people hiding in the shadows, some taking notes!
It was actually a very exciting thing to do and I quite enjoyed it though.
JB
NovaFlo 2 years ago
i hope alls going well since the den......
very good pitch and you stood your ground.
dilwich123 2 years ago
Your pitch and product were the best I've seen yet on Dragons' Den. Good luck for the future
truck5050 2 years ago 2
id like 200 thousand and willing to give away 50% of my business
what i would do with teh cash is envent new ways of bringing drugs through mexico to the uk
lol
bigbother1 2 years ago
A good business case but it sounds like a bit of a pain in the arse!
NovaFlo 2 years ago