Focus and Concentration: Essential Tactics in the Den

On episode eight of Dragon’s Den, we watched Chris Parkes, John Momoh, Ibukun Awosika, Femi Tejuoso, and Tokunboh Ishmael as they lit the den with the fire of their business wisdom.

The first entrepreneur, Ayobola Adediji came to pitch a "one-stop-beauty place" to the dragons; a business idea which Ibukun Awosika and Tokunboh Ishmael seemed to have warmed up to. But the dragons did not invest here, although she was advised by the duo to fine-tune her plans and see them later. 

The second entrepreneur believed he could transform billboards from being mere marketing tools to functional utilities with Bright Streets Incorporated, demanding for 25 million naira in exchange for 60% equity.

The dragons all opted out as they neither saw any business sense in the proposal nor readiness on the part of this entrepreneur.

The third entrepreneur in the den was the CEO of Futuristic Concepts who came to seek 10 million naira in exchange for 70% equity in his online advertising venture.

But without a running website, his ambition to sell online advertising slots was rebuffed as a suddenly nurtured ‘futuristic’ endeavour to which the dragons did not subscribe.

The fourth entrepreneur, Ayo Falano, the CEO of Alexander Blakes Solutions was looking for a 14 million naira investment in a company billed to offer a ‘loaded’ bouquet of IT Solutions and services including WiFi and also offering doorstep delivery of goods purchased online.

But his business plan suddenly became confusing and contradictory to the dragon’s disapproval and of course, no deal was struck.

Olubumi Adeyemi, a London-trained interior decorator and the fifth entrepreneur in the den came in search of 10 million naira in exchange for 25% equity in Homemade Interiors Limited.

But the dragons were totally unconvinced that he had the prerequisite qualities to successfully run his proposed business and were quick to dismiss him from the den.

The last entrepreneur on this episode, Yinka Oyenuga came in search of N45,220,00 in a social-entrepreneurship initiative he tagged "Heart Trick" in exchange for 45% equity. His projected returns on equity investment stirred the dragons’ curiosity in the operations and administration of such a venture.

John Momoh figured out that he wanted to make money by exploiting the sentiments of the invalid which made the dragons to probe further and establish if he was proposing to trade on the disadvantages of invalid people, while remitting a meager percentage of the proceeds to these invalids.

As Oyenuga’s business plan had elicited much doubts and suspicion, the dragons unanimously opted out advising him to desist from such exploitative schemes.