Who is Laban Roomes? Meet the man who made £10m gold-plating Bentleys, toilets and even SEX TOYS for celebrities
Entrepreneur Laban Roomes scored a Dragon's Den investment... and now he's worth £10million
WHEN Laban Roomes appeared on Dragon’s Den eight years ago, he valued his gold-plating business at a humble £150,000.
Now Goldgenie is worth £10 million – and its celebrity clients include Usain Bolt, Rihanna and Elton John.
But how did he make his money and has he appeared on TV? Here's all you need to know...
Who is Laban Roomes?
Brought up in east London, Laban lived with his mother, who was forced to hold down three jobs to pay the family bills.
Seeing his mother struggle inspired him to make his own mother so he could help out with the heating and other outgoings.
He started offering gardening services as a teenager before moving on to buying and selling cars.
He made so much money that by the age of 19, he paid off his mother's mortgage.
And after that Laban got the idea for his gold plating business.
How did Laban Roomes make his money?
Laban set up Goldgenie after seeing the idea for gold plating products while in America.
All his products are coated in 24-carat liquid gold and the aim is to customise and “enhance the value” of everyday items such as phones, cars and even bathroom taps.
He told the Channel 4 show How'd You Get So Rich?: “I think there is that one thing where everyone would say ‘I want that to be gold-plated’.
“Many, many, many years ago I saw somebody doing this in America.
“It fascinated me and I followed him because he jumped into a Mercedes that had gold rims, had gold emblems.
“This was 1994, and he told me he was making $3-4,000-a-day (£2,400-3,200). I had an idea to re-create the machine that I saw.
“So I walked around, knocking on people’s doors, asking them if they wanted items to be gold-plated. I walked miles.
“I wore out so many shoes, walking the streets, asking people for business. The business grew and grew and grew.”
However, it wasn't until Laban plucked up the courage to approach Lexus - and offer to gold-plate their car emblems - that the business really took off.
Then, back in 2009, Dragon's Den star James Caan bought 40 per cent shares in Laban's business for £60,000 - and helped put the entrepreneur's business on the map.
Has Laban Roomes had celebrity customers?
Laban has revealed some of his more unusual requests from his super-rich clients from a gold SEX TOY to charging £15,000 to plate the Sultan of Brunei’s toilet.
He also added: “We did a gold iPod for Usain Bolt – a limited range of iPods for Elton John.
“Rihanna, we did the gold microphone for her – 24 carat gold microphone which she used in concert. It’s an amazing process.”
