I was told my business was ‘worthless’ on Dragons’ Den – I’ve now sold it for £12million
AN entrepreneur who got rejected from Dragons' Den has now sold his company for £12million.
Rob Law has passed on Trunki, which makes kids' suitcases, to e-commerce brand Heroes for a hefty price tag.
Law initially appeared on Dragons' Den in 2006 at 28 years old, asking for a £100,000 investment in exchange for 10% of his business.
But he got turned down after one of the Dragons broke the handle off a suitcase, calling it "worthless".
At the time, investor Theo Paphitis lashed out, saying: "You shouldn’t come here with problems that can be solved.
"It drives me mad that we waste our time with these things."
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Afterwards, Law grew the business himself, selling over three million suitcases in over 100 countries by 2016.
Now, after 16 years and selling five million suitcases worldwide, it will be headed by e-commerce platform Heroes, which takes care of youth and maternity brands.
Alessio and Riccardo Bruni, Heroes co-founders, said: “We are extremely excited for Trunki and the team to join the Heroes family and embark on the next journey together.
"The acquisition will further strengthen our core focus in the baby and children category and gives us further expansion into retails and worldwide distribution”.
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Rob Law, Trunki founder and chief executive, added: "It became apparent after the first few discussions that Heroes was the right buyer for Trunki.
"The Bruni brothers’ vision for the brand was far more ambitious and creative than what other buyers presented.
"Whilst Trunki has been around for over 16 years, we couldn’t be more excited for the next chapter of our journey”.
Founded during the pandemic, Heroes now heads over 35 brands, including the Boba baby carrier and Onco baby car mirror, and has 120 employees.
Trunki first landed a contract with John Lewis to sell the bags, which are now also sold across the UK in stores including Boots, Argos and Amazon.
All the products are designed in England before being distributed worldwide.
You can catch the latest episodes of Dragons' Den on BBC One.
Most recently, the dragons meet 18-year-old Myles Dickinson-Brown, who's the youngest candidate to make £124k in profit from his business.
How can I start my own business?
Starting your own business can be quite intimidating, but there are top tips to note down for an easy launch.
First of all, it's important to be organised. So make a business plan.
Consider what your business is for and what differentiates you from the rest of the market as well as the costs and how much money you could make.
This is helpful so you know what you are working towards and also can be used if you are applying for a loan.
Secondly, make sure you know the two main business types - limited company and sole trader.
A limited company is a registered business that is legally separate from you as an individual.
This means if your business gets into legal or financial trouble, your personal assets such as your family home cannot be put a risk.
Running a company has extra responsibilities such as completing company accounts.
In contrast, a sole trader only has to complete a self-assessment tax return each year.
There are tax differences as well - you can read up on what these are on websites such as TaxAssist and Simply Business.
Also make sure you have enough funding to start a business and you may need to set up an online and social presence too.
Elsewhere, it's been revealed Revolution Beauty founders gave loans to distributors in return for bumping up orders.
Around £9million of sales should not have been counted, says a report.
Founders Adam Minto and Tom Allsworth made fortunes when they listed the firm for £500million in 2021.
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But they did not tell the rest of the board about the secret deals which gave the impression that Revolution’s business was bigger than it is.
Auditors had refused to sign off the accounts, which prompted a months-long probe.