Last night saw the first episode of the new 2010 series. The lineup was the same and it was quite an interesting show. Here’s my Dragons Den Idea Review – Summary & Analysis – A run through of the main points and my thoughts on what happened to the first entrepreneur, Derek Cozens.
Entrepreneur 1 – Derek Cousins (Flow Signals)
The first entrepreneur showed a system of lights to fix to existing road signs. He claimed that they can help increase security in various situations. He wanted £ 50,000 at 10%.
The pitch looked quite confident, but the Dragons looked bored and then started laughing and thinking it was some kind of joke. They seemed to think it was not a viable invention.
Peter Jones ridiculed the concept and it turned out the guy had already invested £ 25,000 invested in it. Deborah Meaden did some deep research and found that the idea was actually disliked by someone who was presumably at the top of the industry (I didn’t understand this part 100%). Theo and Duncan weren’t convinced by the patent or the business model. However, the inventor insisted that it could work.
In fact, Cozens did not appear to be able to back up his belief with any concrete evidence that there was potential in the project.
Another nail in the coffin was that Cozens couldn’t even identify anyone else who had faith in his product. Deborah declared herself at this point. Theo followed shortly after.
Duncan killed him by declaring Cozens the winner of the “worst invention ever brought to Dragons Den” and then declaring himself out!
Eventually, he was expelled from the Den. In general, the conceited Dragons were quite rude, but this is not the first time they have been!
My verdict
I agree with the Dragons. This device might one day have some merit. I can imagine a time when a smart lighting system could improve the current signal system and increase safety. However, Cozens has nothing but a chimera and, what is worse, does not seem to accept any criticism. He has no support for his idea, it is unclear if he has a patent, and yet he was still trying to convince the Dragons. You have spent too much money on this project and it ended up nowhere. You need to get rid of it now and find other things. Someday a smart traffic lighting system might work, but he won’t be the one to invent it, in my opinion.