Dragons’ Den turned down a potential £360million fortune after rejecting craft beer company BrewDog at a screen test – and it’s now worth a staggering £1.6billion
- Co-owners James Watt and Martin Dickie set up the craft beer company in 2007
- Duo, from Aberdeenshire, applied to Dragons’ Den in 2008 offering £100k stake
- James revealed how the original £100k offer would now be worth a huge £360m
The producers of Dragons’ Den turned down a potential £360 million fortune after deeming a start-up craft beer company Brewdog ‘not investment-worthy.’
Co-owners James Watt and Martin Dickie set up their craft beer company in 2007 in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, and went on to grow their multinational brewery into a global pub chain.
After setting up their company 13 years ago, the duo applied to BBC show Dragons’ Den – offering the celebrity investors a 20 per cent stake in return for a £100,000 investment.
In a post on LinkedIn, James revealed how the pair were ‘totally crushed’ by the screen test rejection and said it ‘took a while’ to get over the defeat.
Co-owners James Watt (picutred right) and Martin Dickie (left) set up their craft beer company in 2007, in Ellon, Aberdeenshire
James and Martin were just 24 when they started the company, which was valued at £1.6billion this year, according to Forbes.
The entrepreneur calculated how the original £100,000 offer would now be worth a staggering £360million.
He wrote: ‘In 2008 we applied to Dragons’ Den & got as far as a screen test and we pitched our hearts out before the producers rejected us.
‘They deemed Martin & myself not investment worthy.
‘We were totally crushed.
In a post on LinkedIn, James revealed how the pair were ‘totally crushed’ by the rejection and said it ‘took a while’ to get over the defeat
‘We were prepared to offer the Dragons 20 per cent for £100,000. Based on our latest BrewDog valuation, that investment would now be worth almost £360m meaning the Dragon’s missed out on by far the best deal in Den history.
‘We got over the rejection eventually. But it took a while. #craftbeer #craftbrewery #dragonsden #brewdog.’
The post has since garnered more than 100,000 likes and has received 4,065 comments praising the pair for their business acumen.
They set up their first brewery in a remote shed on an industrial estate in Fraserburgh, Scotland, with just a dog to accompany them – hence the name BrewDog.
And aside from brewing, they also run their own streaming service, The BrewDog Network – which features cooking series and travel guides.
The entrepreneurs calculated that the original £100,000 offer would now be worth a staggering £360million. Pictured left to right: James Caan, Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Theo Paphitis and Duncan Bannatyne