The pitch
What walked into the Den
Tim Smith brought Redfoot Shoes to Dragons' Den in season 9, which aired in 2011.
In the pitch, Redfoot Shoes asked the Dragons for £300,000 for 10% of the business, valuing the business at about £3,000,000.
After the show
What happened next
The Dragons passed, and Redfoot Shoes walked away without investment that night.
Our read
The Hub verdict
Tim Smith's numbers are the whole story here. Asking £300,000 for just 10% put a £3,000,000 price tag on Redfoot Shoes, and that is a steep valuation to defend for a footwear label in front of investors who price on proof. The tension is baked into the ratio: to give away only a tenth of the company while raising a sum that large, the sales and margins underneath had to justify seven figures. The Dragons did not bite, and a valuation gap is the most common reason a pitch like this ends without money.
A seven-figure valuation the Dragons would not meet.
