News

Dragons' Den success for Value My Stuff Now

September 1, 2010

Value My Stuff Now has been triumphant after a recent pitch on BBC2 TV show Dragons' Den.

Founder of the company Patrick van der Vorst took the brave step into the lair and came out covered in glory after he received two successful offers for a stake in the antique appraisals company.

Entrepreneurs Deborah Meaden and Theo Paphitis put in half of the money each to make up the £100,000 that was required by Patrick - a former director and head of department at Sotheby's London - for a 40 per cent share of the business.

The online antique valuation service is looking to expand and Patrick faced a tough task trying to convince the Dragons.

But Deborah and Theo came up trumps after the former concluded that the time is right for the website, as Theo - who has invested more than £2 million in over 30 businesses on the show - concluded that people will be looking to sell items in a time of austerity.

Debroah - who launched her own glass and ceramics import company at the age of 19 - said: "I completely agree with Theo that if this website was ever going to have its moment, it's going to be now."

However, in order to move the company forward, she pointed out that Patrick will have to spend more on advertising.

But it was the publicity side of things which put off Peter Jones, who did not understand how the business spends the amount it does on advertising considering the present conversation rates.

Nevertheless, Patrick pressed on and confidently told the telecoms expert that 25 per cent of the organisation's sales come from repeat customers.

After the deal was done, Patrick concluded: "It is a real asset to the company to have two experienced business people aboard our team and we look forward to further expanding our services in our quest to make art expertise accessible to all."