Dragons’ Den is the TV show that can make or break a small business - get your pitch right, and you could be on your way to success.
But what is it really like appearing in front of business tycoons Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Sara Davies, Steven Bartlett and Touker Suleyman?
Energy drinks start-up PerfectTed found themselves with not one, but five offers, after impressing each Dragon with their matcha green tea-powered energy drinks business, in an episode that aired last week.
Founded by Marisa Poster and brothers Teddie and Levi Levenfiche, the trio eventually walked away with a £50,000 investment from Peter Jones and Steven Bartlett, in return for 10% of their business.
PerfectTed is now being stocked in Tesco and Holland and Barrett stores after Marisa came up with the idea of creating an alternative energy drink designed not to cause crashes.
"I have suffered with ADHD and anxiety for years and I used to consume loads of caffeine from coffee and energy drinks during college," she said.
"I thought it would help increase my mental alertness and just give me consistent energy levels throughout the day, but I often found I was just experiencing horrible side effects like jitters, crashes, exacerbated anxiety symptoms.
"A friend mentioned that matcha was caffeinated and it had loads of other health benefits. Obviously, this sounded way too good to be true but when I did try it, it really had a almost life changing effect on me."
Speaking to The Mirror, the group shared what they believe helped them in the Den, and secrets of the show viewers might be unaware of - including the very short notice they had.
'We were told only five days in advance'
If you'd think you'd have weeks to prepare for the Den, you'd be wrong.
In fact, Marisa explained how they were told they'd be appearing on the show just days before they were due to travel from London to Manchester for filming.
"We were only told five days in advance that we'd be on the show," said Marisa.
"It was really the most surreal feeling. I think we were not expecting [to get] five offers."
'We got to practice our pitch first'
Given the short notice, you'll be pleased to know contestants get to practice in the Den before they go in front of the Dragons.
"They have screens up in front of the Dragons' chairs," said Marisa.
"I don't even know why because they're not behind it. I guess they just don't want you to see their station."
'It's true - the elevator really doesn't work'
Marisa also confirmed that the famous elevator really doesn't work, something that has often been commented on by other previous contestants.
Instead, you just press a button, get in and the doors open the other end to reveal the Dragons.
"I think the funniest part most people get a kick out of is the elevator," said Marisa.
"For us, that was a real shock. We were like, wait, this isn't this isn't an operational elevator, just sliding doors? That was pretty funny."
'You could be filming for hours'
Their TV appearance was edited down to around 14 minutes, but Marisa and Teddie actually spent around an hour and a half pitching in front of the Dragons.
A further hour or so was spent filming additional footage, such as the pair going in and out of the elevator.
"We actually were filmed for about a total of two and a half hours," said Marisa.
'Viewers think we got an easy ride - we didn't'
Marisa said the trio have been criticised on social media and online forums for not being grilled as hard as other contestents.
However, she says the power of editing again made their appearance look far more condensed.
"We were asked for about an hour straight about our numbers," she said.
"It's non-stop. They don't stop asking questions - incredibly detailed questions like, what kind of glue do you use for your label?
"Or how many cans have you physically sold to date, like, give us an exact number? So you just really have to know everything."
'Being prepared helped us secure the investment'
Marisa reckons part of the reason why they were so successful is because they came prepared.
She recommended anyone who is thinking of appearing on the show to do their homework first and memorise all those key business numbers.
"We came across well, because we were super, super prepared and I think they [Dragons] respected that," said Marisa.
"Since starting trading, we had all of our financial history on an accounting software. We're able to run analyses and do projections really easily just from the software."
She added: "Watch as many episodes as possible to try to anticipate the kind of questions they will ask, and just do your best to hype yourself up.
"It's a really an incredible growth experience, just to put yourself out there and be a representative of your business."
