Part 2: Dragons’ Den From the Flip Side

When the assistant producer from Dragons’ Den got in touch at the start of 2025 and invited us to apply, we were surprised and flattered. It wasn’t something we’d been expecting.Going on Dragons’ Den after ten years in business is an unusual prospect. It’s very different to what viewers think they’re watching.

If you’ve just invented something brand new and you’re trying to launch it, the direction of travel is obvious, and the pitch is obvious. You’re at the beginning of something fresh.

 But what if you’ve been selling the same core product for a decade — refining it, improving it, defending it — and building a real business around it? What exactly are you pitching then? The past (our bell tent awning)? The present (our inflatable awning)? Or the next idea (our roof box inflatable awning)?

That was the dilemma, and one of the main reasons we’d never have decided to apply for Dragons’ Den had we not been asked.

But all publicity is good publicity, right? And so followed two hours of filming in front of the Dragons and fourteen minutes on screen. A brutal edit in parts!

The Dilemma: What Do You Pitch After 10 Years?

We’ve never been short of ideas for Glawning – some make it through and some barely last five minutes.

However, when considering what I might say in the Den, there were two new developments we thought might spice up the pitch. One, our GlawningAIR, had just been released. The other was, at the time of filming, still in the design phase. It has now launched on the website HERE, and we genuinely believe it has great potential.

 It also might be patentable, and so yes, the patent application went in the day before filming.

That sounds reckless when it’s reduced to a dramatic TV soundbite. The reality is more boring: filming dates are given late, patent processes are slow, and if you want to be able to talk freely about an idea in a room like that, you protect it first.

And many viewers might have been interested to hear that the average time to obtain a patent in the UK is 3-5 years!

So when the question on everyone’s lips is “have you got the patent yet?” it can be quite frustrating. In hindsight, I maybe should have approached the pitch differently. But hindsight is a wonderful thing.

“I’d Pick Up the Phone to China…”

There’s a line that Touker throws out regularly on the Den, in one form or another:

“If I wanted to do this, I’d pick up the phone to China and have them in my warehouse in 12 weeks.”

It makes good television.

What you didn’t see was the fuller discussion around design protection, trademarking the Glawning brand, and the battles we’ve already had with much bigger players who have tried to replicate what we created.

That part didn’t make the edit, unfortunately. But truth is, you can’t just flick through a catalogue and pick one of our products.

What was comforting in the Den was that Jenna Meek pushed back and challenged Touker on the idea that creativity and original design can simply be reduced to “get it made cheaper elsewhere.” I was glad she did.

Because building something isn’t just about manufacturing. It’s about creating it in the first place — and then defending it.

The “Amber Flag”

We went in asking for investment not just for the Glawning as it stands today, but for what comes next. But of course I could only point to what was coming next. The evidence that I could take an idea and make it work - that was what I took into the Den.

Steven called that an “amber flag”, and we understand why. Investors like clarity. They like to know what they’re backing. But I thought that over £5m in sales might convince them that Glawning had a decent enough track record!

Could we have waited a year until the prototype was further along and the patent more advanced? Yes, possibly. But then the opportunity might have passed, and when you’re invited into the Den, you go.

The Bit Viewers Don’t See

As many people know, the lift isn’t real. It’s all filmed on one floor. The doors are operated by the production crew. You stand there longer than it looks. You repeat things and you wait around a lot.

We knew all that before we went on. We also knew that fewer than half of businesses that “win” investment on the show ever actually receive the money once due diligence is done.

It’s television. It’s entertainment. It’s a pressure cooker designed to create tension.

And to be fair to the Dragons, they can only judge what’s in front of them at that moment.

The Comment That Meant the Most

Peter said, “If you do get the patent, come straight to me.”

 After two hours under those lights, that meant a lot.

I probably won’t go to Peter, and I may not even get the patent, but that’s not the point. However, the product is now launched and we’re very proud of it.

Community Is the Real Asset

One comment that genuinely stuck with me came from Jenna:

“You’ve got this community of 2,000 people at your fingertips… you can’t replicate community.”

That’s exactly it.

Glawning — and Glampfest — were never just about canvas and poles. They’re about making camping feel less like hard work and less like boredom, and more like something you actually want to show off.

You can’t copy that, and the response after the episode aired proved it.

The Aftermath

 Within minutes of the show going live, traffic to Glawning.com went through the roof, with website views up by 6000%. Emails flooded in. Social media lit up. Customers — old and new — sent messages of support.

It was exciting. It was fun. It was brilliant exposure for the business.

Not every Den appearance ends in a handshake and a cheque, but momentum, clarity and energy for the business are all wins too.

Would I Do It Again?

Absolutely.

Was it uncomfortable at times? Yes.

Would I tweak the pitch if I had my time again? Probably.

But I don’t for a second regret walking into that room.