3 hours Ago By Meghna Amin
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mp4","height":270,"width":480}To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a webbrowser thatsupports HTML5videoUp NextPrevious PageNext Pagewindow.addEventListener('metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded', function(data) {if (typeof(data.detail) === 'undefined' || typeof(data.
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removeChild(placeholder);container.classList.add('metro-video-player--related-videos-loaded');});A Dragons’ Den contestant has revealed she’s made £150,000 in just a matter of days after appearing on the BBC One programme.
Carla Saull entered the Den with the hope of scoring a £40,000 investment for 10% of her company, hair towel brand Good Wash Day.After sharing her inspirational story of leaving school aged 16 and returning to education in her 40s, having taken a career-break to raise a family, and creating her business from a lockdown project over the pandemic in 2021, Carla impressed the Dragons with her determination and success in turning over £140,000 in a year.However, since the episode has aired, she’s beat that in just a few days.
In an interview with Metro, Carla said she was feeling ‘a bit overwhelmed but really excited’ after her experience on the programme.‘I’ve done my best year’s orders in the first three or four days, so it’s been a lot and I pack them all myself so I’ve called in help from family and friends,’ she said.She confirmed she’d made more than £150,000 in sales since the episode aired, adding: ‘Obviously it slowed down and it will slow down, that’s not going to be every three days.
‘But yeah, that was my best year and now I’ve beaten it in three days, which is just crazy.’Three Dragons were left fighting for an investment (Picture: BBC Studios)The entrepreneur’s ethical towel brand came about after Carla overhauled her own haircare routine during the pandemic after 25 years of straightening, and decided instead to look into keeping her hair natural, while avoiding frizz and harsh chemicals.As a result, she created organic jersey cotton towels designed to avoid breakage, damage and split ends, and her stretch-fit wraps have now become a hit with consumers in over 40 countries.
Carla had initially thought she’d ‘never, ever, ever’ attempt Dragons’ Den, despite having business experience through working at an e-commerce start-up and a business degree, as well as running her own company.‘I mean I love watching it, but when you’re watching it, you feel nervous when those people walk through the door, you feel their stress, and I just didn’t want to put myself through that,’ she explained.But when she was approached by a producer and went through the application, she thought there’d be ‘no harm’ in actually going on the show, believing that the ‘scrutiny’ she’d face in the Den could help her business.
Carla Saull brought her hair towel brand Good Wash Day to the Den (Picture: BBC)And she was certainly right to do so, as Carla walked away with three offers, and the Dragons fighting over her, with Peter Jones branding Sara Davies ‘deluded’ at one point.After Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett opted out of investing, Touker Suleyman offered Carla opportunities that didn’t quite align with her own ethical values about sustainability in her business.Carla said: ‘They were so supportive of me, they said a lot of really complimentary things.
I think I knew that Touker would give me a hard time, and I also know as you get older, you just stick to your guns more and know you have the confidence in your own beliefs.’Then it came down to Sara and Peter, with the latter calling Strictly star Sara – who has just announced her exit from the show in a move Carla called ‘admirable’ – ‘deluded’ for thinking he wouldn’t be adding value to Good Wash Day.The entrepreneur was hoping for a £40,000 investment (Picture: BBC)Despite the tension in the Den that was shown on screens, Carla admitted all was not as it seemed.
She explained: ‘I had some comments on social media saying Peter was mean saying the delusional comment, but that wasn’t really how it happened in there.‘That was the editing and I think I could see the value of going with Peter as well, and Peter and Sara would have easily gone together, but they were on different terms.’Speaking of her experience on the show as a whole, Carla continued: ‘It was really nerve-wracking, as you’d expect.
I couldn’t eat for days before.’She went on: ‘Once those lift doors opened and I walked out, I just had my game face on and was like, “You know your business, you know your numbers, you know your stuff.”Sara Davies was branded ‘deluded’ by another Dragon (Picture: BBC)‘Once the pitch was out the way, I knew I was then just having a conversation with five entrepreneurs about my business, which I can talk about all day long, so I tried to tell myself that.
’Talking about the investment she received and her decision to turn down Peter despite his insistence that he would add value to the company, Carla added: ‘I would have loved Peter as well because he was so lovely to me, and he’s obviously really a brilliant businessman.‘But Sara for me made perfect sense – she’s scaled a business very successfully [..
.] and I thought she’d love the product.‘I’ve grown largely organically on Instagram.
People like Trinny Woodall and Shirley Ballas have talked about my towels on there.‘So she was the obvious choice and I’m so glad she made me an offer, and I was thrilled to accept.’Peter Jones’ offer was turned down (Picture: BBC Studios)In a press release after the episode aired, Sara, who invested in Good Wash Day for a 20% stake in the business, also praised her new partnership, saying: ‘Carla has achieved so much in such a short time.
She took a simple idea, poured her passion into it, and created a brand that solves a genuine need.‘I love her commitment to running an ethical business, whilst retaining that personal touch that makes it special.‘Her hunger to conquer the global market is insatiable and I knew within five minutes of her entering the Den that I wanted to invest in Carla’s business.
‘I’m excited to work alongside her to help more people enjoy the natural health and beauty of their hair.’Carla also said it had been ’empowering’ deciding to choose Sara to partner with, after fearing an offer possibly being withdrawn in the Den.Carla said her decision to choose Sara was ’empowering’ (Picture: Supplied)Recalling making her decision, she told us: ‘To be honest, you’re a bit emotionally exhausted by then, and I think you’ve had this massive adrenaline dump when you’re getting to that point.
’‘Peter would have been brilliant in getting my product around the world, but I was in there for about an hour and a half, and I think by that point, my impression was Peter didn’t really want to say “I’m out” because he had been so supportive and complimentary about me.‘The other thing that was actually quite scary is you realise they can pull that offer at any moment, so if Sara suddenly thought that I was undecided and looked like I wanted to go to Peter, she could pull her offer, so there is an element of pressure around that.’She said she hadn’t expected the ‘mental shift’ she faced when, after pitching to the Dragons, they then pitched themselves to her, adding: ‘Once you get an offer it’s almost like they are then pitching to you, and it’s a bit of a mental shift that you have to quite quickly adapt to so that that took me by surprise.
’Now, with Sara’s investment and ‘brilliant’ support, Carla has set her five-year goal of becoming ‘a household name for anyone who is interested in hair and beauty’.Dragons’ Den airs Thursdays at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.Got a story?If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.
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