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From The Times
August 22, 2007

Inventor out to crack America with wobble-buster the dragons rejected

Steve Hawkes

A Scottish entrepreneur rejected by experts on the Dragons’ Den television programme is hoping to crack the United States after sales of his invention for propping up wobbly table legs passed £1 million.

Andrew Gordon, 31, has struck a deal to sell the gadget, which can be adjusted according to the extent of the wobble, in stores of the discount chain The Dollar Chest. The invention, launched in Britain as “STABLEtable” and selling at £1, will be renamed “WobbleWizard” for the United States.

Mr Gordon said: “America’s the big one and I’m hoping this deal is just the start over there. Americans tend to like something novel.”

The latest success comes three years after a panel of business experts on Dragons’ Den, the BBC Two programme, turned down Mr Gordon’s appeal for £90,000 of “angel funding”. One of the panel, Rachel Elnaugh, the founder of the Red Letter Days business, which collapsed later that year, said that STABLEtable was the “most ridiculous idea” she had ever heard of.

Sales have since surged, with orders of 300,000 in China in the past six months. Total sales have reached £1 million and Mr Gordon hopes that a recent UK distribution deal with Massive Housewares, a wholesaler, will help to win deals with Tesco and Asda. He said: “I think I’ve got a three-year window to do as well as I can.”

STABLEtable, a simple design with eight plastic leaves pinned together, is sold online for £1. After being turned down by Dragons’ Den, Mr Gordon took out a loan to launch his business and found a Chinese manufacturer on the internet.

His is one of several inventions to have succeeded despite being panned by the Dragons’ Den panel. Rob Law’s Trunki wheelie suitcase has proved a commercial hit and is now on trial in Wal-Mart in America.

Yesterday Ms Elnaugh said: “I’m really glad Andrew’s done well, but if you’re investing, you want to be seeing a return in six months, not three years.”

It seems there is another product out there that does the same job, with a lot less hassle. http://www.wobbleg.com

Kerry Bailey, Walsall, UK

If Ms Elnaugh wishes to see a return in six months and not wait for three years, it would seem to me that she is the wrong person to be involved with angel funding and she should stick with the quoted/listed public markets. Its a wonder that UK entrepeneurs do succeed with "angels" of her ilk.

Siu Fun Hui, London,

I watched this particular episode of Dragon's Den and was again agitated by the 'know all' attitude of Ms Elnaugh. What I always failed to understand is why she was on the show when during her introduction they stated that her business had 'collapsed'.

Her final comment in this article goes someway to show how ignorant and stubborn she really is.

Well done to this guy I say.

Tony, London, UK

If 25% of the business is £100k, wouldn't that make the business worth £400k at that point??

Jack, London,

Note to Ms Elnaugh.

Find out about discounted cash flow and net present value. Until you have, remain silent.

George Johnson, London, England

Stefan,

FYI Here is the statement I gave to The Times when they asked me for my comment.
Since recording Dragons' Den I would like to think that I have actually helped many thousands of entrepreneurs through my work in the small business sector - a shame you relied on the inaccurate spin of mainstream media instead of spending a little time doing your own research.

"Re: Stable Table, from memory we recorded the piece back in September 2004 and Andrew was asking for something like a c£100k investment in return for a 25% stake in the business (which would have valued his business at that point at c£300k). While it is great that Andrew has persevered with his invention and just received a £1million order, in business terms over a three year period that is still not a huge amount of revenue for an angel investor to see materialising in return for £100k, especially as the figure represents turnover and not underlying profitability (after manufacturing costs and overheads)."

Rachel Elnaugh, Bakewell, Derbyshire

Well Ms Elnaugh just shows again why she doesn't merit being considered as a mentor to new business. She couldn't succeed in her own business and she has no idea how to encourage others. She displays bad judgement and advice and doesn't merit the title of 'business angel'.
Well done Mr Gordon. I thought it was a brilliant idea and I immediately and looked up your website.
BBC should be more careful in its selection of advisors who have the ability and opportunity, just for entertainment purposes, to destroy budding entrepreneurs.

stefan zucker, La bastide de besplas, France

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