Gousto's Angel Investors Cause Difficulty In The Den | Dragons' Den

James Carter and Timo Boldt are seeking a £100,000 investment in exchange for 7% of their fresh food ingredients box, Gousto. But once they mentioned their angel investors had a higher equity stake than what's on offer in The Den... things got difficult.
Season 11, Episode 13
An international sensation, Dragon's Den features entrepreneurs pitching for investment in the Den from our Dragons, five venture capitalists willing to invest their own money in exchange for equity.
#DragonsDen #Gousto #Food

[@peterd788]

They now have a turnover of £189 million and have moved to profit of £1.8 million.

[@samhaokip9126]

Damn. I love hearing success stories!

[@peterd788]

@@AvP30 It means they’re a cashflow business at the moment. They lost £4 million the year before so they’ve obviously been burning money to get market share. Netflix, in 12 years, lost huge sums in 9 of them and their revenue is going down.

[@macioluko9484]

@@AvP30Yup. Still need to take an axe to their overheads.

[@BenjaminGoose]

@@AvP30 £1.8 million is not tiny.

[@yvez-zparkz]

@@peterd788 Regardless, their revenu is now 300+ million pounds...7% is a nice return on that :)

[@scottyk200]

One of my neighbours was on holiday and they gifted me their recipe box for that week. Was very good stuff, and novel.

[@georgeturner9980]

I see their adverts on TV very frequently, I bet they're doing so well.

[@tomburns5231]

I wonder if their investors have received any money back, though?

[@2technoboy2]

like most other food box delivery companies, have made no return for investors. This one is in liquidation btw

[@BenjaminGoose]

Or maybe they're advertising because they're not doing well?

[@benlikesicecream6601]

Gousto ended up raising 600M$. The investors on this show aren’t made for that sort of investment and return. They look for 25K to 50K investments where ‘once they get their money back, they only want 30%’. With that mentality, they will have the odd success with small businesses, but will always miss out on the unicorns with the big returns, like Gousto.

[@TheJohnCooperShow]

600m?!! Surely not

[@benlikesicecream6601]

@@TheJohnCooperShow 675M$

[@TheJohnCooperShow]

@@benlikesicecream6601 the two founders must be on max 1% each

[@benlikesicecream6601]

@@TheJohnCooperShow if each funding round dilution was say 20% and they did 3 or 4 rounds, they have significantly more than 1% each left. I would have thought at least 10% each left.

[@RockyDave]

9:25 When Kelly says 'I think you're great...' we know what's coming next.

[@MrTibbs12]

Jenny gets a lot of hate but kelly and piers invested in next to nothing

[@RockyDave]

@@MrTibbs12 I don't think Jenny is hated, it's just an ongoing joke. But these are legendary in rarely making an investment.

[@melmoranda07]

Dragons let this one slip away..

[@abba2566]

Been getting Gousto for over a year, they've massively expanded their recipes compared to here, ship great produce and it's just so easy.

[@DaveMoth]

I imagine the pandemic helped this company become more successful. Lots of people have food boxes delivered now.

[@PATRYK-R1]

Lots of people started cooking instead of buying tasteless food ready to eat

[@Mogamishu]

Scamdemic*

[@TomRooney2023]

I worked in haulage wearhouses and the amount of these that came through was insane

[@Ndidusbbssj]

@@Mogamishu shut up

[@rudi6212]

@@Mogamishuyeah I can’t believe it wasn’t real and it was all so bill gates could put a microchip in me, oh no, we should tell all the people who died

[@yebo-gogo]

Cooking is such an essential life skill, even for a millionaire with a chef husband. To see Debra boasting about her inability to cook is to me quite staggering.

[@wardosravin]

Clear to see who wears the pants in their relationship. I'd feel ashamed if my wife said that. How can she have serious¡y not cooked a meal in so many years!?

[@chriswalford9228]

Some people are good at cooking the books

[@averyintelligence]

​@@wardosravinhas nothing to do with gender. Any adult who cant cook is unattractive. Its 2023. Cooking is not a womans job.

[@00Kuja00]

A box like this in Sweden is about 3 times more expensive than buying it from the store.

[@moogleking]

You pay for the convenience of getting food delivered to you then, better to just buy it from the store lol

[@Joefdgtr]

For the year to 31 December 2021 - Gousto has made a revenue of £315.3m however a Loss after tax of £14.1m.

[@amandadonaldson8748]

"Oh be quiet, Grandad." 😆

[@noamjen]

The fremenies dynamic between Peter and Duncan is amazing

[@kennywilkinson913]

Duncan just getting up and cooking, salt of the earth that fella.

[@ricecurrylife]

He's the realist dragon there

[@bobbyjones3351]

Save a fortune by having your head office at the warehouse

[@TheSonicsean]

In 2013 these guys were ahead of the curve. Now meal kits are all over.

[@santhoshgeneva]

Me having watched KZbinrs promote HelloFresh: "Where have I heard of this before? 🤔"

[@kazmahmood775]

This company has done so well. They making millions! I am sure they came on here just for the PR.

[@joshgould2707]

According to their most recent companies house statement they are actually losing millions & then using a non-GAAP measure to imply profitability by not accounting for depreciation, amortisation or a few other costs.

[@draculastraphouse7863]

I like it when people claim a company is making millions but in reality they are losing money

[@lottonthewizard4352]

@@draculastraphouse7863 People don't understand that just because there's millions of dollars doesn't mean there's a profit.

[@wardosravin]

Revenue ≠ profit

[@shy_sorai_vlogs]

They've been at this since 2012 and just had to layoff a ton of workers, investors are questioning their corporate governance, and flotation is delayed many years if ever. Dragons dodged a bullet. 🤓😅

[@Sonny984]

Ohhhh I’ve used them before. Quality mate and I got free wooden spoon too. But that was years ago. 😂

[@coolgamerRyanGamerSquadroon]

When Duncan says "I don't think it'll ever make any money)profit", you just know that the company will make a big profit 😂

[@ThundrStr]

literally made one of their meals today

[@art57701]

It went from 1% return rate to 1% net profit… at least they stopped losing money 😅

[@KarrierBag]

What about all the packaging? OH maybe I should wait for Debra to have her say.....

[@KarrierBag]

and she is out and no mention.... a throw away society needs to come to an end asap.

[@BenjaminGoose]

Deborah*

[@KarrierBag]

@@BenjaminGoose ah thank you, I am disloxic, I cant even say it right let alone spell it 🤣

[@jamesstead2256]

@@KarrierBag hahaha

[@markhardcastle2267]

Debbie wasn't trading on being super green back in the day of this ep

[@Owa24]

All I see where I live is hello fresh box’s been left on doorsteps lol so they must have a good run

[@gardensoflondonmwgs7836]

The whispering 😂😂

[@SandrineAnterrion]

asmr

[@frederickbowdler8169]

Needs an app to talk you through the recipe.then it would work for me.

[@Douchebagdutchey]

Gousto in 2023 is worth £739m, with the ninth consecutive year of double digit growth.

[@billyjesus5442]

honestly they should get it in writing what they will do because ive seen some horror stories on here where the investors did nothing.

[@jake6112]

You think business people do business on a gentleman's agreement and don't have contracts?

[@R_P_Singh30]

Wouldnt Duncan be best person to invest and could have club this with his GYM membership or am i missing something ?

[@justinh1792]

they are Swedish chefs!

[@CabbageYe]

They're pretty big now

[@ethanolamine8530]

my brother uses this service

[@craptobotfanboy4958]

how old is this vid....? these companies have been around for years

[@mike981]

Haven't cooked in how long!

[@wildnfree101]

28 years, Deb's got handed millions in family money.

[@darthvaper6745]

Is this "Cook Fresh?" - if so they're everywhere now

[@SandrineAnterrion]

No it's not hello fresh. Gousto

[@deanVetUk]

"With no food waste" he says.. holding up a plastc zip lock bag with a few grams of herbs. Errrrr?

[@singalexsong]

Can you explain how what you said equals food waste?

[@heleng9940]

Too much plastic waste.

[@deanVetUk]

@@singalexsong hi. Sure. We all agree single use plastic is an environmental problem right? Burning oil to make it, plus we all read that even if customers bother to "recycle" it very often ends in landfill. So to claim you are improving the planet by saving food when you're driving vans around and your customers dump your plastic makes a mockery of the whole concept.

[@singalexsong]

@@deanVetUk I disagree, why is there plastic waste in this scenario?

[@deanVetUk]

@@singalexsong Hi again. Because in the presentation, (in video at 0:56) the guy showed some of his produce... in plastic bags.

[@paulleadbeater480]

I'm not wearing shoulder pads

[@danram69]

peter is the boss again

[@stampatron]

2:22 Fingers Duncan!!

[@boozypixels]

At what point in time was hemorrhaging money considered normal for every new startup?

[@exeuropean]

perhaps you have heard of Amazon?

[@BenjaminGoose]

@@exeuropean Is amazon a typical company?

[@AH-te5gs]

Agreed. It's insane.

[@normallyChallenged]

Most tech startups lose money for the first ten or so years. Amazon, Uber, KZbin, even OnlyFans. Airline startups too. Airlines are notorious for having incredibly long gestation periods.

[@AH-te5gs]

@@normallyChallenged KZbin had only 18% profit EBIT in 2019. Also, this company is not a tech company.

[@chrisperry5244]

Kelly Hoppen's brilliantly insightful business acumen 'but one night i might fancy a pizza so im out' words fail me.

[@syedfaizanshah4814]

Name seems familiar to Gustavos in Breaking Bad 😅

[@Billy_B]

Sold 140m meals, probably made a nice little fortune

[@diggintheblueswithaparrot1329]

Piers Linney is my least favourite dragon ever…closely followed by Kelly Hoppen.

[@2A.Freedom]

12,000 meals a month just to break even? That's absolutely horrible. Not even a fully equipped restaurant needs half that to survive.

[@Madashell-jh5xn]

I don't like the term angel investors. It implies either charity or someone being taken advantage of.

[@tjt338]

Ordered from Gusto a lot actually love it!!! However there is a lot of plastic for their herbs etc which could be changed over unsure if it’s recycled plastic but it is alot of wastage that way. Howver I have loved every single recipe and I am an expert established home cook. Great service, quick deliveries too! Love it

[@Brendan45600]

I agree with the plastic waste you mentioned.

[@karenspeidel-cp4nb]

If your such a good cook why are you ordering food !

[@thefonzkiss]

_A convincing pitch, but Deborah “Juggz” Meaden isn’t hungry_

[@christopherthomson1978]

they regretted not investing in this

[@thegadgetzone]

They now have more money than some of the Dragons lol

[@abgy237]

So irritating that they insisted on stating they had been on dragons den. THEY NEVER GOT INVESTMENT

[@TheEsotericProgrammer]

Not quite fair, they would have done if they gave more equity. You could come in with a bad idea and offer 80% and you'd get an offer

[@chrisperry5244]

£1.8 million profit after there very nice director wages, not bad! Another missed opportunity for the dragons 🐉

[@brightspark4817]

so what does Deborah do live on take aways and eat out

[@retronerd2759]

Own personal chef 👨‍🍳 most likely

[@helenollin4756]

She has said before that her husband does the cooking

[@chukkachick1879]

Why is Kelly Hoppen even on this show?

[@markatchison9974]

Gousto was recently valued at £739 Million, which means an initial £100,000 investment for 7% would now give a return of £51.73 Million. Dragons don't always make good decisions.

[@longq5198]

I'm sure there would be more dilution but yes, they missed out on a good investment.

[@erhhsdhh2099]

People always say this about the Dragons, but can you blame them? Are you telling me you would honestly invest your own personal money into company that was losing 25,000 per month, on something that can be copied?

[@altustalent410]

Debra hadn't cooked in 28 years by the time this aired? Wow, if I were her son, I would've never have grown up knowing the taste her cooking at all right to adulthood. My gosh that's amazing, is anyone else amazed by this?

[@aquarius_bb6658]

That's a very long time! she must have a personal chef. Also Debra has no children so i guess noone missed out lol

[@Hutchyy]

I think she said somewhere else that her husband does the cooking

[@altustalent410]

@@Hutchyy But still...not one meal in 28 years? Not a single one? That's spectacular privilege honestly. I'm not even sure what that means.

[@00Kuja00]

Somehow shows her detachment from the real world in my view with all her preachy statements of endig this and that.

[@Hutchyy]

@@altustalent410 I know it's crazy, she didn't seem to understand that when she says it ether

[@MrTibbs12]

The arrogance of peter jones is sometimes nauseating

[@murilogoulart4935]

Disappointed with the dragons. I'm really.

[@RoamingHeathen]

Reading your comment. I am.

[@elmarsbokans7377]

I've worked for the company for couple of years.

[@salmabelcourt]

Dragon’s can just be plain rude at times smh 7:45

[@Jammin-thru-Life]

They want a dragon to be a cash cow!!!!

[@jonathanliddane4144]

I love how kelly's point is destroyed and then she has to change the subject completely.

[@jamesstead2256]

i just picked 5 items from this company £41 i can make the same for around £10

[@Jammin-thru-Life]

Hello Fresh are doing much better than Gusto.

[@Subcode]

Just a HelloFresh clone. Nothing new here, i dont get why the dragons would even think its something that is close to risky. Maybe because HelloFresh already exists.

[@jakester3124]

This episode was from like 12 years ago

[@shadaba.qureshi4367]

So much for kelly's astute business acumen (one moment she pins them down, the next you r great after listening they have better investors backing them.)....Peter saying "guys you have really done well".... Kelly is just a run off the mill businesswoman. Far worst than Jenny.....

[@miyagi4208]

It’s funny they can never fill that spot that Kelly is in without filling it with somebody that doesn’t like to invest just saying

[@neilpa]

Barbara just conference called to say that this is a potentially great investment and that she really believes in both individuals to make this succeed, and for that reason she is out.....

[@elongmusk]

Lmaooo

[@neilpa]

@@BenjaminGoose you're like a cockroach. You just don't seem to get flushed away....

[@jnymt7977]

Who is Barbara

[@RockyDave]

@@jnymt7977 Yep.

[@averyintelligence]

Who tf is Barbara? U mean jenny 😂

[@andrewstewart62]

Barbara: This is not the tv show I’m on so for that reason I’m out

[@dennis4248]

Apparently they have since switched to selling fartbottles. It’s a bottle where you can order a set of farts delivered to your home. Enjoy

[@ramanmorya9282]

I think I m 2nd person who watch this episode

[@cormac2515]

"Who wants to millionaire"

[@richardanthonygilbey]

Ashamed of deb

[@khaderabdi5574]

I would like to be the first person watched this show 😂 cause I am coming soon to show my product 🙈

[@tamikagreen1119]

What's your product?

[@tamasidinadze471]

She’s wants to shock every, she wouldn’t tell us so we have to wait Good luck with your presentation

[@TheEsotericProgrammer]

​@@tamikagreen1119I'm going on soon with a surfboard made out of seaweed

[@sineadnicheit8482]

Duncan is worse than Jenny, never invests

[@JR-Canada]

Debra is so arrogant... HER Majesty, Debra the 1st

[@stoirtap12]

Looks like the Dragons hate Teemo too...

[@withgoddess1119]

Timo

[@arthur3260]

I didn't see many mushrooms in the food so it'll be alright.

[@kaj661]

I commented before BenjaminGoose copies and pastes someone else's joke

[@menikmati789]

This guy dragon dens

[@kaj661]

@menikmati789 what you reckon? Poem about Jenny, Kelly? Joke about doing Jenny's windows?

[@BenjaminGoose]

I wrote a comment before I learned to live rent-free in your head. 🤣

[@neilpa]

He is seeking attention and is not funny

[@neilpa]

@@BenjaminGoose you're not funny...

[@Jay-vm9il]

I can't actually see them making money. Just see them keep raising millions year on year from investors

[@jackierussell1882]

Why is noodle head even there?.....hmmm

[@Firedancer100]

Ethereum ❤

[@BenjaminGoose]

... is a scam.

[@GodotOfficial]

HelloFresh is better than Gousto and it’s not even close

[@David_Polak]

In what way?

[@miyagi4208]

Wel Kelly gousto is how big of a company now and they did take stock but without a tightwad investor they made it lol

[@shyruu2]

fkn deborah hasnt cooked in 28 years??? she looks like she'd make bombbbb food tho lol

[@miyagi4208]

Something about that second guy he’s a total rip off artist but they worked out