Hallowe’en always brings out witches, vampires, ghosts… and hobos. But in Meaford it also brings out the Dragons.
Wednesday night’s Dragons’ Den Meaford kicked off with a video introduction by Peter Mansbridge, before the five business leaders took the stage in preparation to “grill” the contestants.
The brave “heroes”, as host JD Moffat dubbed them, facing the Dragons for 2014 were:
Lynne Lundberg – Transitions
Lynne’s concept of helping retirees and seniors downsize and move, as well as coordinate estate sales, real estate home staging, and home repairs, met with interest from the Dragons. While not forthcoming with funding for her business, they offered advice and encouraged her to refine and sharpen her plan.
Eric Wilson – Rapid-Fab
Eric is currently providing 3D printing services to clients across North America and around the world, creating short-run parts using his high-end technology. An early entrant in what promises to become a big industry, Eric also received some sound advice, as well as $500 in funding from the Dragons.
Bill Monahan – Homebuttons
A previous entrant in Dragons’ Den, Bill is now looking to expand his independent living and aging-at-home services with a new service technology called Care-Link Advantage, which goes beyond current emergency alert transmitters to help seniors live at home safely. Bill received $600 from the Dragons.
Daniel Caldwell – Sydenham Hill Farm Leather
The leather-craftin’ cowboy strode in to pitch his startup, a custom hand-made leather shop which focuses on recycling and refurbishing heritage leather. The Dragons were impressed, and rewarded Daniel with $2,650 and $4,435 in business services.
Spencer Wareham – Kilannan Brewing Company
After just two years in operation, Canada’s youngest brewmaster has increased sales dramatically and is on his way to expand into even more LCBO stores in the province. His passion and early success led him to take the grand prize from the Dragons ($4,000 and $16,125 in business services), as well as the Audience Choice Award, for another $1,555 in cash and prizes.