A BUDDING entrepreneur from Tilford had the BBC Dragons Den panel chasing her tail last Sunday as she won investment for her playful fancy dress business TellTails.
Hannah Gourlay, 31, had just three minutes to win over the dragons but bowled them over with an extraordinary pitch - earning three offers and eventually opting for a solo bid by Deborah Meadon.
As TellTails entered the Den, the judges’ jaws dropped as three creatures prowled onstage; one sporting a fox tail, a swooshing dinosaur and a rather pregnant naughty squirrel, flaunting their tails and wiggling their bottoms at the judges.
Following them was young entrepreneur, Hannah dressed in a top hat, monkey tail and a rather mischievous smile from ear to ear.
After what can only be described as an unusual pitch, she invited the dragons to “try one on for themselves”. Peter Jones was the first to leap to his feet and try on a dinosaur tail while Deborah quickly laid claim to the fox tail.
The dragons remained in their tails for the rest of the pitch, leaving viewers blinking at the television.
Although clearly enamoured with the idea, the judges scrutinised the young entrepreneur before delivering three offers - a joint bid by new dragons Tej Lalvani and Touker Suleymn, and another by Deborah.
Overwhelmed and clearly bouncing inside, Hannah held a cool exterior quizzing the judges on their offers and after some deliberation, accepted Deborah’s solo offer.
“It was totally surreal; this is everything I’d been dreaming of. But I knew who I wanted to join forces with,” Hannah said afterwards.
“Deborah had that knowing glint in her eye. She instantly bonded with her tail. I could see she shared our vision to grow the company into a successful, long standing, global business.”
Founded in 2012, TellTails design and supply an extensive range of creature tails and now boasts a worldwide customer base including celebrity ‘wagglers’ such as Kate Winslet, Prince Harry, Helena Bonham-Carter and Russell Brand.
For more information visit the website www.telltails.co.uk.