A panel discussion with a diverse group of people, some taking notes and listening attentively, while two presenters speak to the audience in a split screen setup with brick walls and large windows in the background.

When the Kerbo Charge founders entered the Den!

  • Michael and Ben (Co-Founders of Kerbo Charge) pitched their cross-pavement charging channel in the Dragons’ Den in 2024.

  • At the time we had a handful of channels in the ground and almost no revenue. Scroll down to see what happened next.

What happened when we entered the Den…

  • Six judges sitting in a row during a show. They are dressed in colorful attire. Some are holding notes and pens, and one has a tray with snacks and a stack of money.

    1. The Dragons

    The most nerve racking element was waiting outside for the lift doors to open - we waited for around 20 minutes knowing they could open any second!

  • Two men standing in front of a blue car inside a brick-walled industrial-style studio.

    2. The Pitch

    The pitch itself went reasonably smoothly, we’d practised a thousand times and it was just great to get started.

  • A man in a white shirt and beige pants stands on a treadmill with arms outstretched, next to a blue and white electric car plugged into a charging station, inside a brick-walled room with industrial lighting and blue window panes.

    3. The Demo

    Ben provided a great demo, but then our talking was over and it was time for the grilling to begin.

  • Close-up of a woman’s feet wearing high heels with studded straps, standing on a black textured platform on a wooden deck.

    4. The High Heels Test

    Sara Davies volunteered to test the channel with her beautiful and very high heels. Fortunately the channel held up to the test!

  • A man with light brown hair wearing a blue blazer, white shirt, and black tie is sitting indoors in front of a window with brick wall background.

    5. The Rejection

    Peter Jones opened up with both barrels, declaring the product as ‘average innovation’ and couldn’t see how it work practically - he quickly declared himself out and we feared the worst…

  • Close-up of a serious older woman with blonde hair, wearing a white jacket and green patterned blouse, sitting in a brown leather chair on a television interview set with purple and black background.

    6. The Offer

    Fortunately Deborah Meaden immediately saw the scale of the problem we’re solving and after lots of questions, made an offer for £50k investment for 7.5% of the business - we had only offered 2%!

  • Two men in dress shirts having a conversation, seen through a window with a brick wall background at night. Subtitles read: "Would you take six if we went to six?"

    7. The Negotiation

    Sarah Davies warned us ‘not to screw this up’ so under intense pressure we made an offer for 5%, and in the end settled for 6% for a £50k investment.

  • Three people sharing a group hug, smiling and embracing each other in a warmly lit indoor setting with brick walls and wall-mounted lights.

    8. The Deal

    It really was wonderful feeling to reach a deal with such a well respected investor as Deborah.

Watch the whole episode

Watch the full episode of Michael and Ben entering the Dragons’ Den

Top 5 Takeaways from entering the Den

Takeaway 1 - Waiting outside the lift was when the nerves really kicked in.

We'd felt surprisingly calm on the morning of filming, partly as we were backstage which felt quite 'homely', but after we'd walked down the corridor we were waiting outside the lift for about 15 minutes 😬.

Ben and I exhausted our conversation so we started talking about our favourite cheese 🧀. Eventually that ran out too and we just stood there, feeling awkward. We just knew the lift door would open at any moment, we were being filmed the whole time, and it was a really tough wait….

Older woman with blonde hair and blue eyes sitting in a room with purple screening in the background, wearing a white sweater over a green and yellow patterned top, holding a pen and gesturing with her hand.
Read the rest here
A woman with blonde hair in a white blazer and green blouse, sitting in a leather chair on a television set, holding a notebook with her hands. On nearby tables, there are stacks of cash, a glass of water, and a black case.

2025

Deborah’s Reason for Investing

“The best inventions solve widespread problems with simple and cost effective solutions and Kerbo Charge does just that!! Couple that with smart Entrepreneurs who are already achieving traction in the Market and you have a great Investment.

It obviously helps that I am keen to support business that helps pave the way to a more sustainable future and can see that the “Kerbo charge” solution will play an important role in helping Local authorites and Individuals overcome some of the problems facing on street charging.Exciting times ahead!.”

Deborah Meaden

So what actually happens after the show?

  • Two people discussing and reviewing documents with notebooks and pens on a wooden table, surrounded by laptops.

    1. Due diligence and contract agreement

    The show was filmed in June 2023, due diligence and contract agreement then took many months. Deborah’s team carefully checked that everything we’d said on the show is fully backed by evidence and there are no skeletons in the closet.

  • Four people taking a group selfie indoors. One woman in the front, and three men behind her smiling.

    2. First meet up

    Once the contract was signed we received the £50,000 investment - it was brilliant to see it land in the bank account! We then met Deborah for a face-to-face meeting to talk through our strategy in detail and discuss how she can help us deliver it.

  • Four people participating in a virtual meeting, each in their own video call window. Top left: a man with a beard in an office with a Kerbo Charge banner. Top right: a man with glasses and gray hair against a blue background with Milton Keynes City Council branding. Bottom left: a man with short hair and a beard in an office with a Kerbo Charge banner. Bottom right: a woman with blonde hair, in a room with framed pictures of horses and a light-colored wall.

    3. Working together

    Deborah has made a number of valuable introductions to new industry partners and supports our flagship events, like our local authority webinar, pictured that she opened.

  • 4. The Future

    We’re in it together for the long haul - until the company is eventually sold! Watch this space for more updates about how we work together to bring cross-pavement charging to all of the UK.