Even if you have never watched an episode of Dragons’ Den, there is a very real chance that you will know all about the concept. People who have ideas for products or things that can make money but need investment in order to see them become a reality will head into the ‘den’ to be faced by some ‘dragons’, who are business tycoons who will decided whether to invest their own money or not. Now an entrepreneur born and raised in Guildford has received a £40,000 investment from Dragon Sara Davies for her Good Wash Day products.
What the Product Offers
There are people up and down the land who know of the importance offered by a good towel. More importantly, they know how key it is to use a drying towel in order to get their hair dry after the have finished in the shower without having to turn to hair dryers or hair straighteners. When Guildford resident Carla Saull decided to stop straightening her hair in 2020, she soon realised that there wasn’t much out on the market that would allow her to look after her ‘waves and curls’ in the wake of abandoning her 25-plus year straightening routine.
After doing some research, she discovered that people are told to use the likes of a microfibre towel or a t-shirt in order to dry their hair, but she didn’t want that. Instead, she wanted a towel that was made from the same material as a t-shirt, but that was designed specifically for the job of drying your hair. That is where Good Wash Day come from, with Saull having completed a business degree in her 40s in order to learn how to best tackle the world of consumerism that she had been a part of but had never sold to in the past.
Dealing with the Dragons
Saull went on Dragons’ Den, the BBC business show, on an episode that was broadcast on the 27th of February 2025 and went through the process of trying to get one of the Dragons to invest in her product. She was asking for £40,000 for 10% of the business. Part of the reason she was able to win over the Dragons was thanks to her work creating a product that is organic, with the Jersey cotton used to make the towels made in Turkey before being put together into the correct shape and size in the United Kingdom.
The year prior to going on Dragons’ Den, Good Wash Day had a turnover of £41,000, with a net profit of £25,000. The towels themselves cost about £7.50 to have made, selling them for £30. One of the Dragons, Touker Suleyman, made the point that they could be made in China for about £2, with Saull pointing out that she has hundreds of reviews and the only none 5-star ones declare a love for the product but a dislike at the expense. All of the Dragons were quick to praise her for going back to complete a business degree.
Getting the Investment
The Dragons all expressed admiration for Saull’s determination and the product in general, with Deborah Meaden quick to point out the benefit of the ethical nature of the product. The fact that she was already invested in a product that makes hair wraps, so she decided to drop out of making any investment. Steven Bartlett, meanwhile, said that he was looking for businesses that could offer ‘outsized returns’ in a short period of time, which he didn’t think Good Wash Day could achieve, so he also dropped out of investing.
Suleyman suggested that the fact that the company only has one product meant that it would take for him to get back any investment, offering all of the money for 30% of the business. Sara Davies, meanwhile, offered the £40,000 that Saull wanted for 20% of the business, which she’d reduce to 10% if she got her money back in two years. Peter Jones came in with an offer of £20,000 for 15%, sharing it with Suleyman, having declared that she had done ‘everything right’. In the end, it was Davies that the Guildford resident decided to opt for.