Snug Vest founder turns down Dragons’ Den deal
Vancouver entrepreneur decided to find key investor with experience in technology for those with special needs
cameras, she took a closer look at the details and decided she needed investors with a network and experience in the market she hopes to tap.
It’s not uncommon for deals to fall apart when both sides examine the fine print of what’s on offer after the shows are recorded. Both the TV investors and the entrepreneurs can pull out if they decide it’s not in their best interests.
“We wanted to find more strategic investors who could help grow our company and open doors for us,” Fraser said Thursday. “We’re looking for money, but ideally looking for money in combination with knowledge and contacts.”
Fraser says she found what she was looking for in U.S.-based Arc Capital Development, which specializes in backing start-up companies that are selling products to the “special needs marketplace.” Arc, along with seven other angel investors from Canada and the U.S., have bought 18 per cent of Snug Vest for $400,000.
“Autism is the fastest growing developmental disability with an annual price tag estimated at $60 billion and expected growth of 17 per cent,” according to Arc Capital’s website.
Autism is shorthand for autism spectrum disorder, which refers to developmental disabilities that lead to a range of problems including trouble communicating, poor social skills and repetitive behaviours.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimates that one in 68 children will be identified with autism spectrum disorder, which is five times more common among boys (one in 42) than among girls (one in 189).
With the new investment, Fraser plans to pump up her marketing in the U.S. and Canada with hopes of boosting sales. Since starting production of the vest in Vancouver in 2013, she has sold 700 Snug Vests at about $400 each.
Snug Vest is derived from the ideas of Colorado-based autism advocate and university professor Temple Grandin and the “squeeze machine” she invented to calm herself. It applied constant pressure to her body, but didn’t require human touch, from which she recoiled as a child. A U.K.-based company called Squease is also marketing an inflatable vest in Europe based on a similar concept.
After the straight-talking stars of Dragons’ Den called her presentation “impressive,” Fraser said it was the culmination of at least two years of false starts.
“I was horrible when I first pitched ... I was holding a piece of paper, trembling and everything.
“There’s no time to learn it or take a course on it, you just have to throw yourself out there and do it — learn on the fly.
“Now I’m quite confident.”
eellis@vancouversun.com
CBC’s Dragons loved the product, but a Vancouver entrepreneur behind Snug Vest says she needed backers with experience to guide her through the business sector expanding around autism.
Lisa Fraser, 27, was featured on Wednesday night’s episode of TV’s Dragons’ Den with her inflatable vest designed to calm people with autism — and other disorders — by applying pressure around their torsos. Intrigued by her pitch and poise, they offered $500,000 for 40 per cent of Snug Vest, a company she formed after creating the award-winning wearable technology while studying industrial design at Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Her segment was recorded almost a year ago and Fraser had to be silent about everything to do with Dragons’ Den until it aired this week. Now she’s free to say that after accepting the deal in front of the