ITSA BEACH TOWEL AND BAG

THE PITCH – Unwisely, perhaps, the Glashans asked for a huge sum, £250,000, for a 20 per cent share in their business. Even multi-millionaires are cautious about taking a punt with those kinds of numbers. Their invention was the Itsa beach bag, which opened up into a towel and a sun lounger cover. The dragons were not i mpressed but, as often happens, The Bannatyne verdict: ‘I don’t like it. I wouldn’t use it. It’s a mystery to me how you value it. It’s a complete mystery to me. I don’t understand it so I don’t invest in things that I don’t understand, so I’m going to declare myself out.’

ENTREPRENEUR – DAVID AND SARAH GLASHAN

many of those watching the show were. WHAT HAPPENED NEXT – The morning after the show aired the couple received 150 orders via their website and 300 emails of support by those who thought that the Dragons had missed a trick. Within a year they had sold 65,000 Its as. The worldwide sales figures now rank in the hundreds of thousands. ‘I’m glad we didn’t give up,’ said Mr Glashan. ‘ We’ve more than covered our initial investment and have reinvested double that.’