Horsham winners of TV's Dragon's Den speak out on council grant

A Horsham father and son who starred on TV’s Dragon’s Den last week have spoken out about how a council grant helped get their business off the ground.
By Sarah Page
Published 21st Feb 2023, 16:59 BST
Updated 21st Feb 2023, 16:59 BST
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Entrepreneurs Peter and Chris Maxted gained £50,000 investment for their unique dog gate invention after impressing Dragon Deborah Meaden. And their business – Dog G-8 – went viral after their appearance on the television show.

In the Den, Dragon Deborah jumped at the chance of investing, telling Peter and Chris that she loved their product. “I think it’s brilliant,” she said, adding: “and I really like you as well.”

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Peter, who lives in Horsham with wife Julie, revealed they had been ‘inundated with orders’ since the programme was aired and had gone viral on Tik Tok and Facebook clocking up more than 100 million views.

Horsham father and son Peter and Chris Maxted making their pitch on the set of Dragon's DenHorsham father and son Peter and Chris Maxted making their pitch on the set of Dragon's Den
Horsham father and son Peter and Chris Maxted making their pitch on the set of Dragon's Den

Now the grateful pair have spoken of how cash from Horsham District Councils' ‘LEAP’ small business grant scheme had earlier helped at ‘a crucial time’ for the then fledgling business which manufactures ‘concertina-style’ dog safety gates.

They said: “We were able to use the funding to hire a Horsham-based photographer, Sophie Ward, to produce exceptional lifestyle images of the product range, images we still use to this day, and we still work with Sophie.

“Applying for the LEAP grant was very straightforward, the team were very helpful with the process, and we would recommend any Horsham-based business to apply.”

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Dog-G8 benefitted from the council grant scheme back in 2020. The scheme itself provides an injection of funding of up to £2,000 aimed at start-ups and small businesses based in the Horsham district.

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Commenting on The Dog-G8 company’s success, Horsham District Council cabinet member for economic development Richard Landeryou said: “It is fantastic news that a local business and one of our past LEAP grant recipients secured such an excellent investment on Dragons’ Den.

"It really demonstrates the innovation and drive which exists in our local business community. To have been part of their journey during the early stages of their development through our LEAP scheme is a pleasure and I look forward to watching them continue to flourish and grow.”

See: https://www.horsham.gov.uk/business/business-funding/leap-business-grants.

Related topics:Entrepreneurs