I was given a tip by Dragons’ Den star and now I make £7m owning my business with my friends – here’s how I did it
A BUSINESS owner has told how he make £7million a year after he was given a tip from a Dragon’s Den star.
Ollie Sidwell launched his company while at university with fellow Loughborough students Ali Lindsay & Chris Wickson.
While struggling to find a university placement the pals set up RateMyPlacement – which provides students with access to expert advice, peer-to-peer reviews and available jobs.
Despite the company’s humble beginnings in bedrooms at their parents’ homes – today they employ over 70 individuals across offices located in Brixton.
And Ollie says it’s all down to a piece of advice he was given from entrepreneur Peter Jones.
He explained: “Dragon’s Den Star Peter Jones expressed his enthusiasm and encouragement for our business idea during the 2008 Unipreneurs Competition final.
“He said: ‘You’ve got a wonderful business with great potential, if you believe in it, it needs your time’.
“That was our eureka moment.
“We knew when we returned to university in our final year that there was a huge market opportunity to support first and second years following in our footsteps – and we’ve done just that!”
The business, now known as RMP Enterprise, ranked 37th on the Sunday Times Top 100 Small Businesses to Work For in 2020 and turned over £6.6million this year.
It comes as two former Dragons’ Den contestants have turned an initial £5,000 investment into a business with a turnover of more than £1million.
Mums Kelly Aspland, 44, and Laura Waters, 40, started their suncream business as a side hustle.
They were handed £80,000 from Dragons Den’s panellists Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones after appearing on the show last month.
The pair, from Cwmbran, South Wales, started their company Solar Buddies in 2011 to help kids apply sun cream without help from adults.
The business has since turned over a jaw-dropping £1.2million.