Post Dragons' Den

So many emotions, so few days

My Dragons’ Den journey has been emotional. For those that watched my episode, you’ll have witnessed that I am a self-confessed (and proven on camera) crier. I don’t just feel things intensely, but I hold onto them. So even though it’s only been six days post the Den, there has been an equal number of different emotions felt.

Thursday’s feelings were relief and elation at how kind the Dragons all were to me. And that Deborah would have made the deal too. It was the first time I saw any clips of the show, so I was very apprehensive about what would be screened and had no idea how I had been received by the Dragons. Call me greedy if you like, but knowing that four out of five were in, gave me a great sense of achievement. But the overriding emotion on Thursday was relief. I was in the Den for almost two hours and so not only did I not know how my 15 minutes would take shape, I actually could barely remember what was said during the very intense conversation. I was pleased the edit was kind to me. I was also pleased that so many people who know me well, said it felt like me, as that was what I was most afraid of, not coming across like myself.

[Credit: image by Elspeth Vincent, current day, still not my house]

Friday was another great day. Slightly jaded from the night before, but happy. A few days before the viewing I felt like I wanted to watch it alone, possibly even hiding behind the sofa. But Dan, my husband, suggested that having some close friends and family over to ours would be nice for me. And it really, really was. Having them there made it feel like a really special moment. But Friday, we got to see the results from the show, the feedback, the sales, the general buzz around the brand. It was a frenzy of activity, replying to messages, packing boxes and was a great and memorable day.

Saturday, was a day of being practical. Feeling a little exhausted from the emotion of it all, but with a task in hand - getting through all the orders (from our house!) - and I excel with a task. By Saturday night, I started to feel that post wedding, post big holiday, post the biggest deal ever blues. My brain went into overdrive thinking about the so, what happens next?!

Sunday was not a good day for me. We went to a friends for a celebratory lunch and it was lovely, but, I was faking it. I was feeling really flat. Constantly thinking about what I should be doing now. Dragons’ Den has been all consuming for the last year. It’s meant we haven’t progressed in certain ways, whilst we waited to see what the show had to offer. So afterwards, when I realised that this is a part of the journey (a wonderful part!), but not quite the finish line I had imagined, I found that quite unsettling. I like to have all the answers and I like to have a plan. I would say that’s what I’m good at - proactive/productive/problem solving - so reaching a point where you think something is finished, but then it isn’t, and without knowing what is coming next, doesn’t work well for me.

However Monday came, and I got some perspective. Like all superficial feelings, they passed, and I’ve felt much happier about the whole thing these past couple of days.

What’s also been an unexpected and massively appreciated is the amount of well wishers we’ve had. So much support from all sorts of places. We’re constantly being told to be more kind, like people aren’t kind. But my experience has seen nothing but kindness and people seemingly genuinely happy for us, rooting for us to do well, and that’s been a really wonderful thing to experience. So thank you, all you kind people, I’ll never forget that.

I don’t have all the answers of what will come next, but I have ideas of the steps to take to make the most out of the opportunity I have been given, and I will be grabbing that opportunity with both hands.