I got 5 offers on Dragons’ Den but never received a penny – now my empire’s worth £5m and a hit with the Royal Family

WHEN Jacob Thundil walked out of Dragons’ Den, he couldn’t believe his luck after getting offers from all FIVE of the investors. 

In 2016, he accepted £75,000 for a 20 per cent share in his coconut water and coconut-based product business, from stars Nick Jenkins and Sarah Wallingham. 

5

5

But just over a year later, the deal fell through when Jacob, from Ickenham, Greater London, was unable to provide reports about his cashflow, accounts and management.

For many, losing the Dragons’ investment would be a damning blow to the business - but the 49-year-old now tells The Sun he’s relieved because he’s a millionaire and Cocofina quickly exploded in popularity.

“I’m really happy it didn’t go through now,” Jacob says. “We are worth around £5million now and there’s nothing for me to share. 

“Plus we got some pretty good exposure from the show too, I think we must have received a year’s worth of online sales in just 30 days of the show airing.”

In an exclusive interview, the businessman tells us how he nearly derailed his journey to the Den, behind-the-scenes secrets and how he made Princess Anne laugh.

'Painful' process

Unlike other contestants, Jacob didn’t apply for the show instead he received an email out of the blue from a BBC producer and nearly deleted it. 

He recalls: “When I opened the email I thought it must have been a scam and nearly ignored it. I was waiting for them to ask me for money. 

“I was so cynical that I called up the BBC to find out if it was real. “I didn’t believe it because I considered myself normal and thought, ‘Why would they contact someone like me?’

5

The application process was “quite painful”, Jacob tells us, due to the excess “due diligence” carried out by the BBC to ensure all claims made by entrepreneurs were true.

On the day of filming, he believed he was picked up at around 6am and waited for around four hours in a common room before pitching.  

Jacob says: “I remember they told us ‘Everything is being filmed, so just be aware we may use any footage.’

“You would see people going in full of confidence who then came back totally wrecked, it was nerve-wracking and made you worry about being next.”

Jacob says his pitch really lasted three or four hours, but before going into the Den, there was a lengthy wait to increase the tension. 

“I had to wait seven or eight minutes outside of the lift. You’re being filmed the whole time and it’s hot with the lights everywhere. 

“At one point I needed to wipe my forehead and of course, that’s the shot that they used. The one where I looked like I was stressed. 

“The wait went on for so long that I missed my cue, I was looking around at the props and getting myself psyched up so I didn’t see the light turn green, which meant I could go in.”

'Even the bricks aren't real'

Jacob tells us the lift isn’t real and that when entrepreneurs enter the Den, a screen that blocks them from seeing the Dragons is quickly wheeled away. 

He said: "The lift didn’t go up and down and the bricks, they weren’t real either. It was just a set, like a big warehouse.

“You don’t see the cameras either, none of them are visible they are all hidden. They are on your left behind a partition wall.

“They are very clever with the cameras, they just use GoPros for a lot of it, which means you forget that you are being filmed. It makes you act more naturally."

Before getting a grilling from the investors, the Cocofina founder revealed his company had turned over £1million and earned £70,000 in net profit. 

Jacob says the experience in the Den wasn’t as scary as he anticipated and only Peter Jones was “intimidating”.

“Sarah was really friendly and smiley. The others looked a bit serious when I walked in. It’s quite unnerving,” he says. 

“I was pleasantly surprised. Deborah was very friendly and Peter was quite tough, I think he’s changed over the years.

“The questions were bad. You build the business from scratch, so it isn’t like a physics exam, you should know all the answers to their questions."

Jacob was over the moon when all five Dragons made offers for his business and eventually accepted a joint offer from Nick and Sarah - leaving one investor very unimpressed.

I’m quite happy the deal didn’t go through. I’ve not got anyone tell me how to run the business, plus I don’t need to share anything with anyone

Jacob Thundil

He recalls: “If I got one offer I’d save face. My biggest concern was not making a fool out of myself but risking embarrassing other people. So to get five offers was incredible.” 

After telling the Dragons who he was going to work with, furious Peter told him: “You made a big mistake not choosing me.”

And according to Jacob, that wasn’t the only time he said it. “Peter said that to me three times,” the entrepreneur said. 

“There was once in the Den, then backstage while I was waiting to meet Nick and Sarah, and the last time when we were in either a lift or small room together.

“He’s a very tall guy, he said it in a kind of comical way but it seemed intimidating and serious too.”

Website crashed

Jacob had to keep what happened on the Den a secret for three months until the episode aired - after which sales exploded.  

He says: “There were thousands and thousands of people on the site when the show aired, there must have been about 90,000 after the episode finished. 

“For a small business that’s enough to take a website down. Nick and Sarah warned me about that and did a test to make sure we could handle the traffic without crashing. 

“I think we received a year’s worth of online sales in just 30 days because of the show, I’m very grateful I went on.” 

5

5

Business continued to boom for Jacob - but a year on from agreeing to a £75,000 deal with Sarah and Nick, no money had materialised. 

He explains: “They had requirements they wanted me to send reports and other reasonable things that I didn’t have and so wasn’t able to provide. 

“It took us too long to do on our end. We both tried to make it work but it was too hard and so we called it a day. 

“Now I’m quite happy the deal didn’t go through. I’ve not got anyone tell me how to run the business, plus I don’t need to share anything with anyone."

Extra bonuses

While Jacob didn’t bag any of the Dragons’ money, there were a few unexpected bonuses for his business after the show aired. 

The online accounting software Sage - which Cocofina was using - got in touch and offered to feature them in a marketing campaign, which gave the company even more exposure.

“They spent £2million on the campaign and put us in every airport, train station and everything all over the UK,” Jacob says. 

That wasn’t the only extra perk from Dragons’ Den - Jacob says they were able to distribute in Africa and Sweden after the show aired in those countries. 

I was a bit surprised when I received an email about the MBE and thought it was a scam

Jacob Thundil

Then when the UK implemented national lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic, Jacob saw yet another boom in business. 

“People binge-watched TV during lockdown especially Dragons' Den, which helped them to find us. 

“Because people were cooking at home more and groceries were in demand our sales increased - fortunately we had about three months of stock to buffer the increase.

“We also got an order from Iraq during that time and it wasn’t a small order either.

“That’s why I always tell people who are unsure if they want to go on the show that it’s a no-brainer. The sales we received after the show was incredible.” 

Now worth £5m

Jacob tells us the business was growing around 20 per cent per year and now is worth a whopping £5million. 

“I never could have predicted I’d have a £5million company,” he says. “I thought £100,000 was a big amount of money back then so it’s hard to think about these things.”

The success of one business has allowed him to focus on starting a new one Sozyë - a range of soy, fish and oyster sauces created using sustainable British seaweed. 

Jacob also mentors small businesses and helped to develop a training guide for the Department of Business and Trade, which led him to be awarded an MBE in 2021.

I'm still recognised... it’s never in glamorous places. It’s always Costa Coffee, TK Maxx, those kinds of places!

Jacob Thundil

“I was a bit surprised when I received an email about the MBE and thought it was a scam again,” he told us. 

Jacob received the award from Princess Anne, who he managed to make laugh during the ceremony. 

“She asked me what I was working on. I said oyster sauce from Scottish seaweed. She said, ‘I can’t have oysters’. The Royal Family can’t have seafood because of the food poisoning risk.

“II said ‘Ok, well you can have it now. It’s plant based and made from seaweed’. She was impressed and laughed. 

Despite it being nearly eight years since Jacob appeared on the show, he says he is still occasionally recognised. 

He recalls: “They say, ‘Are you that coconut king?’ I laugh whenever it happens because it’s never in glamorous places. It’s always Costa Coffee, TK Maxx, those kinds of places.”

He adds: “I can’t thank Dragons Den enough for what happened. I would do it 10 times over, I’d do it every day.”