Dragons’ Den star and serial entrepreneur, Sara Davies, shared her journey of building a business from her university bedroom to leading a multi-million pound crafting brand with a presence in 40 countries at allibaba.com‘s CoCreate event in London.
Davies was also a judge on the Dragons’ Den-style CoCreate Pitch event, bringing her business acumen and entrepreneurial expertise to the selection process.
Davies’ business – Crafter’s Companion – was born during her university days, when she worked for a small craft company in a year out from a management course. Back at uni and inspired by the crafting customers and trend for hand-made cards, Davies devised an Enveloper, a tool that enabled crafters to make bespoke envelopes for their cards. She secured a slot on a TV shopping channel and sold 8,000 units on the first day and 30,000 in the first month.
Davies advised entrepreneurial delegates in the audience to have self-belief but suggested “being underestimated was a super power”.
“What defines an entrepreneur is having more resilience. You need passion, vision and drive and not just a dream,” she said.
Davies underscored the importance of building win-win relationships with suppliers and that the emphasis should be on partnerships.
Driven to look for new wins, Davies was the youngest-ever Dragon when she joined Dragons’ Den in 2019 and has subsequently got involved in other businesses. Having an impact on those companies is what brings me joy in my life, she said.
Davies advised businesses told employees ‘why’ they wanted them to do something, rather than just ‘what they wanted them to do’ and recognise that not everyone can come on the business journey for the longer term. She also recommended businesses understand the ‘why’ about employees ie what makes them tick and to care about them on human level.
Davies likened the CoCreate Pitch event to speed dating for entrepreneurs but said she would be judging the person, versus product, first and foremost.
“You can have phenomenal invention or product but if there’s a mediocre entrepreneur, it won’t fly,” she said.
