Omni secures £75k investment on Dragons’ Den
Omni has seen ‘tremendous’ growth since its launch in 2021 having served over 5 million meals in the UK alone and achieved over 400% sales growth
Pet health brand Omni has secured a £75,000 investment in exchange for 2.5% equity after entering BBC One’s Dragon Den.
Founders Dr. Guy Sandelowsky and Shiv Sivakumar said they left with the backing of their two “dream” dragons – Steven Bartlett and Deborah Meaden, making it the highest pet food valuation in the Den ever.
Sandelowsky, a practicing veterinarian for over a decade, was driven to launch Omni with co-founder Shiv Sivakumar, after witnessing countless cases of preventable, nutrition-related illnesses in pets.
Omni has seen rapid growth since its launch in 2021 having served over 5 million meals in the UK alone and achieved over 400% sales growth. Sandelowsky and Sivkumar began their pitch by asking for £75,000 for a 1% stake in the company after feeding a labrador as a demonstration.
Peter Jones questioned the £7.5m valuation set by the founders. However, Sivkumar tried to convince Jones by laying out the business’s forecast for the upcoming 12 months, when it expects to become profitable. He also added that it had recently secured £2m in VC funding at a valuation of £10m.
However, Jones was still unconvinced and exited the discussion. Similarly, Toukar Suleyman, who initially wanted a 30% stake, also ended the discussion by adding, “I don’t get out of bed for 1%”.
With Peter and Toukar challenging the numbers, Sivakumar explained that despite the business spending £40 to acquire a customer, over a two year period, that customer has a £400 lifetime value.
Sandelowsky said: “As a full-time vet, I was seeing 30 cases a day. Now with Omni, we’re supporting over thirty thousand pets with our food, treats and supplements, and with the current trajectory of the business, it won’t be long until it’s ten times that amount.”
After receiving offers, Sandelowsky and Sivkumar negotiated Meaden and Bartlett down from their offer of 3% for the joint investment to 2.5%.
Sandelowsky said: “Despite some tough moments, we felt incredibly supported by the dragons in the whole experience, and are beyond excited to see what happens next for Omni, with Deborah and Steven’s involvement.”
Sivkumar added: “As entrepreneurs, Dr. Guy and I have watched almost every episode of Dragons’ Den. It was exciting and incredibly surreal to suddenly find ourselves face-to-face with the five Dragons in their studio, sharing the story behind our pet care brand as well as the steps we’re taking to revolutionise the industry.”
