Watch us on Episode 7 of Season 15 on Thursday, December 3, 2020 at 9PM CBC and the CBC Gem streaming service.
How did you come up with the idea of BinBreeze?
Were you nervous going in front of the Dragons?
I was terrified. I couldn’t sleep the night before so I wandered the streets of Toronto (mask on) and listened to a recording of my pitch over and over again. People must have thought I was crazy. I was fortunate to have fantastic support and a team of people reviewing the first 90-seconds of the presentation and knowing that others are confident in what you are presenting is key. Thankfully, when I do go on stage, a guardian angel takes over and does all the talking. I just watch.
How was your experience on Dragon’s Den?
It was fantastic! CBC is taking Covid-19 very seriously so Nicole and I both had to get tested before the show. Even after that, we had only minimal interaction with the crew and the details were all worked out over video chat, even though everyone was in the studio somewhere! The crew was super helpful and very receptive to the product and our team hats! Despite this, the Dragons provided us with more swag than we provided them!
Would you advise other people to do it?
I strongly recommend any consumer facing business to apply to Dragon’s Den. BinBreeze requires some education to understand, and the show is exceptional as a platform for introducing Canadians to the creative entrepreneurship that’s happening in their own backyard. We are too often overlooked in favor of a cheaper imported product of a major conglomerate. Canadians don’t own those businesses, international investors own them.
Which Dragon did you want?
Oh man, I did extensive research into the Dragons and honestly the more I learned, the more I wanted to work with each of them. They have their own strengths (and dare I say it?) weaknesses, but overall they each have millions of…. Things that they could teach me. You have to check your ego when you start a business and listen and learn from others. If you have the opportunity to surround yourself with some of the best, do it.
What are the plans for the future?
In 2020, we believe we will achieve national distribution of BinBreeze through major and independent retailers alike. Today, Canadians can purchase BinBreeze from www.binbreeze.ca and have it delivered anywhere in Canada, but we want to expand access to the product by having it on their local shelf. We are also launching our 5kg unit, which will be sold not only to consumers, but also to restaurants, fruit labs, composting facilities, and other commercial applications of our technology. The more BinBreeze Canadians use, the more carbon is sequestered back into the earth rather than emitted into the atmosphere. To maximise our impact, we need to grow!
