Dragons' Den reject defies the odds to make £1m in the U.S.

11 April 2012
The Weekender

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A Dragons' Den contestant who was told she would be 'walking into the lions' den' if she tried to sell her invention in the U.S. has turned over £1m in just four months.

Natalie Ellis nearly reduced the panel to tears after telling them how she had fought her way back bravely from a stroke to come up with her idea of the 'Road Refresher' - a non-spill dog water bowl.

But the 40-year-old didn't sway them enough to take a chance on her and they warned her there was no way she would crack the lucrative U.S. pet market.

Natalie Ellis has made £1million in four months in the U.S. with her non-spill dog water bowl product

Natalie Ellis has made £1million in four months in the U.S. with her non-spill dog water bowl product

Despite her tragic story, the tycoons refused her plea for financial backing - and gave her a blunt assessment of her chances of making it.

Theo Paphitis told her: 'It would be like walking into the lions' den - they will you eat you alive.'

Then James Caan warned her: 'Amercia is the graveyard for British business so I can't invest.'

But Natalie, who lives in Leigh-on-Sea in Essex, said: 'After everything I had been through there was no way I was giving up.

'Not getting the backing of the Dragons just made me more determined.'

Four years ago Natalie was working 19 hour days selling pet accessories to major supermarkets while bringing up her daughter.

Bowled over: The Dragons rejected Natalie's idea, but she has now sold 100,000 of her dog bowl inventions in the U.S.

Bowled over: The Dragons rejected Natalie's idea, but she has now sold 100,000 of her dog bowl inventions in the U.S.

She suffered a devastating stroke, lost all feeling in her left side and was unable to walk for months. Her business folded and she lost her supermarket contracts.

But three years ago she came up with the idea of the 'Road Refresher', designed it and patented the idea before selling 22,000 in the first few months it went on sale.

She wanted to crack the U.S.pet market, worth £11billion a year, and applied to go on Dragons' Den.

It was on the popular programme that she was forced to reveal why her previous company had folded.

She said: 'It's a part of my life I have put in a box. But I was being asked again and again and I had to tell the truth.

'It was like living a nightmare and I burst out crying.'

The panel were moved, but decided not to invest in her idea, but that didn't stop Natalie.

She bombarded pet stores in the U.S. and set up a website to advertise her bowl and before long she was shipping large numbers of her product to America.

Natalie said: 'I always believed I could do it and I am relieved I didn't give in.

'I am my own person and I think they feared that if they worked me too hard I might have another stroke.'

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