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Originally Posted On: https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/businesswoman-s-pathetic-concept-on-dragons-den-now-earns-10-million-a-year/ar-AA1opvfB

It’s a quintessential British pastime: sitting at home, passing judgement on television contestants’ creations and ideas. The popular show Dragons’ Den is no exception to this. While only a select few actually occupy those chairs in that cavernous studio, viewers across the country transform into armchair Dragons, ready to critique each pitch.

However, even seasoned investors can sometimes misjudge a potential goldmine. A business that faced harsh criticism on the show back in 2008 has defied expectations, proving that determination can triumph over initial scepticism.

Rachel Watkyn, the founder of Tiny Box Company, has demonstrated remarkable resilience in a male-dominated industry. Her unwavering commitment has silenced her critics and propelled her company to impressive heights. Tiny Box Company now boasts an annual turnover of £10,000,000, establishing itself as a market leader and attracting an impressive roster of clients, including Netflix, Café Nero, Harrods, and Coca-Cola, among other prestigious names.

During her appearance on the BBC show, Rachel faced particularly harsh criticism from Duncan Bannatyne. The dragon dismissively claimed that Rachel had produced a box that his “8-year-old daughter Emily could make better at school” and branded the concept as “pathetic”.

Fast forward to today and Rachel is savouring the sweet taste of success. In a testament to her achievements, she was honoured with an OBE this year, recognising her significant contributions to sustainability, ethical business growth, and exports.

Reflecting on her Dragons’ Den experience with ITV Meridian, Rachel said, “They were brutal, absolutely brutal. On the show, I didn’t have any confidence. Off camera, I just knew that ‘Etsy’ was becoming more and more popular and ‘Not on the High Street.’ There was a movement of a lot of start up companies and I knew that they would all need packing like I did.”

While not all Dragons were convinced by Rachel’s vision, she managed to secure a crucial £60,000 investment from Theo Paphitis and Peter Jones. This financial boost proved instrumental in nurturing Tiny Box Company into the thriving enterprise it is today. The company’s growth has been remarkable, and it now offers over 1,500 products to a customer base approaching 200,000.

However, Rachel’s journey to success has been far from smooth sailing. She describes her path as a “lesson in resilience,” facing numerous personal and professional challenges along the way. “It has been the toughest journey of my life. I’ve had cancer three times in the last five years,” she revealed.

The entrepreneur continued, “On the scale of unluckiness we’ve had a few incidents. My first warehouse caught fire, it burnt down, we lost quite a lot of stock. We’ve had two severe floods, we’ve had a hacking of our website, our bank accounts hacked into. Quite a few business disasters.”

Rachel’s approach to these setbacks has been crucial to her success. She explained, “I think what made me resilient as a person is you have two choices. When you get hit with issue after issue, you can either back away and hide in a corner – or you can say ‘okay that’s happened, how can I make the best out of this situation?’”

Fifteen years after her Dragons’ Den appearance, Rachel finds humour in the fact that some people still struggle to grasp her business concept. She shared an amusing anecdote: “It’s really funny when people come into the warehouse and don’t know why they’re here or are coming for something else, they’ll say ‘what do you sell then?’ And we’ll say ‘boxes’.”

She continued, describing people’s reactions: “They then ask ‘what sort of boxes’ and I reply ’empty boxes’ but they just don’t get it at all.”

Rachel also recalled a particularly ironic moment from her Dragons’ Den experience: “One of the dragons said that eco-friendly packaging would never be mainstream. But everything people buy comes in customised packaging boxes or some kind of packaging, and if we can help businesses switch from plastic or less environmentally friendly solutions to more environmentally friendly, then the job’s done. I think that more and more people are trying to be more sustainable and are taking it more seriously.”

Adam Herriott, Senior Specialist for the charity Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), offered his perspective on the sustainability landscape. He acknowledged the progress made while emphasising the need for continued efforts: “There’s been some fantastic work happening over the last five years. I think it’s certainly on its way to being mainstream.”

Herriott elaborated on potential areas for improvement: “There are things like if your product is recyclable, if you can recycle it at home or if you have to go out somewhere else and recycle it. Reusable or refillable is becoming more and more popular now, as well, and that’s where more things need to happen. It needs to happen at a greater pace so reuse and refill in supermarkets, or more options for people to be able to access those sorts of services.”

Rachel Watkyn’s journey from facing harsh criticism on Dragons’ Den to building a multi-million-pound sustainable packaging empire is an inspiring testament to the power of perseverance, innovation, and unwavering belief in one’s vision. Her story highlights the potential for eco-friendly businesses to thrive and underscores the importance of resilience in the face of adversity.

This article is published by NYTech in collaboration with Evertise Studios.