Dragons’ Den’s youngest entrepreneur bags £2m in crowdfunding

20 year-old Jordan Daykin, said to be the youngest ever entrepreneur to secure investment on Dragons’ Den, has secured almost £2m for his business GripIt Fixings in an oversubscribed crowfunding campaign.

The round – which was facilitated via Crowdcube – closed after just five days with backing from 639 investors in return for a share of 14.28% equity.

Launched in 2009 when Daykin was 14, GripIt Fixings manufactures “revolutionary” universal fixings which can be used for all types of plasterboard installation and hold loads of up to 225kg for everything from curtains to radiators. Its products are now sold in over 3,000 UK stores and are available in 33 countries.

In 2014, a then 19 year-old Daykin appeared on BBC show Dragons’ Den and won £80,000 from investor Deborah Meaden for a 25% stake of the business.

He will now use the crowdfunding to drive “rapid international” expansion within the DIY market and will recruit a further 10 staff to take the team to 30.

Daykin said of the news: “We are overwhelmed by the support we have received over the last five days. We are extremely excited about bringing an even greater offering to the market and I’m delighted to have been able to invite new investors, large and small, to join us on this journey to worldwide expansion.

Deborah Meaden added:

“I am not surprised by the success but the speed at which the market has adopted GripIt speaks volumes about the opportunity for further growth.”