Published 24 September 2026, straight after the episode aired on BBC One. Updated 25 September 2026.
Yes. On Dragons' Den, broadcast on BBC One on 24 September 2026, all five Dragons offered Lucy & Lola £100,000 for 20%. I had asked for £100,000 for 10%. I negotiated Jenna Meek and Steven Bartlett down so their stake reduces to 15% once the £100,000 is repaid, and accepted their joint offer because I wanted their marketing expertise.
If you have just watched the episode, hello, and thank you for finding us. I had been waiting to write this post since we filmed last year, and until the episode aired I could not tell anyone how it ended. Now I can: five offers, one handshake, and a room full of Dragons wearing our jumpers.
Key takeaways
- Lucy & Lola was on Dragons' Den on Thursday 24 September 2026, BBC One.
- I asked for £100,000 for 10% of the business.
- All five Dragons offered the same deal: £100,000 for 20%.
- I negotiated Jenna Meek and Steven Bartlett down to 15% once repaid, and accepted.
- I chose them for their marketing expertise, which was what I wanted most.
- Every Dragon was given one of our jumpers, and they praised the quality.
- Pet embroidery sounds like a hobby. It is a scalable personalised business.
- I skipped university, trained as an accountant on the job and qualified at 25.
What happened in the Den?
I walked in with the actual products, made on our own machines by our own team in Cambridge, and gave one to every Dragon. That was deliberate. I knew what the words "pet embroidery" would make them picture before I had finished the sentence, and I wanted the product in their hands before that picture set.
They all loved their jumpers. They turned them over, looked at the stitching up close, and talked about the quality and the craftsmanship. And then, when we got into the numbers, the mood in the room changed. I could feel them underestimating it when they first saw the products, and I could feel the moment that stopped. Once they heard how well the business was actually doing, every one of them wanted to make an offer.
I am not going to pretend that did not feel good. It felt very, very good.
Official images. Credit: BBC Studios / Dragons' Den.
How many Dragons made an offer to Lucy & Lola?
Every Dragon in the room made Lucy & Lola the same offer: £100,000 for 20%. That is not how most pitches go, and I did not expect it. The turning point was not the product, which they liked straight away, but the numbers behind it. Once they understood that a business built on personalised embroidery was trading at real scale, the question in the room changed from "is this viable" to "who gets it".
What deal did I ask for, and what did I accept?
| What I asked for | What I accepted | |
|---|---|---|
| Investment | £100,000 | £100,000 |
| Equity | 10% | 20%, negotiated to reduce to 15% once the £100,000 is repaid |
| Dragons | Any | Jenna Meek and Steven Bartlett, jointly |
| Offers received | Five, one from every Dragon, each for £100,000 for 20% | |
Why did I choose Jenna Meek and Steven Bartlett?
The thing I wanted most out of the whole experience was help growing and improving our marketing. Jenna and Steven are both experts in exactly that, and I felt they were the two Dragons who could help me most with it. Five offers is a lovely problem to have, but it meant choosing on what the business actually needed, not on who I liked most.
Because I did like all of them. I really wanted Deborah Meaden too. She is a hero of mine, and turning down Deborah Meaden is not something I ever expected to do. But Jenna and Steven had the specific experience I was looking for, and I would rather make a decision I can explain than one I made with my heart.
All five Dragons opened at the same number, and I did not want to simply accept it. I negotiated with Jenna and Steven so that their stake would drop from 20% to 15% once the £100,000 is repaid, and they agreed.
Why did I give away more equity than I asked for?
The valuation I pitched at was a fair reflection of the business. But on Dragons' Den you are not only negotiating with money, you are negotiating with people whose experience is worth a great deal. In my opinion you have to be willing to accept a lower valuation in that room. I did not go in to win an argument about a percentage. I went in to make a deal.
I am a CIMA qualified accountant, so I knew exactly what I was agreeing to while I was agreeing to it. Asking for £100,000 for 10% values the business at £1 million. Accepting 20% is a different number, and I made that choice with my eyes open. Plenty of founders walk out of the Den with nothing because they will not move. I would rather move.
Isn't pet embroidery just a hobby business?
When people hear "pet embroidery" they picture a cute little side project on a kitchen table. That is how it started. What exists now is a scalable personalised business: every piece designed from a customer's own photo, approved by them, then stitched to order in our Cambridge studio and shipped worldwide, with a community of pet owners behind it that I am really proud of.
This did not exist before we made it. There was no playbook for turning one photo of one dog into one finished piece, tens of thousands of times over, and still having each one feel personal. We built that ourselves, and we could only do it because of our customers, our team and a lot of people who supported us along the way.
What Lucy & Lola is, in numbers
- Founded in 2021 by me and Andy, starting with one secondhand machine and our rescue dachshund, Lola
- Over 75,000 orders shipped from Cambridge
- Rated 4.9 from more than 10,000 five star reviews
- Every portrait designed from your photo, with unlimited revisions before anything is stitched
- Dogs, cats, horses, rabbits, hamsters, birds and reptiles, and multi pet designs
What did I do instead of going to university?
I did not go to university. After college I went straight into work at a local property development company and started my AAT accountancy qualification on the job. I moved to Mott MacDonald, the civil engineering firm, for a year, then to ARM to complete my CIMA training. I sat every CIMA exam in about 18 months, passed each one first time, and qualified on my 25th birthday.
Then I left it all to embroider dogs onto jumpers.
I really did love that job. It was secure, it paid well, and I was good at it. My parents thought I was making a mistake walking away from something so stable. A lot of my colleagues, family and friends said the same thing in a different way: it was a nice idea, but it would not scale. Personalised products, one photo at a time, could never be a real business. I heard that enough times that I nearly believed it.
- After collegeSkipped university and started work at a local property development company, studying AAT alongside the job.
- Mott MacDonaldA year in finance at the civil engineering firm.
- ARMCompleted CIMA training, sitting every exam in about 18 months and passing each first time.
- 25th birthdayQualified as a CIMA accountant.
- 2021Rescued Lola during lockdown, bought a secondhand embroidery machine and started Lucy & Lola with Andy.
- February 2022Launched properly on our own website.
- Last yearFilmed the Dragons' Den pitch, then kept it secret until broadcast.
- 24 September 2026Five offers, broadcast on BBC One.
If you are young and you have been told the traditional route is the only sensible one, I hope the episode shows you it is not. Learning on the job gave me a qualification and a way of thinking about money that I use every single day. It is the reason I could stand in front of five Dragons and defend my numbers. It did not stop me doing something nobody had done before. It helped.
What should you know before ordering after the show?
If you are here because of the episode, here is the plain version. You send us a photo you already have of your pet. We design a portrait from that photo and send it to you to check. You can ask for as many changes as you like, and nothing is stitched until you are happy. Then we embroider it in Cambridge and post it to you.
On timings, honestly. Every piece is made to order, so this is not next day delivery. Our dispatch window is currently 2 to 3 weeks, and the live figure is always shown at checkout before you pay. If you need something for a specific date, check the window first, or buy a gift card and let them choose.
When is Lucy & Lola not the right choice?
- You need it this week. We cannot do it. A gift card is the better option.
- Your only photo is dark, blurry or taken from far away. A portrait can only be as good as the photo it is designed from.
- You want a full body pose in fine detail. Embroidery is brilliant at faces. Head and shoulders is what we do best.
- You want something printed. We only embroider.
- You want the cheapest pet gift going. That is not us, and I would rather say so.
Send us a photo of your pet, approve the design, and we will stitch it in Cambridge. Unlimited revisions before anything is made.
Thank you
To Andy, my co founder. He is back of house entirely by his own choice, and I might be the front woman, but I could not have walked into the Den and told five Dragons how well this business is doing without him. None of it happens without Andy, or without the dedication, support and hard work of our team.
To every customer who trusted us with a photo of an animal they love, some of whom are no longer here: you are the reason there was anything to pitch. To our team, who stitched, packed and answered messages while I was allowed to say nothing about why we were getting ready: this is yours as much as mine. And to everyone who told me it was crazy, you were probably right. I am glad I did it anyway.
If you want the story of why I applied in the first place, it is in Why We Went On Dragons' Den, and everything from the show is on our Dragons' Den page.
Frequently asked questions
Did Lucy & Lola get a deal on Dragons' Den?
Yes. In the episode broadcast on BBC One on 24 September 2026, all five Dragons offered £100,000 for 20% of Lucy & Lola. Lucy Bowes negotiated Jenna Meek and Steven Bartlett down so their stake reduces to 15% once the £100,000 is repaid, and accepted their joint offer.
How much did Lucy & Lola ask for on Dragons' Den?
£100,000 for 10% of the business, which valued Lucy & Lola at £1 million. Every Dragon offered £100,000 for 20% instead. Lucy accepted a higher equity stake than she asked for because she went into the Den to make a deal, and negotiated it down to 15% once the investment is repaid.
How many Dragons made an offer to Lucy & Lola?
All five. Every Dragon was given a Lucy & Lola jumper during the pitch and praised the quality, and once they heard how the business was trading, each of them made an offer.
Why did Lucy Bowes choose Jenna Meek and Steven Bartlett?
Lucy wanted help growing and improving Lucy & Lola's marketing more than anything else, and Jenna Meek and Steven Bartlett are both marketing experts. She also wanted Deborah Meaden, who she calls a hero of hers, but felt Jenna and Steven had the specific experience she was looking for.
Which Dragons' Den episode was Lucy & Lola on?
The episode broadcast on Thursday 24 September 2026 at 8pm on BBC One, the second to last episode of the series. It is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. The pitch was filmed last year.
Who is Lucy Bowes?
Lucy Bowes is the founder and CEO of Lucy & Lola, a Cambridge business making embroidered pet portraits. She skipped university, trained as an accountant on the job at a property developer, Mott MacDonald and ARM, and qualified as a CIMA accountant on her 25th birthday before starting Lucy & Lola in 2021 with her co founder Andy Cheung and their rescue dachshund, Lola.
What does Lucy & Lola make?
Realistic embroidered pet portraits, designed from a photo you send and stitched onto sweatshirts, hoodies, t shirts, fleeces, hooded blankets, cushions, backpacks and bags. Everything is made to order in Cambridge and shipped worldwide. Nothing is printed.
How long do Lucy & Lola orders take after Dragons' Den?
The current dispatch window is 2 to 3 weeks, because every piece is designed and stitched to order. The live figure is always shown at checkout before you pay. If you need a gift by a set date, a gift card is the safest option.
Where can I buy Lucy & Lola?
Only at lucyandlolashop.com. We do not sell through third party marketplaces, so listings elsewhere using our photos are not us.
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