MyDish: Social Media + E-commerce = Dragons Den

We like Dragons Den so much we even passed on the second half of the friendly between The Netherlands and England yesterday evening (which ended 2 all).

BBC always seems to leave the best for last - not saying the best investment or idea, just the best "entertainment" or another "first in the Den".

Carol Savage of MyDish needed an investment of £100,000 to take her sharing website (sharing of recipes in more than one way) to the next level: improved ordering facilities to online supermarkets. Ocado is already in the frame, Asda might be next.

Although the total amount brought in by other angels is already £600,000 and the business "burns" £22,000 a month, the pitch for more - very appropriate when talking about food - did seem to go down well.

But three of the Dragons saw the "next dot.com" upstart which could be copied any day at much lower costs. Deborah Meaden saw something else and focussed on the other functionalities the website would need to become as profitable as the pitch promised.

Shopping online for the groceries of the recipes (advertising and affiliate revenue) which are then delivered home (Ocado) and in the near future planning your whole weekly shopping for groceries online and being delivered to your doorstep (more advertising and affiliate revenue).

Deborah agreed with the potential and offered the money for 15%. Theo then offered an additional £100,000 for the same percentage because he's adement is will take double the money first to get where the MyDish Social Media Site wants to be.

30% was too much for Carol to accept in relation to her other shareholders (who brought in the £600,000) and shook hands with Deborah.

So another first in the Den, another Social Media site in the offering. (Read and/or watch the whole pitch here)

It made me wonder the following:

Whatever happened to "shop local for local food" and Deborah's "green credentials"?

Comments

[Fred H Schlegel]

I think shop local and organic are both movements that nudge the food industry, but they do not trump convenience and price. Forgetting to try and incorporate the concepts could leave the window open for somebody else to step in, however, there are so many infrastructure issues around that it may be too much for a start-up to deal with. Neat idea though, I look forward to the episode reaching the U.S.

[Karin H.]

Hi Fred

Hmm, I was more thinking about all those local small convenient stores, almost on everyone's doorstep. Most of them were already struggling, the 'credit-crunch' hasn't helped either. Promoting a new community site - social media site by any other name - who encourages to shop online for ingredients you also could get when you walk for just a few minutes and which would support your local shop who supports local farmers and local grown products is IMHO a better investment in both the short and long run of things.

My second 'wonder' on Deborah's "green credentials" was triggered by remembering all her remarks how she is always in favour of supporting "green initiatives" or products that help reduce the effect of climate change/global warming. Investing in a Social Media Site because she sees profit in the still to be enhanced functionality of having your weekly grocery needs delivered from a big warehouse - where all the products have to be driven to in the first place - to your own doorstep with another delivery van does IMHO not really count as a "green initiative"

The episode is - as most times - really great, must be because as said in the post we switched from football - our favourite sport to watch - to see the Den "live" ;-)

Karin H

At 14:05 13/08/2009, you wrote: