Limavady-born entrepreneur reveals all about trying to score in the Dragons' Den

A County Derry-born entrepreneur has revealed what it was like facing business heavyweights in Dragons' Den, which aired on the BBC last week.

John McClarey, 39, founder of Edinburgh-based corporate charity sports events company Business Fives, pitched his business to the dragons last July in Manchester, with his appearance shown on TV on Thursday night and now available on BBC iPlayer.

The Limavady man spoke for nearly two hours in the den trying to score an investment from dragons Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Steven Bartlett and Touker Suleyman, as well as guest judge - rapper and serial entrepreneur Tinie Tempah.

John started Business Fives in Edinburgh 10 years ago without seed investment, starting as a single charity sports event in the capital. It runs corporate charity sports events across the country to offer a mix of team-building and networking opportunities.

And with the business continuing to thrive, as well as donating over £1 million to charity, John has now taken Business Fives to the next level by looking for investment from dragons in the den. 

John had a watch party with friends and family last week, for his appearance on the hit TV show - which he said was an experience he will never forget.

He said: “It was unbelievable. The best thing I ever in my adult life, apart from getting married and having kids. Certainly in business.

“They actually got in touch with me, I didn’t apply. I was approached in February last year then I went on the show in June. There were lots of stages to go through before going on the show. It was a lot of work and so consuming going through all the checks and procedures, so much so that I wasn’t able to spend my usual time on Business Fives.

“It’s an amazing experience just to be standing in front of the dragons, it was so intense, and I wasn’t prepared for how emotional it would be.

“You see 10/15 minutes on the television show but I was in there for just under two hours. There are certain things in your business that they pick up on, but you are trying to focus on getting things across that you want to tell them.

“It went so fast. And I didn’t sleep a wink the night before, in my hotel room, I was just going over every permutation of what might happen in the den. I just kept thinking of everything they could possibly ask me. So I was running on pure adrenaline in the den.”

And although John couldn’t tell us if he received investment from the dragons, he did reveal that he got so much more from the experience.

He said: “I was never really there to get investment as an outcome, it’s all about the experience and the exposure, from getting such great feedback from the dragons and letting millions of people see what we do.

“The dragons gave me great pointers, particularly Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden. Telling me things I just didn’t know about which will really help the business grow. Steven Bartlett really liked the community element we’ve built up.

“And I didn’t know who the guest judge would be, I thought it might be Gary Neville given he was a footballer. But it was Tinie Tempah, and I’m a massive fan so it was very exciting, but we didn’t really hit it off!

“It was just amazing and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. I would love to go back in the den. I see it like a footballer stepping onto the pitch in a cup final. As soon as the doors opened it was an adrenaline shot. I took a minute while in there to take it all in. It was amazing and I’ll never forget it.”

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Business Fives has grown into a multi-location operation spanning more than 50 cities across the UK and Ireland, as well as Europe, and is now working with high-profile clients such as PwC, EY, eBay, HSBC and Sky.

John, who has lived in Edinburgh since he was 18, after moving there as a student, is proud of his business and has high hopes for the future.

He said: “I look back on my time in business with great pride, we are coming up 10 years and I feel like his has vindicated every client that has got involved with us, and I hope they are proud of us when they see my appearance on Dragons' Den.

“It has been great to receive lots of lovely messages from clients since I revealed I was on the show. I put a post on Linkedin and the response has been great.

“We have an amazing team at Business Fives and this is all for them.

“Charity is a big thing for us, with 10 per cent of all our profits going to charity, raising over £1 million since we started, which we are very proud of. So it’s more than a business really.

“And the future is bright, we have so many exciting things coming up, including our biggest ever event, with teams from all over Britain and Ireland playing together in April, it’s really exciting. With plans also in place to expand into Europe. For us that’s the next stage.”

John appeared on Dragons' Den, series 23, episode 4, which is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.