Wheelbarrow of fortune: Father and son who rejected £50,000 Dragons' Den offer for gardening gadget net £1.3million in sales

A father and son who rejected a £50,000 offer for their wheelbarrow invention on Dragons’ Den were celebrating yesterday after netting over £1million in orders during its first year on sale.
Mike and Joe Smith turned down offers by 'dragons' Duncan Bannatyne and Hilary Devey who offered them £50,000 for 50 per cent of their Wheelbarrow Booster business on the hit BBC show for entrepreneurs.

In one of the most heated exchanges seen on the show, the dragons criticised the Smiths' attitude before they declared themselves out.
But now the pair are struggling to keep up with demand, predicting sales of 100,000 units a year for their invention, a canvas product which increases the capacity of a wheelbarrow by 300 per cent.
Scroll down to see the million pound invention...

Father and son: Mike and Joe Smith on Dragons' Den did what many before them had not - turned down the panels' offer but it was 'the right call,' Joe said

 

DIY giant Homebase has placed an order of 5,000 units, Tesco Direct is also listing the product and there has been significant interest from companies as far away as Australia, New Zealand, America and Brazil.

 

Endorsed by professional gardener and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh, the product costs £12.99.

 

 

Rejected: 'Dragons' Duncan Bannatyne (pictured) and Hilary Devey offered £50,000 for 50 per cent of the Smiths' company but the pair have gone on to accept orders from Homebase and is listed on Tesco Direct

Selling out: Mike Smith demonstrates invention Wheelbarrow Booster which the panel on TV show the Dragons' Den offered just £50,000 for. They now expect to net £1.3m in sales next year alone

When the father and son went on Dragons’ Den in March, which aired last month, they were offered £50,000 for half their gardening company GreanBase but the ‘dragons’ were left reeling when Mike, 54, bluntly refused, telling them he would give away no more than 11.5 per cent of the company.
Joe, 32, said: ‘I guess it could be seen as a mistake on our part but then again it may turn out to be the best thing we have done.
‘Not many people turn down the dragons, but we made the right call.
‘We had been in front of the dragons for two hours and I think my dad had just had enough of it.

 

Selling 100,000 units a year: The Wheelbarrow Booster is a canvas product which increases the capacity of a wheelbarrow by 300 per cent

‘He only agreed to go on the show after I asked him, he thought Sir Alan Sugar was on it!
‘For the projections we gave them, we only needed to have sold 25,000 units for them to get their money back. They really undervalued it.’
After starting off with 1,000 in stock which quickly sold out, Mike and Joe, based in Northampton, are getting orders faster than they can produce them.
Joe said: ‘We have self-financed it so far but will need outside investment when we take it to more and more countries.

 

 

Stuck to his guns: Mike Smith (right) was lectured by the panel including Deborah Meadon (left) for their attitude towards the offer

 

'Undervalued': The pair demonstrating their invention on the Dragons' Den believed they only needed to sell 25,000 units for the 'dragons' to get their money's worth

‘We can't keep up with demand, to a point. This week I had enquiries about how much we would charge for 25,000, then how much for 50,000.’
The Dragons’ Den features entrepreneurs who pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists or ‘dragons’ to secure investment finance. The panel then judge how much money, if any, to invest in the invention in return for a percentage of the inventor’s company.
But the ‘dragons’ do not always get their judgement right.

 

 

Endorsement: The product (left) which costs £12.99 per unit, has been endorsed by professional gardener and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh

Andrew Gordon, who appeared on the show in 2009 pitched his StableTable idea which was branded a ‘ridiculous idea’ by ‘dragon’ Rachel Elnaugh.
The invention which stops tables wobbling went on to become a success and Mr Gordon has just signed a deal to distribute the StableTable in America.
A buoyancy aid for children, shaped like a shark’s fin was laughed off the show in 2006, deemed ‘dangerous’ and ‘silly’ but inventor Kevin Moseley ignored their advice and registered worldwide patents and started Swimfin Ltd from his home garage.
In its first year of trading, Swimfin sales reached £70,000 across nearly 50 countries and were popular particularly in Australia where it was exhibited at the AustSwim Conference.