On 15 October, PDBY attended the young corporate leaders (YCL) dragon den pitch hosted at Brooklyn lodge. Chairperson of YCL, Asanda Mataba, highlighted that they are a UP student society that caters to student entrepreneurs within the university. This event was based on a BBC and Japanese television reality show where entrepreneurs have a limited time to present a business idea to a panel of judges (also referred to as dragons) who in return will offer funding. The purpose of the event is to give entrepreneurs the opportunity to present an idea to a panel of judges (also referred to as dragons) who in return will offer funding.
There were 9 entrepreneurs who presented inspiring business ideas. The judges provided sufficient feedback on how to clean up their business idea properly and proposed for the entrepreneurs to do more research as some have not given the “dragons” enough confidence to put money on the table.
The entrepreneur of the day was Owen Blauw and his business idea called Chick-Chick. Chick-Chick officially started after the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic as an online delivery service that resells and distributes poultry products. Initially, Blauw and his younger brother launched the business with only R1500. At present, the business has made a total profit of R23 724.32 this year. Blauw further presented their future plans for the business which include more local involvement; distributing products to larger institutions such as restaurants and schools; and finally, opening wholesale shops in low-income neighbourhoods. Blauw requested R20 000 from the dragons.
During the rewards and feedback ceremony, the judges suggested that they are on board with fully funding Owen Blauw with his requested amount and potentially more. PDBY interviewed the judges and they revealed that they would be providing Blauw with some guidance and mentorship on how to run his business and to reduce costs efficiently. Furthermore, the judges told PDBY that they would potentially award Blauw between R40 000 and R50 000.
