Six Founders, £5,000 on the Table — and Not One Deal: What Pitch'd or Ditch'd Teaches About Being Investor-Ready

Six entrepreneurs stepped up to the Legacy Bench with one idea each and up to £5,000 on the table — along with the contacts, guidance and support to turn an idea into something real. Across the bench sat Princely Samuel Okere, founder of Legacy Bench, and Ibby Aslam, founder of whbp.live, which helps men over 35 optimise their health, hormones and performance through advanced blood testing.

The ideas were varied, the founders were passionate, and some already had real sales. But once the investors started asking about costs, customers, lead generation and how each business actually makes money, the cracks began to show. By the end of the episode, nobody walked away with the cheque.

1. Tara — "Who Raised Who", a mum-and-son podcast

Tara had her son, Riley, at 17. "We've literally grown through this life together," she told the bench. Her idea is a real and relatable podcast about that journey — including the hard times, such as relying on food banks — told from both her perspective and her son's. "The whole purpose of this pod is to be able to communicate and understand your children a little bit better," she said, "and to open a bit of a safe space between mums and their sons."

She's not starting from zero: Tara is a content creator who works with fashion and skincare brands, with around 58,000 followers on TikTok and roughly 7,500 on Instagram. What she wanted was help making the show look professional from day one.

That was where the investors pushed back. Ibby challenged the belief that it needed to be "super professional" — a production could easily cost around £500, and if there's no return on that, "then you're just spending." He pointed to a figure that around 95% of podcasts fail within their first couple of months. Princely was blunter: "You don't really need a big production. Your personality is enough."

Both loved her energy. Neither invested. The advice: pick up a phone, record a pilot, prove people will watch — then come back with traction.

2. Jacob — the Movara Arbour Stick

Jacob pitched a walking stick for dog owners that scoops the poo, treats it and turns it into fertiliser on the spot, with a refill subscription behind it. He framed it around waste and the circular economy, and offered the investors 10% of the business.

Then came the numbers. Manufacturing quotes put each stick at around £400 to make — and Jacob planned to sell it for £300, with refills at around £30 every two months. Selling every unit at a loss of roughly £100 up front was a hard sell to the bench.

The bigger problem was preparation. There was no prototype and no design to show. "There was no product ready, no design ready," Princely said. "How would you do a patent without design?" Jacob mentioned other ventures he runs, which prompted Ibby's sharpest line of the episode: "Great business people make money in one business and then diversify." Ditched.

3. Sharon — Ship Away, the Windrush game

Sharon, 65, brought something the bench rarely sees: a product with real sales. Ship Away is a dice and card game celebrating the Windrush generation, backed by Shaun Wallace from The Chase. "It's all about bringing people together, about love and unity," she said.

She has sold about 700 games in around two years at £40 each — roughly £28,000 in sales — with each game costing around £10.50 to produce. She'd previously taken a loan from a local investor that she has been paying back, and wanted funding for a children's version and to get the game into schools.

The investors acknowledged the traction, but the business side wasn't organised. After the person who ran her website passed away, online sales and marketing had stalled. Ibby was honest about the limits of what an investor can do: "I don't want to be getting involved in something and having to do all the legwork and having to babysit the whole business." Princely's view: "She needs someone to really help on the business side." No deal — but a clear direction: fix the website and build a marketing system that sells without her doing everything by hand.

4. Jonathan — the foot-operated bath tap

Jonathan's idea came from his own life. After a hip operation, he couldn't lean forward to reach the taps on his bath. "Strangely, no one up to this point has designed a tap that you can turn on and off with your feet," he said. He has spent four to five years on the idea and holds a registered design, but has no sales and no manufactured product yet. A bathroom manufacturer had turned it down, and an assisted-bathing retailer was willing to take orders but couldn't supply.

The investors liked the problem. "The best business is always created from a problem that you have yourself," Ibby said — but "you just need to do research properly." Princely suggested a different route: "I think it would work better if this was an add-on" — an attachment for existing taps, rather than a whole new fixture competing with established manufacturers. The panel also encouraged him to test demand with the people who'd actually buy it, such as councils, occupational therapists, hospitals and mobility showrooms. Ditched, for now.

5. Craig — employability-based alternative provision

Craig has been trading since 2019, running an alternative provision for secondary-age young people who struggle in mainstream education. What makes it different, he said, is the focus: "Our alternative provision is all based around employability, which most alternative provisions are not." Students work towards accredited qualifications and connections with employers.

The business had been profitable for six years with funding, but after that funding dropped away, it made its first loss last year. It currently works with around five schools in Telford, Shropshire, and roughly 15 pupils.

The investors didn't doubt his commitment. "Clearly he has passion behind what he's doing," Ibby said, "but he has no lead generation strategy. He has no sales coming into the business." Winning contracts from schools, trusts and local authorities needs a deliberate sales process — and scaling needs a pipeline of mentors to deliver it. The panel was also surprised at Craig's hesitation about giving up equity in a business currently running at a loss. Ditched.

6. Marcus — The Mind Mentor

Marcus closed the episode with the most personal story. "Back in 2016, I was a serving police officer and I was assaulted on duty," he said. "As a result of that assault, my mental health started to go downhill." He was sectioned in 2018. Today, through The Mind Mentor, he teaches people how their own unique mind works so they can find clarity and change their lives. He has around 11 active clients and four newly onboarded.

Then came the moment that stopped the room. Asked how many contacts he has in his email system, Marcus said around 4,000 — and that he has never emailed them because he doesn't like email marketing. The investors couldn't believe it: even a small conversion rate on a list that size could transform the business.

Ibby's advice is useful for any founder whose message feels fuzzy. Get clear on the five Ps: "which person you help, what problem you solve, what pain they have, what promise you deliver — and then what's the proof that you have?" Ditched — with a homework list that starts with sending one email.

Why nobody got the money

It would be easy to call the investors harsh. But listen to the reasons and the same themes come up again and again:

• Know your numbers. If it costs £400 to make and sells for £300, the business doesn't work yet — no matter how good the idea sounds.
• Show, don't tell. A prototype, a design, a pilot episode or a sales record says more than any pitch.
• Have a way to find customers. Passion without lead generation leaves good businesses stuck. Sometimes the leads are already sitting in your inbox.
• Start before it's perfect. A phone and a personality can test an idea far more cheaply than a studio.
• Investors don't run your business for you. They back founders who've already done the legwork.

Every one of these founders left with something: feedback, contacts and a clearer next step. Which pitch would you have backed with your own money? Watch the full episode and tell us.

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