A dispensing unit concept secured a £75,000 investment in return for 12% of the business from three investors on BBC One’s Dragons’ Den programme.
The Pop Specs business was co-founded by former financial analyst Lina Tejoprayitno and Daniel Barnes, a managing director at Jonathon Bryan Opticians in Chester for almost 23 years.
Tejoprayitno and Barnes told the Dragons that buying spectacles can be expensive and time consuming but consumers wanted quality, affordability and speed.
They said Pop Specs wanted to ‘disrupt, redefine and breath some fire into the eyewear industry’ and provided ‘a combination of stylish, funky and classical eyewear’ for £50 that was made in 20 minutes.
Tejoprayitno said Pop Specs took kiosk spaces in shopping centres instead of a shop unit where customers could take their prescription, have measurements taken and receive glazed spectacles 20 minutes later.
Pop Specs wanted the expertise and contacts of three dragons to support the next phases of their business plan on e-commerce and opening in supermarkets.
Dragons Touker Suleyman, Peter Jones and Sara Davies said they would invest a third of the money each in return for 4% of the business each, which Tejoprayitno and Barnes agreed to.
