Kamloops Nicole Duff pitching her business in the Dragons' Den studio in Toronto on May 7, 2022.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ CBC Dragons' Den

Kamloops entrepreneur Nicole Duff, who invented a caddy for carrying dog poop, is relieved to “let the cat out of the bag.”

As part of her contract with Dragons’ Den, Duff was not allowed to reveal she had landed a deal in the den when she pitched her product in May.

“I have been keeping this secret for months and people have been trying to read me this whole time trying to figure out if I got a deal.”

Duff pitched her product, the SlyPod dog poop caddy at the den in Toronto on May 7. She asked the Dragons for $50,000 for 15 per cent of her business.

After all the Dragons ditched the deal, Dragon Wes Hall offered her $50,000 to be a 49 per cent partner in the business.

“I went in knowing my ask was high but I needed room to negotiate,” she said. “If they countered me I needed to know what I was willing to accept ahead of time."

CBC television’s Dragon's Den is a show where aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of Canadian business moguls who then decide whether or not to financially back them up.

READ MORE: Kamloops entrepreneur brings dogs, and poop, into 'Dragon’s Den'

Duff’s pitch aired on CBC on Thursday Oct. 27 where she invited friends and family to a watch party.

“My pitch aired a few days ago and we had a watch party where most people in the group knew nothing of the deal,” she said. “Everyone was cheering, and we popped a bottle of champagne, it was such a great night, I could really feel the love.”

Duff said yes to the deal but both parties are still in a “due diligence” process, meeting together and taking a bit of extra time to be extra sure they are a good fit.

“People don’t understand there is always a period of due diligence after a deal is made because in reality the entrepreneur and Dragon initially only meet for an hour,” she said. “I didn’t just want the money, I want to be confident I have a strategic business partner.”

She said seeing herself on TV made her feel nervous and excited. She said she knew it wasn’t going to be everything she wanted it to be but was happy with it overall.

“They didn’t show much of the funny stuff, I was in there for over half an hour and they had to cut it down to seven minutes,” Duff said. “I was losing sleep waiting to see the edited version of my pitch because in my mind it was a train wreck, I was so nervous at the time.

“They moved stuff around and made some interesting edits, but in the end they made it look pretty seamless.”

READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Kelowna mattress company appearing on 'Dragons' Den'

Duff hasn’t left her job as a nursing instructor yet but she has cut her hours back. Part of the deal with Wes Hall is for her to leave her job to focus solely on the business.

She said lately she and her husband have been focusing on their digital marketing strategies and driving sales to the website. Sales have seen an increase since the show aired and Duff is trying to keep the momentum going.

“My family is super excited and stoked and I’m just looking forward to seeing how far I can take this.”

As of May, Duff has sold 23,000 SlyPod caddies through wholesale, online and Amazon.

“I have a pretty crappy problem on my hands, a problem that dog owners experience daily,” she said in her pitch to the Dragons. “There are not always trash cans leaving you with a bag full of poop and few options.

“Our caddy allows dog owners to discretely stash that nasty bag, locking in odors and germs until it can be disposed of properly.”

Go here to watch Duff's pitch. 

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