BBC Dragons’ Den ‘scammed’ guest makes feelings clear on Touker Suleyman amid ‘upsetting’ offer controversy
Dragons’ Den sparked an unusual reaction last week as Touker Suleyman made an unconventional offer, leading many to argue he was “scamming” the young entrepreneur.
Lucie Macleod, 24, stood in front of the renowned business tycoons to deliver a pitch for her haircare company, Hair Syrup, but the Dragons weren’t keen to invest over fears of recuperating their investment – although there was an offbeat proposal from 71-year-old Suleyman.
Macleod has since spoken exclusively to GB News to share exactly what she thought of the controversy, which dominated talk of the show following the episode.
“What do you want from a Dragon?” Suleyman probed during the said episode, prompting Macleod to reply: “I want someone to grow with me and help me to not make mistakes that I probably am going to make without someone.”
“But I think you need an insurance policy against TikTok as well,” Suleyman suggested after hearing the social media site made up a vast chunk of her income, continuing: “A way I could guide you – I’m not going to run the business for you if I got involved.
“But I will guide you so you don’t make any mistakes. So I will give you all of the money, £190,000 for the three percent – as long as I get my money back within three months, and keep the three percent.”
His fellow Dragons were taken aback by the offer, and after Macleod initially said yes, several intervened to ensure you understood the proposal being offered.
“I don’t want you to feel that I’ve tried to trick you in any way. That’s not my intention,” Suleyman ended up explaining as Macleod became noticeably uncomfortable with the atmosphere.
Despite this, floods of viewers made clear what they thought about the offer, with many labelling it “upsetting” and a “scam”.
A week on from the dramatic incident hitting screens, Macleod told GB News she doesn’t believe the Dragon was being unfair or taking advantage. “I don’t think Touker was trying to scam me,” the business owner stated.
She elaborated: “I think that the offer wasn’t actually a terribly bad deal when you look at it in hindsight, and especially within the Den, I didn’t feel that anyone was trying to scam me or take advantage.
“But that’s obviously how it’s come across – I think it’s come across like that on the show.
“But no, I don’t think he was trying to scam me. I think it was just more of a deal of mentorship, because it wasn’t really about the money for me.
“So I think that’s what it ultimately came down to, and for the Dragons… I didn’t realise this when I was going in, which is why I’m so grateful that I did it, because it taught me a lot…
“I didn’t realise how from their perspective – because I just saw the hair service as a profitable company and this, that and the other – but actually, from an investment perspective, £190,000 is just a lot of money to offer up in the first instance.
“So it was actually a clever way around everyone else’s concerns of the cash being a risky input.
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“So yeah, I don’t think he was scamming. I think he really wanted to be involved.”
Macleod went on to praise the business experts, adding: “You know, all of the Dragons really wanted to be involved, but it was hard.
“I made it quite difficult for them because £190,000 for three percent – they quite rightly pointed out there was no clear, defined exit strategy.
“So it’s understandable. And I think he was just trying to get around those obstacles, rather than trying to do anything untoward.”