August 2009
We are delighted that Jane Rafter, a client of Forresters, has successfully received backing for her business after appearing on the BBC’s “Dragons’ Den” programme.
Jane produces a range of stylish and versatile sandals, known as “Slinks”. Each set of Slinks has a handmade leather base, and comes with a set of interchangeable uppers, each of which can be attached to the base to create a different look and style. The full range of Slinks can be seen on Jane’s website www.janerafter.com.
Jane asked the dragons for £75,000 in return for a 20% share in her business, and received joint investment from Theo Paphitis and James Caan. Her successful pitch to the dragons can be seen on the BBC’s website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/entrepreneurs/janerafter.shtml).
Before appearing on Dragons’ Den Jane had been trading for around a year and a half, and had already had considerable success with Slinks. When she first had the idea for the product, Jane applied for a patent through Forresters, and also sought Forresters’ help in registering her brand name as a trade mark. Along with her own creativity and dedication, applying for a patent has been a great help in opening doors and creating opportunities – Jane won her first award after being contacted following the publication of her application. Her patent and trade mark rights also helped secure the backing from the dragons, who could see that she had taken all of the right steps to protect her business.
We are sure that Jane will go from strength to strength and Forresters wish her every success in the future.