Entrepreneurs hopes Dragons will be flush with cash
The creators of the UK’s first women’s urinals are set to feature on Dragons’ Den with the hope of coming away with a wee investment.
Amber Probyn and Hazel McShane, founders of multi-award-winning women’s urinal start-up PEEQUAL, brought their toilets to the iconic studio as they vied for financial backing.
All five Dragons practised using the squat toilets – fully clothed – joining the hundreds of thousands who have used them at events like Glastonbury and the TCS London Marathon.
The urinals are three times faster to use than traditional portable toilets, cutting women’s queue times.
Ms Probyn, 28, from Ross-on-Wye, said: “They all popped a squat to see how the toilets work, which was amazing.
“I used to watch the programme all the time, but I definitely never thought I’d be on it. It was such an amazing experience.
“Women queue for an hour longer than men each day at festivals. Our urinals are all about pee-equality, and it was great to bring that to primetime TV.”
Ms McShane, 30, from Norfolk, added: “I think everyone was a bit surprised when we backed our truck into the studio and started hauling out the urinal. We quickly announced it was freshly cleaned.
“When you’ve watched pitches torn apart on TV, it’s a little nerve-wracking heading to the lift. We’re really proud of how we did, though.
“They asked some really insightful and informed questions and were generally really impressive.
“But the hardest bit was not telling anyone about it. People keep saying ‘you should go on Dragons’ Den’ and we couldn’t say a thing.”
The new urinals were developed by the Bristol-based start-up after two years of research with women, festival managers, cleaning staff and haulage companies.
The urinals’ flatpack, tessellating design means 56 urinals fit on one 44-tonne lorry.
This summer, PEEQUAL has been used at 34 events, including the first overseas festival: Electric Picnic in Ireland.
The episode airs on Thursday September 24 at 8pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Published: by Radio NewsHub