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19
Mar 2024
Harrogate entrepreneur bags Dragon's Den deal
A Harrogate woman has received an offer on Dragon's Den for her hospitality platform, Dinerly.
Marina Prokoiosifi, 23, launched the platform, which allows restaurants to build their own website to use for orders and table bookings. They then pay a subscription fee, ranging from £25 to £65 a month.
She moved to Harrogate from Greece aged 16 and began working as a waitress to pay the bills and eventually dropped out of education at Harrogate College to focus on working in hospitality.
A few years later when the pandemic hit 20-year-old Ms Prokoiosifi was working as a manager at Taverna, a Greek restaurant on Cheltenham Crescent. She thought the restaurant's website could be improved and the company was paying commission on its orders so she asked her boss if she could improve it and set about the task, launching Dinerly.
She said:
Ms Prokoiosifi met her business partner while working at The Whole Caboodle, a marketing company in Harrogate. As the brains behind the idea the business is split 60:40 to Ms Prokoiosifi, with her business partner designing the software for Dinerly.
She decided to take her idea to Dragon's Den due to wanting a business mentor. She opted for the Greek version of the TV show to launch her business internationally.
Ms Prokoiosifi said:
She entered the pitch asking for £30,000 for 4% of her business. Her offer was accepted within five minutes when 'dragon' Tassos Economou offered the asking price, making it she says the fastest deal ever in any Dragon's Den series.
She said:
She said Dinerly now has 40 restaurants signed up and more than 100 on the waiting list until the business expands. Restaurants in in the UK, Greece, Germany and the USA are currently signed up. Taverna in Harrogate still uses the site.
Ms Prokoiosifi added:
See Marina's pitch below:
https://youtu.be/Y-MgRe5rJIc?si=WBTzWMJVX4OqxugS
Read more:
- Trading Hell: A Stray Ferret investigation reveals how Harrogate shop workers routinely face threats, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour
- Harrogate nursery set to become part of Dutch childcare chain
- Harrogate entrepreneur sets up website to boost local hospitality
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