A Dragons' Den contestant has opened up about the harrowing experience that led to her business.
The BBC programme returned to screens on Thursday, August 20, after a months-long break.
Joining Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden and Steven Bartlett in the Den were guest Dragons Jenna Meek and Susie Ma, who stepped in for Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies after they announced their exits from the show.
Louise Truman's traumatic experience
Among the entrepreneurs pitching their companies in the Den was Louise Truman, the founder behind group travel company for young backpackers, Plotpackers.
As she convinced the Dragons to invest in her business, Louise opened up about her journey to building her company, focused on empowering women.
She began: “For as long as I can remember growing up, all I wanted to do was travel. And as much as that’s a cliche, I’m now 25 and my most treasured memories are from my adventures around the world and all of the incredible people I have met along the way.
“But I am also no stranger to the dangers of travel, from the environmental toll to the personal safety risks that I’ve faced.”
Louise said she suffered “an extremely traumatic event” at the age of 21 while she was on a solo backpacking trip, and started to look into group travel as a safety measure.
After discovering a lack of budget-friendly options that were also sustainable and ethical, Louise decided to found Plotpackers, adding: “I aimed to create a way for people to travel freely, whilst minimising risk to both themselves, and the world around them.”
Peter Jones asks about the event
As she went on to discuss her business, which helps young travellers like her by building itineraries and designing trips around the world, Louise was probed by Peter on the reason behind creating her own company.
“You said this came from an event that happened to you, but you didn’t explain what that is, do you not want to talk about it? If it’s private and you want to keep it private, please do, if it’s not too traumatic for you,” he asked.
Louise replied: “It is obviously a very traumatic thing. I was sexually assaulted very violently and consider myself very lucky to be alive.
“As much as I don’t enjoy talking about the topic, it is a big reason why I did this. 70% of the people who travel with us are women, and if you look at studies, women’s primary concern when it comes to solo travelling is safety.”
“I’m so dreadfully, dreadfully sorry, and you’re inspiring,” Peter told Louise, as the other Dragons praised her bravery in opening up.
Louise continued: “It could have made me never travel again, but I’m glad it led to this.”
Dragons’ Den airs Thursdays at 8pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
