An 'inspiring' Dragons' Den star moved everyone deeply after pitching her travel company, which she set up following a 'traumatic event' in her own life. Business founder Louise Truman appeared on the BBC reality series to convince the group of wealthy entrepreneurs – Steven Bartlett, Deborah Meaden, Susie Ma, Jenna Meek and Peter Jones – to invest £60,000 for 3% of her company.
During her pitch, she described Plotpackers' mission as focusing on creating 'ethical, sustainable, affordable and action-packed' destination holidays. For Louise, one of her main priorities beyond uplifting local communities and helping the environment is women's safety, often a top concern for those who are solo backpacking.
A traumatic event that inspired a mission
As she told the Dragons while growing emotional, an 'extremely traumatic' event which happened to her while solo backpacking when she was 21 was what inspired her to found this company in 2023. When it came time for the Dragons to ask questions, Jones asked if she would feel comfortable sharing more about the experience.
'I was sexually assaulted very violently and consider myself very lucky to be alive. But as much as I don't like talking about the topic, it is a big reason why I did this,' she explained, adding that 70% of the people who travel with her company are women.
Dragons offer support and investment
Her revelation was met with great sympathy by the Dragons, with Jones telling Truman he was 'so dreadfully, dreadfully sorry and yet you're inspiring.... turning that into this now, it's incredible.' 'Thank you for sharing, that was really brave,' Ma agreed.
Under a clip from her moving pitch shared on social media, many more echoed their support and how powerful her appearance on the show has been. 'Omg Louise Truman, this brought a tear to my eye. You're amazing,' daisytraveldiaries wrote. 'That's my girl!!!!!' meredithonthemap praised. 'Louise, survivor to survivor: I'm so so proud of you speaking up [about] what happened to you and also very very thankful you launched plotpackers and made me and so many others feel safe while travelling,' emma_sphi shared. 'This woman is absolutely incredible,' Kat_oxley said.
In the end, she received passionate offers from Bartlett, Ma and Meaden, with the latter sharing that the 'why' behind the company is by far the most important element. As she went to contemplate the offers, she even brought Meek on board for some guidance on the best way forward. After some tough negotiations, she got Meaden and Bartlett to join forces for 5% of the company each for £120,000 total.
The new season of Dragons' Den is airing on BBC One at 8pm every Thursday. You can catch up on BBC iPlayer.
