An entrepreneur who secured backing on Dragons' Den has revealed how he plans to use the funds to enhance his shopping cashback app. Jinesh Vohra secured a £50,000 investment from three dragons in exchange for five per cent equity in his venture.
He runs Sprive, an app where users can earn cashback from their purchases to put towards paying off their mortgage. The app can be used at major supermarkets including Asda, Morrisons and Tesco, as well as at many other retail chains. He will be collaborating with Touker Suleyman, Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones to expand the app further.
Mr Vohra said their investment has already proven "transformational" for the company. He said: "We've effectively doubled in size, and it has been amazing to see so many people connect with our mission of helping homeowners pay off their mortgage faster through everyday shopping. On a personal level, the best part was sharing the experience with my boys and watching it with them. Seeing how proud they were meant everything to me. Hopefully it shows them that anything is possible."
A Draining Day
He described it as brilliant to appear on the BBC programme having been a viewer for many years. Mr Vohra, who lives in Watford, said: "The BBC team were fantastic and did a lot to make sure we felt comfortable, but the day itself was still incredibly intense. I was in the studio for around seven hours, and the actual pitch and questioning lasted about an hour and a half. It's a long, draining day, with bright lights, cameras in your face and no retakes, so you really have to stay composed under pressure. I'm proud that I managed to hold my nerve."
Peter Jones was the first dragon to declare his interest in backing the firm. The entrepreneur described it as a dream come true to have three dragons coming on board with the venture. He said: "The dragons are hugely trusted when it comes to money and business, so for them to really challenge me, dig into the detail and then still say they wanted to back Sprive was massive. It sends a strong signal that Sprive is credible, legitimate and a business people can trust with something as important as their mortgage."
Amazing Validation
While the dragons frequently put candidates through their paces over company finances and business objectives, Mr Vohra said they are very down to earth away from the cameras. He said: "All of them were really nice. I'm a big football fan, so even though I don't support Manchester United, it was great to see how down to earth Gary Neville was. I listen to his podcast quite regularly, so that was a nice moment for me. Four of the five dragons came over afterwards to speak to me, which was also really generous of them. What stood out most was how excited they were about what we're building. That was amazing validation from people I really respect because of what they've achieved."
What Didn't Make the Final Cut?
The entrepreneur said there's plenty viewers don't see in the finished programme. He explained: "There was a huge amount that didn't make the final edit. In reality, the experience felt much more like a serious investor pitch than many people probably realise." He said the programme also removed a substantial portion of time he spent outlining his broader vision for Sprive.
Mr Vohra said: "I spoke about the fact that around three million people are expected to still have a mortgage in retirement, which is a major issue in the UK housing market. I also talked about how 59 per cent of mortgage products sold are now 40-year terms, because many people only get onto the property ladder in their late 30s or early 40s. The result is that people end up paying far more in interest over time. At the time of filming, we were on track to save customers £100million in mortgage interest, and I would have loved that to have come through more strongly in the programme."
He added that the dragons were so taken with his customer stories and how the firm assists people with their mortgage debt that, ultimately, both Gary Neville and Steven Bartlett said they probably withdrew too hastily.
What's Next for the Business?
Mr Vohra explained that while viewers might assume the funds land directly in an entrepreneur's account, the reality is quite different. He said: "We haven't completed the deal yet, as there is still a full due diligence process to go through. I think sometimes people watch the show and assume the money lands in your bank account the next day, but that's not how it works in reality. My understanding is that the dragons want founders to be clear about where they can add the most value, and for Sprive I think that is likely to be through their network and strategic advice. That's where I believe they could really help us as we scale."
The entrepreneur said he has ambitious plans for Sprive moving forward. Mr Vohra explained: "One major area of focus is building an online shopping assistant so that every shop customers make can help them save towards their mortgage. We're also looking at building what we believe could be the world's first savings product where the value created helps people pay off their mortgage faster. We're continuing to add more great brands to the platform, and we're also introducing weekly prize draws where one new customer has their next monthly mortgage payment paid by Sprive." He said that he ultimately hopes to host considerably larger prize draw events, co-sponsored by the brands he collaborates with.
A Real Opportunity
He also has aspirations beyond Sprive, looking at other ways to enable people to use their daily expenditure to clear other types of debt, including student loans. Mr Vohra explained: "I believe there's a real opportunity there. In fact, I think a product like this could potentially help the government save around £1.5billion over five years if people with student debt were able to put even £25 a month towards repayments through everyday shopping. I've tried to get traction on that idea, but so far without success."
