Choppity – the AI video platform turns down backing from Dragons’ Den’s Peter Jones

A pair of North East entrepreneurs walked out of the Dragons’ Den with a £100k investment from Peter Jones – but have now decided not to take up the Dragon’s offer.

Choppity founders, Zara Paul and Aaron Morris secured the investment after Jones beat fellow Dragons Sara Davies and Touker Suleyman, by offering to invest £100k for 15% of the business with the option to reduce his share to 12.5% if the company earned the money back in 2025.

The married couple from Durham who are both 24 years old, originally offered 6% of the business in return for the cash. 

“It was an unforgettable moment to be in that room, presenting something we’ve worked so hard on. Then to receive three investment offers from some of the UK’s top entrepreneurs was just incredible,” said Paul.

“The night before our pitch, I had a dream that Peter offered us a deal, so when that happened in reality, I couldn’t believe it. We’re very grateful to the show and the opportunity it gave us.”

READ MORE: Inside the Manchester studio where BBC’s Dragons’ Den is filmed

Choppity is a web-based automated video editor for social media, sales and education. It has been created to simplify the video editing process for businesses and creators. It’s already used by ITN, Autotrader, Turtle Bay and Sonatype, with Steven Bartlett likening it to “Canva for video.”

“Choppity is our baby, and it’s taught us how to communicate better with each other which we are thankful for. We grew up watching the show, so it was a huge milestone for both of us,” continued Paul.

However, they have now confirmed that they made the mutual decision with Jones not to move forward with the investment.

They are holding an event in London next month to appeal to investors.

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