Irish woman behind TanOrganic gets incredible reaction after Dragons’ Den appearance

The entrepreneur set a new record last night.

Noelle O’Connor first came to our attention back in 2010 when she presented her brand TanOrganic on RTÉ’s Dragons' Den. Yep, the entrepreneur secured a serious investment from Gavin Duffy on the show eight years ago which resulted in €1million worth of sales in the three months after the show aired. However, after buying out the dragon in 2014, she’s now looking for more and appeared on the UK version of Dragons' Den last night to try and get it.

It’s the #TanOrganicTwins as seen on @BBCDragonsDen last night ?‍♀️?@embops123 @katierobbo444 @BBCTwo If you would like to get a #healthy glow like this you can buy our tan online on our website https://t.co/Acd6k2cJLU? #guiltfreeglow #tanorganic #dragonsden pic.twitter.com/1scUd9nGka

— TanOrganic (@TanOrganic) August 20, 2018

Noelle’s appearance on the show marked the first time an entrepreneur had appeared on the show twice - setting a new record on the series. Taking her place in front of five unfamiliar dragons, Noelle admitted the experience was quite different to her first.

“I have crawled over glass to get where I am today and have become a tougher person,” she said. "But I couldn’t believe how traumatising I found it seeing the five dragons in front of me and my emotions got the better of me. “It was a very different experience from my first in Ireland. It’s really difficult, it’s designed to intimidate people and ask you questions you can’t answer properly.”

Holding her own and making a killer presentation, Noelle was offered an investment from four out of the five dragons but chose to reject their offers. Her instincts have been right before as her company has seen sales double each year since Gavin Duffy’s initial investment eight years ago. And while Noelle might have left without investment, she did leave with a whole lot of praise from viewers at home, including the former investor himself.

A great pitch Noelle and well done for holding your ground...

— Darren Lewitt??? (@DarrenLewitt) August 19, 2018

Wow loving this brand...such a fantastic story and inspiring founder ? https://t.co/Fz67SyDYNM

— Love Bomb Cushions (@Lovebombcushion) August 19, 2018

Noelle from @TanOrganic is getting offers all round tonight....great presentation! #dragonsden

— Dolledup.ie (@dolledupie) August 19, 2018

#tanorganic, great product #DragonsDen

— Brenda (@brendacuz) August 19, 2018

Congrats Noelle & Aaron on your appearance on @BBCDragonsDen and getting four offers tonight. pic.twitter.com/sQrz7F3hbz

— Gavin Duffy (@GavinDuffy) August 19, 2018

This is by far the best tan I have ever used . Just hope you get the support you want but personally I think you are doing a fabulous job on your own. #bestproductever #TanOrganic

— Sinead (@irishchickinoz) August 19, 2018