Teddington entrepreneur Joe Metcalfe make his pitch on Dragons' Den tonight
By The Editor
5th Nov 2021 | Local News
Former Teddington schoolboy turned entrepreneur Joe Metcalfe makes a "nerve-racking" appearance on TV's Dragon's Den tonight to appeal for support for his business selling second-hand clothes which he reckons could be worth £100 million a year.
Joe, aged 32, who attended St James's School in Twickenham, King's College, Wimbledon and then Cambridge University, set up a company called Thrift+ which attempts to bring charity shops online to sell second-hand clothes through a click and collect scheme and app.
After his appearance, which can be seen on BBC2 at 9pm tonight (Sunday) Joe said: "When I walked out of the Den, I couldn't believe how physically tired I was. Then one of the producers told me I had been standing on the same spot for over 2 hours answering questions from the Dragons.
"It was genuinely the most exhausting, nerve racking, and exhilarating experience of my life. I would never do it again, but I'm so glad I did. Watch this Sunday on BBC 2 at 9pm to see whether any of the Dragons decided to take a trip to dreamland."
Joe's reference to 'dreamland' follows a cutting remark by Dragon's Den team member Touker Suleyman, the retail entrepreneur, who is sceptical of Joe's confidence in being able to sell 200.000 items a week and make £100m with one third of revenue going to charity each year.
Joe tells the programme: "I am excited about being one of the biggest retailers in the country." But Touker Suleyman tells him bluntly: "I think you're in dreamland!"
Joe, who left his job in 2014 with a single-minded mission to bring charity shops online, said: "Thrift+ is founded on the belief that charity shoppers deserve the same quality shopping experience as regular shoppers. In fact, they deserve better!"
In 2015, he built & launched the UK's first Click & Collect app for high street charity shops. Since then, he has been working to create a service that encourages high quality donations by offering convenience and rewarding generosity.
He says: "The vision is to create the single best destination to shop for second-hand clothes. By bringing online charity shopping up to the same level as Amazon and Asos, we can make it a truly unstoppable force for good."
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