Dhruvin Patel: The founder who turned down a Dragons' Den deal but went on to raise £1m

The Small Business Sessions, Enterprise Nation's podcast, is back for a seventh exciting series of inspiring entrepreneurial stories and expert business tips! The podcast is powered by the business.connected online training programme and our partners Vodafone Business, Constant Contact, JP Morgan and Dropbox.

Joining freelance journalist Dan Martin for episode four is Dhruvin Patel, co-founder of blue light screen eye protector brand Ocushield. 

Whilst studying optometry at university, Dhruvin launched the initial development of his blue light filtering technology that make eyes healthier, improves sleep and boosts happiness. 

Since then, the business has grown into an international brand that has helped more than 300,000 eyes in over 147 countries. 

Ocushield also appeared an BBC TV's Dragons' Den and secured investment from Peter Jones and Tej Lalvani. The deal ended up not going through, but Ocushield went on to get £1m in funding, much more than they secured on the show. 

In the episode, Dhruvin discusses what happened on Dragons' Den, why the deal ended up not going through, how he raised more funding, his tips for accessing finance, managing relationships with investors and lots more. 

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