Dragons’ Den reject Marco Hajikypri who ‘snubbed £90million business offer’ forced to sell his home and drive his girlfriend’s Smart car
A DRAGONS' Den reject who stormed off the show after being snubbed - later claiming his idea was worth £1billion - has had to sell his car and home to keep his business afloat.
Entrepreneur Marco Hajikypri had dreams of "doing up" a Caribbean island after expecting his health food company Professional Gains to take off, but has instead seen sales slump 80 per cent.
Forced to sell his £50,000 Audi Q7 and sell his house he said he believed his sales had dropped as people thought he was "arrogant".
Speaking , he said: "Since I went public with my offer, my business has been massively affected.
"I've had lots of abuse from people thinking I'm money-grabbing and arrogant, and a lot of customers have stopped buying my product."
He said he was now renting and driving his girlfriend's Smart car after ploughing £90,000 back into his health food business.
But he said he was nothing like he had been portrayed, saying he had donated thousands of pounds to charity.
He said: "I’ve even started selling cheap raw meat to get customers back and get my cash flow going."
Mr Hajikypri had claimed he had been offered £90million for his business after being turned away empty-handed from the hit BBC programme Dragon's Den.
The Dragons valued his business at well below £2million and Deborah Meaden told him, "this is like arguing with cotton wool!" when he objected to the price tag.
Following the show he blasted the Dragons as "pathetic"and said he was only ever on the show for their contacts, not their investment.
He said: "I think it was a stupid decision not to invest in something that is clearly making money. I don’t need their money, I need their network.
“They are going to regret it. I told Peter Jones, ‘you will regret it’ - and he will.
The business sells itself on allowing people to create their own fresh meals, with balanced protein, carbs and fat.
MOST READ IN NEWS
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.