Series three, episode one, of the Dragons’ Den aired on August 3rd 2006. James Seddon walked into the Dragons’ Den asking for £75,000 of the Dragons’ ‘hard earned’ money, in return for a 10 per cent stake in his business. James started his pitch by describing how nutritious eggs are and how they make the perfect breakfast food, but continued by stressing how many difficulties one faces when boiling an egg.

Such problems were said to include five minutes to boil the water, five minutes to boil the egg and then however long it takes to do the washing up! Indeed, fifteen or so minutes to enjoy a boiled egg does seem like a rather long time. James Seddon then claimed that he had invented a way to make boiling an egg as easy as making toast (eat your heart out Delia!).

James presented his solution in the form of the Eggxactly (a play on words that all the Dragons found highly amusing). The Eggxactly is a water free egg cooker that was invented by Mr Seddon after he found himself frustrated when trying to cook his daughter the perfect boiled egg. Fed up with overcooking the egg (or worse, under cooking), James hit upon the idea of using a stretchy soft heating element, which encased the egg and used a microprocessor to control the cooking time and the heat setting. The unique heating element provided good thermal contact with the egg, regardless of the awkward shape.

After this eureka moment, James developed the process further, first by creating a prototype and then improving upon it. By the time he entered the Dragons’ Den, he had spoken to four major companies, one of which was Home Tek (producers of Ainsley Harriott’s successful cooking appliance range). The projections were that the business would turn over one million pounds in its first year and seven million pounds by year four – ambitious targets indeed.

The Dragons that day included Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Theo Paphitis, Duncan Bannatyne and Richard Farleigh. The first to question Mr Seddon was Peter Jones, who had a good look at the product and then, Peter being Peter, examined the prototype and asked for a demonstration of a four minute egg! Perhaps he was feeling peckish that day. Mr Seddon said he could provide a five minute egg but Peter insisted on a four minute egg! James decided to go ahead and cook a five minute egg anyway.

Whilst the egg was cooking, Deborah Meaden questioned the ability of the product to turn itself off. Meanwhile, the device started to beep, signifying that it had finished cooking and – much to James’ dismay and embarrassment – he realised that he had not actually put an egg in the egg cooker! This was enough for Deborah Meaden to declare herself out!

Another disastrous demonstration ensued, during which the Dragons continued to discuss the product. It was explained that Mr Seddon had patents which covered the unique technology contained in the Egg cooker. A further demonstration having failed (the prototype this time), Mr Bannatyne and Mr Paphitis declared themselves out.

Despite failing to successfully demonstrate a working prototype, Mr Seddon secured investment from two dragons: Peter Jones and Richard Farleigh, who both invested £37,500 for 20% each of the company.

So, where exactly is the Eggxactly now? Has Mr Seddon hit that one million target yet? The answer is no, not yet at least. The Eggxactly is due to hit shops during the Autumn of 2009. Originally, it was hoped that the product would be ready for Christmas of 2008 but this was not to be. However, the product is currently gathering accolades whilst still in development. As an example, in March 2008 the Eggxactly won best new green product in the E-On EnergyLab competition.

The Eggxactly website is, however, fully up and running – and what a very attractive site it is. It offers a plethora of egg filled information, from recipes to all the information you ever wanted to know about an egg but never bothered to ask. Most importantly it includes detailed information on the new Eggxactly product. By all accounts, the Eggxactly will be available in six different colours: black, green, yellow, red, blue and pink. Furthermore, interested customers will be able to pre-order it for just £25. Once you have registered your interest, the Eggxactly team will e-mail you with details of when ‘eggxactly’ the product will be ready for distribution.

It seems that while the public greatly anticipates the arrival of a convenient, no water, no fuss, no washing up, ‘non boiled’ egg boiler, we will all have to wait just that little bit longer. The episode in question is also a superb example of the need for thorough preparation and concentration when presenting and selling any form of product or service. However, it seems that this particular story may just be beginning.

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