The Mother of Invention – Chapter 11
By Sharon Wright at 8 September, 2010, 11:07 pm
Here’s an extract from The Mother of Invention, my explosive new book.
CHAPTER 11
Cutting Ties
Trapped in a hellish prison of insomnia I battled through another night just tossing and turning. When I finally drifted into an exhausted coma resembling sleep, the same nightmare propelled me back into consciousness. I looked at the clock. Two hours had passed. That was hardly sufficient time to recharge my batteries. How much longer would this go on? It had got to the point where I didn’t even want to close my eyes because I’d only wake up in a cold sweat, weakened by the same anxious feelings pressing down on my chest.
Memories of the events leading up to this traumatised state replayed in my head, cruelly reigniting painful emotions and my darkest fears. Nothing could shift my thoughts away from the cause of my anguish. I lay awake contemplating the enormity of the mess I was in and considering all the options I could have taken, mentally kicking myself constantly. During the day I cried in frustration and disappointment and at night I lay awake. I was so tired… If only I could rewind my life by a year.
I didn’t regret doing Dragons’ Den; it had been a great oppor-tunity to gain investment. But the reason I did it was for help and moral support and the potential to leverage my product into their proven markets. I made it clear in my pitch that I only needed a modest amount of money and I certainly didn’t need a new business plan. I just wanted someone to help me make choices and decisions. More importantly, I craved encouragement and the knowledge that I wasn’t alone.
Let me be clear, the programme wasn’t the problem. The premise of this BBC series is that it offers participants a very real possi-bility of investment, guidance and support to take their product to the next level. Plus, in terms of advertising cost, the amount that would need to be spent to achieve the same amount of national exposure would run into tens of thousands. Viewers watch as the candidates stammer and sweat in the face of relentless scrutiny from a panel of investors because they know the rewards are worth it.
People who choose to enter the Dragons’ Den show, place their hopes and dreams openly on a plate and gamble with the chance of being publicly humiliated. They enter the den desperate for help, support and money. As for the promises that are made to the lucky few, it would be wonderful to think that the letdowns I have experienced are just a recent phenomenon and previous entrepreneurs have been more fortunate.
I reasoned that with such a large number of previous winners, the Dragons could no longer spare any time for their protégés in addition to running their own businesses and fulfilling their new roles as TV celebrities. Or perhaps the brutal truth was just that I had made a really bad choice. Whatever the reason, I had got myself into a huge mess and had to find a way out.
I requested a meeting with Kenny the following week. Just making that call gave me a sense of relief. At last, I’d made a commitment to address the issues that were destroying my passion, energy and will to continue. As I came off the phone I looked up at Pete who was working contently. He smiled sympathetically and asked, “Is that it?” He knew I had reached breaking point and things had to change. I could not pretend any more and told him how I felt.
A tale of personal strength and character, Mother of Invention is not to be missed! Visit http://motherofinventionbook.co.uk/
CHAPTER 11
Cutting Ties
Trapped in a hellish prison of insomnia I battled through another night just tossing and turning. When I finally drifted into an exhausted coma resembling sleep, the same nightmare propelled me back into consciousness. I looked at the clock. Two hours had passed. That was hardly sufficient time to recharge my batteries. How much longer would this go on? It had got to the point where I didn’t even want to close my eyes because I’d only wake up in a cold sweat, weakened by the same anxious feelings pressing down on my chest.
Memories of the events leading up to this traumatised state replayed in my head, cruelly reigniting painful emotions and my darkest fears. Nothing could shift my thoughts away from the cause of my anguish. I lay awake contemplating the enormity of the mess I was in and considering all the options I could have taken, mentally kicking myself constantly. During the day I cried in frustration and disappointment and at night I lay awake. I was so tired… If only I could rewind my life by a year.
I didn’t regret doing Dragons’ Den; it had been a great oppor-tunity to gain investment. But the reason I did it was for help and moral support and the potential to leverage my product into their proven markets. I made it clear in my pitch that I only needed a modest amount of money and I certainly didn’t need a new business plan. I just wanted someone to help me make choices and decisions. More importantly, I craved encouragement and the knowledge that I wasn’t alone.
Let me be clear, the programme wasn’t the problem. The premise of this BBC series is that it offers participants a very real possi-bility of investment, guidance and support to take their product to the next level. Plus, in terms of advertising cost, the amount that would need to be spent to achieve the same amount of national exposure would run into tens of thousands. Viewers watch as the candidates stammer and sweat in the face of relentless scrutiny from a panel of investors because they know the rewards are worth it.
People who choose to enter the Dragons’ Den show, place their hopes and dreams openly on a plate and gamble with the chance of being publicly humiliated. They enter the den desperate for help, support and money. As for the promises that are made to the lucky few, it would be wonderful to think that the letdowns I have experienced are just a recent phenomenon and previous entrepreneurs have been more fortunate.
I reasoned that with such a large number of previous winners, the Dragons could no longer spare any time for their protégés in addition to running their own businesses and fulfilling their new roles as TV celebrities. Or perhaps the brutal truth was just that I had made a really bad choice. Whatever the reason, I had got myself into a huge mess and had to find a way out.
I requested a meeting with Kenny the following week. Just making that call gave me a sense of relief. At last, I’d made a commitment to address the issues that were destroying my passion, energy and will to continue. As I came off the phone I looked up at Pete who was working contently. He smiled sympathetically and asked, “Is that it?” He knew I had reached breaking point and things had to change. I could not pretend any more and told him how I felt.
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