Able Bionics

Mitchell Charles Brogan, from London, Ontario, asked for $250,000 for 15% of Able Bionics, a bionic exoskeleton training facility that helps people who use wheelchairs learn to walk using robotic exoskeleton technology. The facility operates from a 3,000 square foot house with five bedrooms and an upstairs physiotherapy centre, runs a three-week intensive "Bionics Boot Camp" with accommodation and five hours of daily conditioning therapy, and charges $250 a night for boot camp stays. Mitchell Charles Brogan personally invested about $900,000 into the business, which made about $60,000 a year in its first two years and is on track for about $180,000 this year at roughly 60% margins, with room for 15 client spots a month that are not consistently filled; reaching 85 clients a year would generate about $1.2 million.

Joe Mimran and Jim Treliving raised concerns about whether this should be run as an entrepreneurial business versus an association, given the scale of investment needed. Michael Wekerle proposed a three-year unsecured convertible debenture at 3.5% with an option to convert to equity, and suggested all five Dragons join in at $50,000 each; Jim Treliving, Manjit Minhas, Joe Mimran and Michele Romanow all agreed, and the deal was accepted.

Able Bionics is still operating and sells through its website.