Curdz Poutinerie

Ron De Silva
Burlington, ON

The pitch

Ron De Silva from Burlington, ON, pitched Curdz Poutinerie in Season 10, Episode 8, asking the Dragons for $500K for 40% of the company.

Asked for$500K for 40%
Valuation$1.25Mimplied by the ask
OutcomeDealwith Michael Wekerle
Final deal$500K for 45%valued at $1.11Mplus a royalty: 5% royalty plus 10% equity stake in the nine-store franchise expansion

Offers in the Den

Dragon	Offer	Result
Joe Mimran	Went out, felt separating master franchise from initial investment didn't make sense	Out
Michael Wekerle	$500,000 for 45% plus 5% royalty and 10% equity in the franchise of nine stores	Accepted
Michele Romanow	Went out, felt the brand was confusing next to established competitors	Out
Manjit Minhas	Initially offered $500,000 for 55%, then retracted after learning of ten other investors	Withdrawn
Jim Treliving	Went out, felt the deal structure was too confusing	Out

Ron De Silva, founder and CEO of Curdz Poutineries from Burlington, Ontario, asked for $500,000 for 40 per cent of his company. Curdz Poutinerie sells gourmet poutines, fries, and sausages, staying open until 4am on weekends. The first store in Burlington had monthly sales of $33,000, then $37,000, trending toward $45,000. Ron planned to open nine stores projected to generate $4.3 million in sales over twelve months, with $5,000 profit per store per month. The plan involved ten investors contributing $50,000 each for 40 per cent, contingent on the Dragons matching $500,000 for the other 40 per cent, with Curdz retaining 20 per cent and charging a 5 per cent royalty on the franchised stores.

Joe Mimran went out, saying separating the master franchise from the initial investment did not make sense in a startup. Michele Romanow went out, citing brand confusion against established competitors like Smoke's Poutineries. Manjit Minhas offered $500,000 for 55 per cent but retracted the offer after learning about the ten other investors. Jim Treliving went out, calling the deal structure too confusing. Michael Wekerle offered $500,000 for 45 per cent, including a 5 per cent royalty and a 10 per cent equity stake in the nine-store franchise expansion, which Ron accepted.

Pitch details from CBC’s Dragons’ Den pitch page.