$1Mfor 10%
Protein Candy
Valued at $10M
The pitch
Salima Visram from Vancouver, BC, pitched Soular Backpack in Season 12, Episode 13, asking the Dragons for $100K for 10% of the company.
- Asked for$100K for 10%
- Valuation$1Mimplied by the ask
- OutcomeDealwith Manjit Minhas, Joe Mimran and Michele Romanow
- Final deal$100K for 30%valued at $333K
Offers in the Den
| Dragon | Offer | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Wekerle | Uncomfortable mixing philanthropy with business investment | Out |
| Joe Mimran | $100,000 for 25%, later joined joint offer at $100,000 for 30% split three ways | Accepted |
| Arlene Dickinson | Concerned sales don't support the valuation | Out |
| Manjit Minhas | $100,000 for 25%, later joined joint offer at $100,000 for 30% split three ways | Accepted |
| Michele Romanow | Matched the 25% offer, later joined joint offer at $100,000 for 30% split three ways | Accepted |
| Jim Treliving | Disagreed with the million dollar valuation | Out |
Salima Visram, originally from Mombasa, Kenya, asked for $100,000 for 10% of Soular, maker of the Soular Backpack, a backpack with an attached solar panel and lamp that lets children in rural East Africa study at home without relying on kerosene lamps. Backpacks retail for $69.99 under a one-for-one giving model, with 2,500 units distributed across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania after an initial $50,000 crowdfunding campaign; a thousand one-for-one units sold generated $70,000 in revenue over three months, and the company had made about $24,000 in total sales. The brand had been endorsed by Lupita Nyong'o and had generated media coverage in Vogue and Forbes along with over 30 million social media impressions, with talks underway with Disney.
Jim Treliving and Michael Wekerle went out over concerns the million dollar valuation was not supported by sales and that philanthropy should not be mixed with investment expectations, and Arlene Dickinson also went out citing the low sales relative to the valuation. Joe Mimran offered $100,000 for 25%, Manjit Minhas matched that offer, and Michele Romanow also matched it; the three then combined into a joint offer of $100,000 for 30%, which Salima Visram accepted.
Pitch details from CBC’s Dragons’ Den pitch page.
Soular Backpack today
- StatusOut of businessLast checked September 2026
Soular Backpack appears to have closed. Its products may no longer be available.