Start Me Stick

Corey Velan and Marty Algire, returning Dragons' Den alumni behind FixMeStick, asked for $1,000,000 for 20% of their new company, StartMeStick, from Montreal, Quebec. The StartMeStick is a USB device that revives old computers by giving them a browser-based operating system similar to a Chromebook, letting users access the internet and online services without buying new hardware; it resets itself each time it is removed for privacy and security, and nothing is saved on the device. Since launching nine months earlier, the company had sold about 20,000 units worth $1.2 million, after investing roughly $500,000 in a year and a half of engineering; the target demographic is over 50 years old, and the business was proposed to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of FixMeStick, which has sold over 1.3 million devices to date.

All five Dragons on the panel, Jim Treliving, Arlene Dickinson, Manjit Minhas, Michele Romanow, Lane Merrifield and Vincenzo Guzzo, made a single joint offer of $3,000,000 total ($500,000 each) for 18% of both the FixMeStick and StartMeStick companies combined, citing the value of having all six Dragons' expertise and resources behind both businesses. Corey Velan and Marty Algire accepted the joint offer.

We haven’t confirmed whether Start Me Stick is still operating.