Steps of Awareness

Mike Karpishka, Martin Epps, Jen Roit, Ted Aloisio
Ottawa, ON

The pitch

Mike Karpishka, Martin Epps, Jen Roit, Ted Aloisio from Ottawa, ON, pitched Steps of Awareness in Season 13, Episode 10, asking the Dragons for $200K for 20% of the company.

Asked for$200K for 20%
Valuation$1Mimplied by the ask
OutcomeNo deal

Offers in the Den

Dragon	Offer	Result
Vincenzo Guzzo	No offer, concerned the service bordered on rendering medical advice without medical credentials	Out
Jim Treliving	No offer, joined the group decision after concerns were raised	Out
Arlene Dickinson	No offer, felt the business model exploited clients by diagnosing issues then selling nutritional products	Out
Manjit Minhas	No offer, agreed the pitch was problematic	Out
Lane Merrifield	No offer, felt the business was unclear and exploitative	Out

Mike Karpishka, Martin Epps, Jen Roit and Ted Aloisio of Ottawa pitched Steps of Awareness, asking for $200,000 for a 20% stake in their mobile unit division. The business examines a drop of blood under a microscope to identify patterns they say relate to hydration, nutrient deficiencies and other health issues, charging $75 per session and providing clients with a report and photos of their blood. Over two years they tested more than 1,000 people, generating over $60,000 in revenue, primarily on weekends, and recently formed a merger with a Canadian nutritional products manufacturer; they sought investment to launch a mobile RV unit to serve small and northern communities, with zero vehicles currently on the road.

Vincenzo Guzzo, Arlene Dickinson, Manjit Minhas, Lane Merrifield and Jim Treliving all declined to invest, with Dragons raising concerns that the business was effectively diagnosing health issues without medical credentials and then selling nutritional products based on those assessments. No deal was made.

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