Bournemouth business founder on his Dragons' Den appearance

Zain Peer and Shez Shaikh never intended to become entrepreneurs, nor did they know what ‘adaptogenic’ coffee was a few years ago. This all changed, however, when they were introduced to a new drink blend at a boxing gym in Bournemouth.

The pair are the founders of London Nootropics, an adaptogenic coffee blend company which uses herb and mushroom ingredients for health benefits. They appeared on BBC One's Dragons’ Den on Thursday, February 10, and secured a combined investment of £50k from Deborah Meaden and Sara Davies.

But how did they get there?

I know naff all about coffee... but I know there's two cracking entrepreneurs here.” - Sara Davies

Best friends since their school days in London, Zain and Shez went on separate paths during their late teens but would ultimately reconvene in Dorset before forming the business that would change their lives.

Speaking exclusively to the Echo, 32-year-old Zain said: “Shez has got family in Bournemouth and halfway through uni he moved there and stayed for around 10 years. I was just finishing my first job after leaving university and he told me to come to Bournemouth. He said it was amazing and that I should get a job here.”

Having been offered a position at digital advertising agency Redweb, Zain left the familiar surroundings of London and moved in with Shez in Southbourne.

Their introduction to adaptogenic blends came when Shez’s cousin, Bournemouth boxer Amir Saghalati, welcomed the pair to the House of Pain gym. Amir gave them a pre-workout drink with adaptogenic ingredients. This, Zain said, “changed everything”.

Having launched London Nootropics in an online setting in March 2020, the pair were soon contacted by a BBC researcher about whether they were interested in trying out for the show.

One video audition later and the pair were set for a fiery showdown. Zain recalled: “One minute you’re practising, the next you’re walking into the Den with the Dragons and it’s like, this is insane. It was a crazy experience.

"I remember they told us before we went on ‘don’t worry you won’t see any cameras’, I looked up right away and saw the biggest cameras I’ve ever seen in my life.”

A confident pitch followed as Zain handled the business talk while Shez brought the charm offensive.

It wasn’t all plain sailing though. Peter Jones, Steven Bartlett and Touker Suleyman all declared themselves out within minutes of each other.

However in a moment of TV gold, just as veteran ‘Dragon’ Deborah Meaden was on the verge of declaring herself ‘out’, Shez interjected and won her round with talk of discussions with airline giant Emirates and others.

Zain said: “I was thinking it was all going wrong because they started dropping pretty quickly. Deborah was about to go and then Shez opened his mouth, and it was incredible – he talked for a lot longer than they showed on TV. It was a real turning point and, I guess, the rest is history.”

Since the show aired, business has been up for the coffee business. Talks with Deborah Meaden and Sara Davies are still ongoing, but Zain says things are progressing nicely.

I think you have invested in two stellar entrepreneurs.” - Peter Jones

Zain and Shez have since moved from Bournemouth, however believe their success wouldn’t have been possible without their time spent in the seaside town.

Zain concluded: “Honestly I have to say Bournemouth played a massive part. The difference between it and London is that in London everyone is rushing, Bournemouth is more relaxed and you have time to breath. It gives you time to reflect and the pace of life is better. Being in that environment gave us the opportunity to experiment and come up with our ideas.

“We’re a very small growing team but in ten years, we’ll take over the world.”