44 business elite canada
H
JULY 2015
Two years into the produc-
tion of their unique flavoured
camelina oils, Elysia and Na-
tasha Vandenhurk auditioned
and were offered a spot on
CBC’s popular television
show, Dragons’ Den. Feeling
that the timing wasn’t quite
right, they declined and con-
tinued to increase both their
product line and distribution.
In May 2012, they accepted
a second opportunity to ap-
pear on the show, which put
them in front of five of Can-
ada’s most successful busi-
nesspeople as they pitched
their unique product and
concept. They were asking
for $150,000 for 18 percent
of their business, and spent
close to an hour answering
questions about their compa-
ny’s financials and marketing
plans, among other topics.
The sisters went into the ex-
perience looking for a stra-
tegic partner, someone who
could help them with a mar-
keting plan that would take
their product across Canada.
Communications entrepre-
neur Arlene Dickinson “basi-
cally gave us what we want-
ed,” Elysia said. “It was a no
brainer to go with her.”
For about a year, they worked
on due diligence and new
marketing initiatives with
Dickinson but eventually
came to an impasse in a few
critical areas and decided to
go their separate ways. “It
was a devastating but good
decision,” Elysia said. “We
learned a lot through due dili-
gence working with her and
her team. The overall experi-
ence with Dragons’ Den and
Arlene was very positive for
us.”
THREE FARMERS
FACE OFF WITH
DRAGONS
