A Golden entrepreneur earned himself a deal to kick start his business with an appearance on Dragon’s Den on Thursday, Dec. 17.
Jeremiah Woods, who works at Golden Installations, took his business Camping In The Woods to the 15th season of the reality show.
“This idea hasn’t come without it’s challenges, but getting this idea off the ground and being on the Den and getting to be an ambassador for my home town, it’s been amazing,” said Woods.
Camping In The Woods is seeking to “redefine how we think about camping”, according to Woods and will offer a rented renovated VW camper van for those who want to live out their 60s camping dreams.
Interested parties can rent a bus, which is stationary and comes
The business was born from Woods’ passion for classic VWs, which he’s been collecting since he was 16. When COVID hit in March, Woods had the time to focus his energy on fixing up the busses and outfitting them with all they’ll need for that nostalgic camping vibe.
“I wanted to stir the imagination of my guests, so using the most iconic vehicle on the planet to do that was a no brainer,” said Woods.
“It’s easy to become an entrepreneur with this idea and the positive feedback and reviews from customers over the last year have helped.”
The show was recorded back in August, with Woods road tripping out to Toronto to make his appearance.
The ask was for a 100k loan at 10 per cent interest for 10 years and 10 per cent in perpetuity.
He ended up walking away with a deal from Lane Merrifield, who gave him the 100k with 10 per cent of the revenue.
“I think you’re one of the most creative guys I’ve seen in the den, you’re clever and take risks,” said Merrifield .
“I pictured this quaint little town of VWs and hanging lights and I think there’s something special here, I want to see it come to life.”
While the real work lies ahead, Woods is excited to get to work and convert more VWs, with the eventual goal of setting up a stationary VW village once he secures property.
“I’m happy with the way things are turning out and I have noting but kindness towards Lane Merrifield and the Den,” said Woods.
“I had a lot of people say it could never work and I’ve always been adamant that it would, just follow your dreams because you never know where it might lead you.
“This has opened more doors than I could have imagined, my message is to always go forth and be awesome.”
Woods says there’s some big things coming in the near future for his business, so to stay tuned for any announcements.
