South Tyneside sisters 'overwhelmed' by support as website crashes with non-stop orders after Dragon's Den success
Two sisters who run a business in South Tyneside are celebrating their success after securing a deal with the Dragons with their lingerie and clothing brand for pregnant and breastfeeding mums.
Jenny McFadden, 25 and Alex Jordan, 30, launched clothing brand Pretty Mama in 2018 after Alex had struggled to find feminine and comfortable clothing when she was pregnant with her daughter.
The sisters decided to combine Alex’s Fashion skills as a fashion graduate from Sunderland University and Jenny’s Business and Law degree from Northumbria University to create their collection of maternity clothes, particularly for breastfeeding mums.
With hopes of expanding the brand and gaining advice, the pair appeared on BBC’s Dragon’s Den last Thursday, March 31 where they asked for £30,000 in exchange for a 20% stake in the business.
The duo managed to secure funding from four of the Dragons; Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies, Peter Jones and Steven Bartlett who were impressed by the concept behind the business, the eco-friendly clothing line and the entrepreneurial skills of the sisters.
Alex and Jenny say the last seven days have been a ‘whirlwind’ but are excited about the future of the company.
Jenny said: “It’s been completely overwhelming but amazing, everyone has been so positive and we’ve received so much local support.
"We’re so excited about the next steps for the business and want to thank everyone for supporting us and reaching out with such lovely comments.”
Alex, who lives in Hebburn, added: “The website crashed after the show aired and we’ve sold out of several items – We have no idea how many orders we’ve had, it’s just been non-stop.
"We haven’t had much sleep over the past week because we’ve just been packing and shipping out orders but people have been contacting us asking if we need help and it’s been so nice to hear the positive feedback.”
The brand which aims to “empower mothers on their nursing journey by feeling beautiful, confident and comfortable” also received business support from Northumbria’s Student and Graduate Enterprise team when starting up.
Jenny said: "We are extremely passionate about our brand and feel this has come across in the den as we walked away with such an amazing outcome from some of the most successful and respected business people in the UK, it was incredible.”
