The former England defender and Sky Sports pundit has dipped into his pocket
Former Saracens and Harlequins hooker Joe Gray has gone into business with Gary Neville after the football broadcaster invested £50,000 in his recovery start-up on BBC TV show Dragons’ Den.
Gray, 35, now coaches at London Scottish and started MyoMaster with his wife Lottie Whyte after he tried to treat a recurring Achilles tendonitis injury with a home-made device using makeshift tools in his kitchen.
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The pair appeared on Thursday night’s episode of Dragons’ Den, where they were seeking a £100,000 investment in their business, which was created in 2020 to revolutionise recovery and features massage guns, compression therapy devices and portable ice baths.
The entrepreneurial couple were lucky enough to receive offers from four of the Dragons on the famous BBC Two show. Deborah Meaden, Peter Jones, Sara Davies and Neville were all interested in getting involved but in the end, they plumped for the latter two who both sunk £50,000 into the business.
The @Barnes_Rugby Big Lift has been gaining some serious traction this week and ahead of the event on Saturday, we caught up with head coach Joe Gray to discuss this superb initiative + his excellent charity work. #BarnesRFCBigLift
Jonathan Knighthttps://t.co/8SMW2W3u8X pic.twitter.com/E7R7oD3Gv5
— National League Rugby (@Natleague_rugby) April 30, 2020
Commenting on the experience, MyoMaster co-founder Whyte, the youngest ever board member for M&C Saatchi PR, said: “Going into the Den was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Presenting to some of the biggest names in the business world and being grilled on every aspect of our brand was an amazing experience.
“By combining Gary’s sporting connections and experience with Sara’s business expertise, this can really help open doors for us on this next phase of our journey. Going on the show has given us the drive to continue innovating our business and change the way people approach recovery and performance optimisation.”
Their pitch was helped by the fact they have turned over an impressive £1million in the last quarter.
After Gray had the idea for the business following his experimental makeshift massage gun, Whyte drove the business forward on maternity leave, securing cash from Google’s Black Founders Fund and was recognised as one of the UK’s ‘Entrepreneurs of the Year.’
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