With her hawks that deliver wedding rings to best men, falconry experience days and humane pest control, a plucky Mid Wales entrepreneur is about to face dragons – in BBC2’s Dragon’s Den.
Layla Bennett’s Hawksdrift Falconry business has taken off since she won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the very first Powys Business Awards last September.
The 26-year-old was contacted by the Dragon’s Den team which was searching for unique businesses, and after attending an audition in Manchester, she was chosen to film at Pinewood Studios in London in May.
Her performance on the show, where she faced Deborah Meaden, Theo Paphitis, Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne and James Caan, and asked for £50,000 for a 25 per cent stake in the business, will be shown on BBC 2 on Monday at 9pm.
Layla admits she was petrified about appearing before the dragons. “As you can imagine I was terrified! We had been waiting at Pinewood Studios with a group of entrepreneurs, all destined for the den that day, but we were not told what order we would be going in so everyone was tense and nervous.
“I finally got my turn in the afternoon and entered the den with my beautiful falcon, Monty. As I turned to face the dragons and began my pitch my legs began to quiver; I was sure my trousers were visibly shaking! But throughout this Monty stood bravely on my glove, he was completely cool, calm and collected and made me feel much better!”
Layla set up Hawksdrift in 2006, based at her private field near Builth Wells, and she currently has 32 birds including hawks, owls, buzzards and falcons.
She said she asked for the money from the dragons so that she can expand the business which currently employs herself, her partner Alex and two others.
Her aim is to breed more of her own birds rather than having to buy them in; employ an extra person and advertise more.
Find out how Layla gets on with the dragons on Monday at 9pm.