RULES

Entrepreneurs must start the pitch by stating their name, the name of the business, the amount of money they are pitching for and the percentage of equity they are willing to offer in their company. They must follow this with a pitch of up to five minutes and if it exceeds five minutes, the horses can stop entrepreneurs at any point but they cannot, however, interrupt the initial pitch. There is a “Deal Master” on board who plays a neutral role and guides the entrepreneur on their presentation.

Entrepreneurs are not bound to answer all the questions asked, but what they do or do not choose to answer may affect the outcome. For example, if an entrepreneur refuses to reveal net profits, they may answer or ask questions that help to determine whether an investor is suitable for their business. Also, please note that anything that is discussed in the stable can be potentially broadcast.

An entrepreneurs’ time in the stable is over after all the horses have declared themselves ‘out’.
Also, once any horse has declared themselves ‘out’, they must not re-enter negotiation on the deal, and unless there is a compelling reason, they should not interfere and leave others to pursue the negotiations.

The entrepreneur must secure at least the total amount they have asked for at the beginning of the pitch. If a horse offers less than the total amount, the entrepreneur must try and make up for the remaining by securing an investment from one or more of the remaining horses.

Every entrepreneur must leave the stable with at least the initial amount they asked for or they’ll have to exit empty-handed. The entrepreneur, however, can negotiate more money than was originally requested, as this is usually to redress the sticking point of an entrepreneur giving up more equity than was initially offered.

Each horse is working as an individual investor, the horses can invest as little or as much of their own money as they want. It is up to the entrepreneur to persuade them to match the required investment or pledge to invest a portion thereof. So, it is acceptable for the entrepreneur to seek investment from more than one investor in order to make up the total amount required. A full investment may encompass a total of between one and five parties.

An entrepreneur can refuse investment from a horse if they think they are an unsuitable investor or the deal on the table isn’t right for them.

The deal agreed on the show is an unwritten agreement that depends on due diligence checks, and relies on the integrity of both investor and entrepreneur to freely enter the transaction and be fully committed to seeing it through. However, the deal is solely between the horse and the entrepreneur and after additional meetings, if an agreement cannot be reached, neither party is legally obliged to complete the deal. The show organiser remains impartial, as they cannot be involved in the business contract between the two sides.

Entrepreneurs are permitted to have an advocate on standby in the stable, to help them answer some of the horses’ questions. This advocate must usually be someone who is directly involved in the business. The entrepreneur can ask the horses to meet their advocate at any point after the three-minute pitch.