Honor Black, 18, and her sister Cat, 17, appeared on the BBC programme on Thursday night (August 28), where their business, Maiden Cricket, attracted offers from all five dragons after a pitch centred on making cricket more accessible to women and girls.
The sisters, from the Chichester area, launched the company in 2024 after becoming frustrated by the lack of cricket clothing and equipment designed specifically for female players.
Drawing on their own experiences in a sport largely dominated by boys and men, they set out to create products tailored for women and girls.
Sisters Honor and Cat Black modelling their Cricket Maiden designs (Image: Supplied)
On the programme, the entrepreneurs secured a combined offer of £50,000 from Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Steven Bartlett, Touker Suleyman and guest dragon Gary Neville in exchange for a 25 per cent stake in the company.
The appearance marked another milestone for the rapidly growing business, which now works with clubs, schools, universities and county cricket boards across the UK.
Maiden Cricket has also built a community of hundreds of female ambassadors and is expanding into the United States ahead of cricket’s return to the Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028.
Honor said appearing on the programme was “one of the most nerve-racking experiences we’ve ever had”.
She said: “We knew we had to stand behind what we’ve built and explain clearly why women’s cricket needs better-designed kit.
“It was a huge opportunity to put that argument in front of a national audience.”
Cat added that the business was founded because she and her sister were “tired of girls having to compromise on kit that wasn’t made for them”.
However, viewers did not see the final chapter of the story.
Although the sisters initially accepted the Dragons’ offer during filming, they later decided not to proceed with the investment.
Instead, Maiden Cricket completed a separate fundraising round which was oversubscribed, reportedly raising more than £400,000 and giving the company a valuation of £2.1 million.
The sisters are from near Chichester in West Sussex (Image: BBC/Dragons’ Den)
Explaining the decision, Cat told BusinessCloud: “After the show we had a massive family talk and decided that £50,000 for 25 per cent was giving away a lot of the business.”
She added that, while the dragons had all been successful in business, they did not feel they were the right fit for a company focused on women’s sport.
The sisters say they remain focused on their mission of ensuring female cricketers have access to equipment designed specifically for them, rather than adapted versions of products originally created for men.