Do you remember the time when mom taught you how to spell your name? Didn’t it feel irritating at that point? Only now do you realize that it was the golden period of your life?
It is human tendency to think of the past as some heaven on earth as we don’t want to deal with the present as it is.
Anyway, wouldn’t it be better if you had an entire book dedicated to your ‘highborn’ name when you were a child? Wonderbly has made it their business to do just that.
Wonderbly manufactures illustrative personalized books for children based on their name and as unlikely as it may sound, they have become a multimillion-pound business doing the same!
Children’s response to Wonderbly is phenomenal it seems and parents have made it their life motto to keep their children happy since time immemorial.
Naming kids is one thing but can Wonderbly get the Dragons to name themselves as investors in the company?
Wonderbly at a Glance:
| Idea | Personalized illustrative books for toddlers |
| Founders | Asi Sharabi, Tal Oron, David Cadji-Newby, Pedro Serapicos |
| Asked For | £100,000 For 4% |
| Accepted Deal | £100,000 For 4% + 1% advisory shares |
| Dragons | Piers Linney |
| Business status | acquired |
| Episode No. | Season 12, Episode 2 |
Index:
What is Wonderbly?
Wonderbly, rebranded from ‘Lost My Name’ is a company that sells personalized illustrative books with its primary consumer base being toddlers.
Earlier, the sole product offered by Wonderbly was a personalized book based on the child’s name but over the years, as the company’s business expanded, so did the range of its products.
Despite an odd-seeming business idea, Wonderbly has resonated quite well with its consumers and emerged as one of the best-selling publishers in the personalized segment.
Who are The Founders Of Wonderbly?
Wonderbly was founded by Asi Sharabi, a former advertising executive; Tal Oron, a creative technologist; David Cadji-Newby, a television writer and novelist; and Pedro Serapicos, an illustrator and graphic designer.
Quoting the founders, “Four friends, put their heads together to make the world’s most astonishing personalized book – and The Little Boy or Girl Who Lost Their Name was born. It was the start of something magical.”
The founders of Wonderbly had different specializations and were easily a living but their friendship and respective children made the come up with the idea of Lost My Name which later transformed into a global brand that we know by the name of Wonderbly today!
Did Wonderbly Get A Deal On Dragon’s Den?
Asi Sharabi and David Cadji-Newby walked into the Den with their books ‘The Girl Who Lost Her Name’ and ‘The Boy Who Lost His Name’. They demonstrated the process of ordering a book from their website.
Dragon Peter Jones disengaged in disgust after looking at the childish content but seeing a sample book with his children’s names on it made him realize his error of judgment.
All the Dragons wanted to be a part of Wonderbly but the founders being adamant on keeping the equity part of the deal as it was presented meant that four of the Dragons would fly out of the deal without making an offer.
Piers Linney was the only Dragon who made an offer that implied that he would get 4% equity on the same terms as the pre-invested venture capitalists and another 1% of advisory shares. This deal was accepted by the founders tentatively.
What Happened to Wonderbly After Dragon’s Den?
The deal with the Dragon went through successfully and Wonderbly took complete advantage of the Dragon’s Den effect.
The London-based publishing company reached its max capacity because of the enormous demand generated by moms and dads wanting to get their little kiddo a book dedicated to him/her and be proud in a childish way themselves.
It is Laughable, isn’t it? Ser Jamie Lannister rightly said, “Things that we do for Love!!”
Wonderbly had turned over £460,000 in the six months before its appearance in the Dragon’s Den. As of 2021, Wonderbly had sold 2 Million books. It has surpassed £30 Million in revenue out of which a whopping 85% was contributed by international markets. Its gross profit margin was a staggering 66% in this period. In the same year, Wonderbly was acquired by the private equity firm Graphite Capital.
Initially Lost My Name rebranded itself to Wonderbly after its appearance on the Den. It has also come up with a wide variety of products since then not just aimed at toddlers but for all age groups including adults where it has acquired a huge market share in the personal gifting segment.
Product Details:
- Wonderbly publishes illustrious personalized book.
- It allows consumers to make required personalization through its website.
- The website interface is extremely easy to use.
- Products suitable for all age groups are available.
- The books have a fixed price for a particular product independent of personalization.
- It can be ordered from anywhere across the globe on the Wonderbly website.
Competitors of Wonderbly:
Wonderbly was the first publisher to offer an online personalization-based product to consumers but it did not take long for companies offering identical products to emerge. Companies like
now compete with Wonderbly in the personalized book-selling segment directly. However, it will be safe to say that they currently amount to nothing in front of it for obvious reasons.
What Is The Net Worth of Wonderbly?
At the time Wonderbly was featured in the Dragon’s Den, it had already raised its seed round which valued it at £2.5 Million. Dragon Piers Linney invested at the same valuation.
Wonderbly never looked back since then, crossing every single milestone that a book publishing could have with its revenue surpassing.
£30 Million as of 2021. Private equity firm Graphite Capital acquired Wonderbly in 2021 for an undisclosed amount.
Keeping in mind the immense revenue and even more astounding profit margin of Wonderbly, it would be safe to say that the London-based publisher is worth north of £100 Million.
Is Wonderbly Still In Business?
Wonderbly is not just in business, as of 2023, it seems that Wonderbly has converted itself into a currency printing machine with revenue soaring so high that makes even reputed publishing houses in business for decades look like dwarfs.
Wonderbly founders just nailed the code of predicting human tendency and this made them all multimillionaires in Great Bare Pounds.
Wonderbly proves the fact that if you can sell something to a mom, you can rule the world in the modern sense.
The London-based publishing company has singularly established that the family is the most important unit in human civilization and it is the women who govern it.
Piers Linney in 2015 stated that Wonderbly is on track to become the most successful product featured on Dragon’s Den.
With the benefit of hindsight, we can say that Linney’s statement certainly had the weight of an elephant in it!!
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What is Wonderbly?
Wonderbly, rebranded from ‘Lost My Name’ is a company that sells personalized illustrative books with its primary consumer base being toddlers.
Earlier, the sole product offered by the company was a personalized book based on the child’s name but over the years, as the company’s business expanded, so did the range of its products.
What's the net worth of Wonderbly?
At the time Wonderbly was featured in the Dragon’s Den, it had already raised its seed round which valued it at £2.5 Million. Dragon Piers Linney invested at the same valuation.
The company never looked back since then, crossing every single milestone that a book publishing could have with its revenue surpassing