'I came out with everything I needed' says Peterborough street artist Nathan Murdoch after appearance on BBC's Dragons' Den appearance

Nathan appeared in front of ‘dragons’ Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Steven Bartlett and Gary Neville on Thursday’s edition of the show (August 27).

Nathan pitched a £60,000 investment for 10% of his company Street Arts Hire Ltd, who provide personalised art installations for a whole variety of clients. He stated that the demand was now outstripping the company’s capabilities and that he estimated that they were losing around 40% of potential business.

The centrepiece of his pitch was a stunning large dragon- which took Nathan around four hours to create- which Gary Neville even said he’s pay up to £5,000 for!

Nathan began by talking through his journey from starting the business as a side-hustle in 2015, leaving his full-time job in 2019 to pursue it further then growing the business further when viral murals of The Prodigy vocalist Keith Flint and an anti-racism mural in the city took him viral and attracted millions of views on social media.

Nathan impressed the panel with his artwork, with Bartlett commenting: “You make me feel like a muggle thinking that a human being can do that compared to what I can do.”

Neville added: “The artwork is absolutely stunning. What hurts me is that you’re only taking home £30,000 a year but you’re a creative, you’re a genius. It is absolutely incredible what you are doing.”

Ultimately, none of the dragons chose to invest in Nathan’s business but they all agreed that what Nathan needed was in fact advice on how to expand the business on his own.

Steven Bartlett gave Nathan his number on camera and offered him a day of his time and well as a job to decorate all of the walls in his new London office.

Nathan has now revealed that he has since had the opportunity to speak to all of the dragons after he left the den and that he and Steven remain in close touch with the job offer still very much in the pipeline.

He thanked the dragons for all of their support and insisted that he came out of the den with everything he needed even if he didn’t leave with the investment he was pitching for.

“I have been inundated with offers of work”

Nathan said: “I watched the show through my fingers, my wife made me watch it!

“I wasn’t sure our business model suited investment but the opportunity was too good not to take. I didn’t get an investment but I’ve still managed to come out with exactly what I needed. I’ve come out with increased exposure and so many contacts.

“I have been inundated with offers of work, advice and connections today (Friday). I’ve got everything I needed. I’ts now about turning that into reality.

“I have had Steven Bartlett’s number for some time. I have been to his offices in London a couple of times, he’s been really cool and supportive. I’m in touch with his team too and they are great. Things are active there.

“I got the chance to meet the Dragons outside of the Den in the stairwell and apparently theyk requested to see me, which production told me doesn’t usually happen.

“It was really intimate and they were really supportive and encouraging me to keep going. I exchanged numbers and business cards with them and I felt like I had really achieved something coming out of there, I wasn’t disappointed in any way.

"They were all really lovely and they seemed to see something in me which gave me an extra boost.

“One of the things the show made me realise is about scalability. I came away thinking about where I go from here and how I really make something of my hard work.

“I can’t explain to anyone the intensity"

“The experience was really hard. I can’t explain to anyone the intensity of that process. I got a phone call six days before to tell me I was going into the den. That was pretty hardcore to absorb.

"It was like, this is your opportunity, can you do it? That frazzled me a little, it was a lot to process but I just had to do it.

“I went through so many emotions when I was in there. There were times I felt in control and time I felt like I was being slapped in the face. It was a real, real emotional rollercoaster all in the time I was there!

"I was glad to represent Peterborough and the entrepreneurial spirit of the city. I don’t care about being a billionaire, I just want to make a bit of a memory for my family and make enough to have a bit of enjoyment. That’s all I’m trying to achieve.”

Inspired by the dragons, Nathan travelled to China in March to start a new business called Murality; which is at the forefront of new wall-printing technology that promises the revolutionise the face of the art scene in the coming years.

The business is in its early stages but the plan is for the two businesses to grow together to increase Nathan’s output and offering.

More information can be found at https://murality.art/ and at Murality Ltd - Creative Wall & Floor Printing on Facebook.