Familiar Faces from FSA ULaval Shine on Dans l’oeil du dragon

Wednesday June 16th, 2021

The 10th season of the TV show Dans l’œil du dragon ended on Monday, June 14. This year, once again, FSA ULaval made quite an impression on the popular show broadcast on the ICI Radio-Canada television network.

Several alumni from the Faculty stood out for their creativity, boldness and business sense, much to the delight of the dragons. Most of the participants have successfully entered into profitable business agreements.

Congratulations to Filo, Lexya, Ferreol, Tella & Stella and Upbio for their involvement in the TV show, as well as Omy Laboratoires, Caramels F.A.A. and RoadLoft for their appearance in the “effet dragon” videoclips.

FILO

Filo produces water-soluble cleaning products that are safe for the whole family and the planet. The young company was founded by Marie-Hélène David in 2020.

Marie-Hélène is an FSA ULaval alumnus. She also completed her journey at the Académie entrepreneuriale ULaval-CDPA in 2018 with Kanevas.

Her deal with the dragons? $100,000 for 10% of her business, which was an offer made by Isabèle Chevalier and accepted by the young entrepreneur.

LEXYA

As they were undertaking their university studies at FSA ULaval, Jean-Michel Veillette and Marc-Antoine Paquet created Lexya.

Their online college and university textbook sales and purchase platform attracted the attention of Georges Karam, who has entered into an agreement to pay $120,000 for 10% of the company.

FERREOL

Félix Lapointe, one of Ferreol’s three co-founders, is part of the current cohort of the Académie entrepreneuriale ULaval-CDPQ.

The young company, born from Université Laval’s Faculty of Science and Engineering, designs and manufactures a Québec-based brand of high-performance wilderness skis.

The entrepreneurs accepted an offer from Nicolas Duvernois to pay $30,000 for 10% of the company.

TELLA & STELLA

Alexandre Hébert is an FSA ULaval alumnus and the founder of Tella & Stella, a Québec-based company that specializes in accessories for cats and dogs.  

The difficulty in finding accessories that fit the style and personality of his dog Stella is what inspired him to create the young company in 2019.

The entrepreneur asked for $50,000 for 20%. Alexandre did not receive any offers, but it’s a safe bet that the visibility from the TV show will enable him to pursue his ambitions in Québec, the rest of Canada and the United States.

UPBIO

Upbio manufactures and markets Ecocert Canada-certified and fair-trade organic dark chocolate that contains theine. These high-end products stand apart from the competition with their various atypical flavours, such as balsam fir and basil.

The young company founded by Mohammed Assafiri was part of the 2019 cohort of the Académie entrepreneuriale ULaval-CDPQ.

The industrial engineer offered to sell 10% of his business for $27,000. The dragons declined the offer, but Christiane Germain and Georges Karam wanted to stay in touch with the entrepreneur.

The dragon effect revisited

To gauge the impact of their appearance on Dans l’œil du dragon, the production revisited several success stories from years past. These included Omy Laboratoires and Caramels F.A.A. founded by FSA ULaval alumni, as well as RoadLoft, co-founded by a member of the 2020 cohort of the Académie entrepreneuriale ULaval-CDPQ.

OMY LABORATOIRES

In the show’s 8th season, Omy presented its range of personalized cosmetics. Their appearance on the show clearly propelled the company founded by Rachelle Séguin and Andrea Gomez, both FSA ULaval alumni. Prior to their appearance before the dragons, Omy generated some $35,000 in sales. In 2020, sales skyrocketed to $2.5M. The co-founders forecast $5M in sales this year.

CARAMELS F.A.A.

Last year, Marie-Pier Noreau and Sonia Robitaille-Jacob, two former students at the Faculty, touched the dragons’ hearts with their moving story of friendship. Their caramels made with love also won over the three investors, Nicolas Duvernois, Marie-Josée Richer and Anne Marcotte.

Their annual sales have increased from $200,000 to $1.5M since their appearance on the show.

ROADLOFT

Laurence Dufour is the CEO and Co-Founder of RoadLoft, a company that manufactures temporary conversion kits to transform a regular vehicle into an ergonomic and comfortable camper in under 5 minutes.

In 2020, Laurence completed the Académie entrepreneuriale ULaval-CDPQ  program and presented her company on Dans l’œil du dragon.

Initial sales of $280,000 have soared to $1.2M, with a production increase of 115 to 500 units.