A woman who was a single mum at 19 went on Dragon's Den with her business - and it's now worth £15 million. Kirsty Henshaw, 39, grew up in Preston, Lancashire, and fell pregnant aged 19 - raising her little boy as a single mum. Soon after her son, Jacob, now 18, was born he was diagnosed with severe allergies to nuts and dairy. This inspired Kirsty to set up a dairy-free ice cream recipe from her tiny kitchen so her son could eat it - and turned it into a small business.
When Jacob was three, after getting herself a budget ice cream maker from Argos for £30, Kirsty developed a tasty dairy-free recipe. She thought others would benefit too and started a business with a small manufacturer to sell it in local health food shops - funding it by picking up extra bar shifts at work. After working out a business plan, she took the idea onto Dragon's Den in 2010 - and secured £65k of investment. She said: 'I was naive, and I was so nervous.