Alumni startup on Dragon's Den

Alumni startup tackles the Dragons’ Den

Date: January 2025

Graphic of keyboard with edit key

Two of our alumni, Computer Science graduates Aaron Morris (Stephenson College, 2019-22) and Zara Paul (South College, 2021-24), appeared in the new BBC2 series of Dragons’ Den recently in a bid to secure investment for their start-up, Choppity.

Choppity is an innovative web-based AI video editing platform created by the couple in 2023 with the support of alumni-funded Durham Venture School (DVS). The platform is designed to simplify the video-editing process for podcasters and businesses and is already used in production by leading companies such as ITN, Autotrader, Turtle Bay, and Sonatype.

Securing investment

Their appearance was televised on Thursday 16 January. The presentation to the five ‘dragons’ was successful, with entrepreneur Sara Davies and fashion retailer Touker Suleyman offering them their target £100,000 for the 6% stake offered.

However, the couple decided to opt for the offer made by tech-investor Peter Jones, who offered them the full investment for 15% of the company, which would be reduced to 12.5%, should the stake be repaid within 2025.

Durham Venture School

DVS is an alumni-funded, full-time programme aiming to help Durham graduates to explore problems, create new ideas and launch new ventures. The concept and initial prototype for Choppity were developed, and the business was created whilst at the Venture School.

Coaching and mentoring support are an integral part of the programme and Venture Lab staff worked with Aaron and Zara to help perfect both the content and delivery of their Dragon's Den pitch. Zara explained that they attribute a large part of their success on the show to the thorough preparation at the lab in the weeks before filming!

Thanks to a recent donation, the next cohort will be welcomed to the Venture School programme in the Summer.

A bright future

Reflecting on their experience, Zara said, "It was an unforgettable moment to be in that room, presenting something we’ve worked so hard on. The setup felt incredibly stripped back - just the two of us and a screen in front of the five established entrepreneurs. It was both nerve-wracking and exhilarating."

It has since been reported that the Dragon’s Den deal did not go ahead by mutual decision, but the endorsement of three respected entrepreneur investors means that the future is bright for Aaron, Zara and Choppity.