Two brothers from Sherwood Park, Dawson and Jagger Glowatsky pitched their RV part business on season 16 of Dragons’ Den in December of 2021. In 2019, the duo decided to apply for Dragons’ Den, a reality show where ambitious entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to successful investors in hopes of for a cash return and a share in their company. The brothers originally went onto the show asking for $150,000 for 10 per cent of their company, and ended up receiving offers from all of the Dragons for the original amount but for 12 per cent.

Dawson Glowatsky began selling cars in high school, and after he graduated, they had sold about 150 used cars. Dawson decided to continue his passion for selling cars and purchased a building in Mundare to keep business going. After some time in the automotive industry, Dawson said he decided to give selling trailers a try. The first trailer he purchased was extremely run down and would’ve been hard to resell as a whole.

“We were like, ‘how are we gonna get our money back out of this thing?’” Dawson said. “But we ended up parting it out, and we’re like, ‘oh man, there’s good money in this.’” Dawson’s brother Jagger joined in on the business idea, and the two soon realized that stripping old RV’s and selling specific parts was not only a lucrative business idea but that they were one of the only businesses in the country doing so.

To get their business off the ground, the brothers created a website and put a motor home on the side of the road for advertisement. “Just like that, we blew up; we didn’t even know how rare these RV parts were,” Dawson says.

The brothers eventually outgrew their business in Mundare and bought a bigger shop in Vegreville in 2018, where Young Farts RV Parts was created and remains today. The old and new RV parts can be purchased in person or delivered online Canada-wide through their website. The memorable name was created by Jagger, who said, “I woke up at 3 a.m. (one day) with the name in my notes, and I was like, let’s roll with it.”

Before their appearance on Dragons’ Den in December 2021, the brothers made an effort to grow their online presence. It was not easy for them. “All of these websites wanted a fortune,” Jagger says. “Finally, we had one distributor that was able to set up our online store, and slowly I started learning more off of Google, and (that’s) how it’s taken off.”

The two were originally going to attend the live auditions in Edmonton back in 2020 “We practiced and rehearsed but didn’t end up going because of COVID,” Dawson said. They were then asked to send in an audition tape and were invited to sit down with producers to pitch their ideas further. “(The producers) pretend to be Dragons while you’re doing a Zoom call,” Dawson said. After a two-month waiting game, they were contacted and invited to pitch their ideas to the Dragons in June of 2021 in Toronto.

Before their appearance on the show, the brothers had to prepare a skit and decided to buy and ship a giant trailer to Toronto. Once they arrived downtown for the show, they had to bring an entire trailer up to the 10th floor of the building. “It was really nerve-wracking; I’ve never been nervous like that in my life,” Dawson said. “It kinda felt like you were dreaming.” The business entrepreneurs said that on the TV show, the Dragons seem much further away than they actually are. “They’re maybe six feet away from you,” Dawson said.

Aside from being nervous, the Glowatsky brothers said the show went well. Their skit included sawing off parts of the trailer in front of the Dragons. “After we said our ideas, they all started shooting offers; we ended up getting offers from every single one of them,” Dawson said. Before deciding on an offer, Dawson said, “it doesn’t show in the episode, but we ended up going into the box, and once you come back, you kinda fake making the deal on the stage.”

The brothers originally wanted to make a deal with Michelle Romanow, a Canadian tech entrepreneur, because she had made previous deals involving the RV industry. “Every single Dragon there offered different things; they all would’ve been wonderful,” Dawson said. The brothers asked if Romanow would join in with Arlene Dickinson, another Dragon, on an offer but ended up taking a solo offer from Romanow for $150,000 for 12 per cent of their company.

After the show, the brothers said their company is becoming more recognized in the United States. “We’ve already brought in a lot of income because they don’t stop camping down there,” Dawson said. “Ultimately, our goal is to be the number one go-to RV place to go get parts.”

For those aspiring to go on Dragons’ Den, the brothers’ advice is to know your numbers really well. “Our business model wasn’t a new invention; yes, we were the only ones doing it, but if you’re going to present to (the Dragons), present yourself with a huge story and something that really sets you apart.”

Dawson and Jagger are excited about the future of their company and are proud of being self-taught business entrepreneurs. Dawson says, “at the end of the day, you can learn to do anything on your own.”

For those wanting to learn more about the Dragons’ Den duo, their website is youngfartsrvparts.ca, and the episode can be found on CBC.ca