Lethbridge College instructor Sheldon Anderson and business partner Cody Paxman drove head first into the Dragons’ Den, unsure of their fate.

The two southern Alberta business owners appeared on the popular television program last week and came back with an impressive finish.

The business concept the pair brought to the show was originally just an idea, thanks to a friend who had some incorrect repairs done to her vehicle in 2009.

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This caused Anderson and his wife to work hard on what would become InspectaCAR. InspectaCAR opened its doors May 15, 2010. The business has both a Lethbridge and Calgary location.

“InspectaCAR specializes in vehicle inspections,” said Anderson. “We offer a variety of useful inspections allowing the consumer to determine which inspection will best suit their needs. Included with each of these inspections, we provide a detailed report including any work that needs to be done.  For an extra charge, we can also include quotes of the approximate prices of the parts and labour rates associated with the repairs.”

For Anderson, being on Dragons’ Den was a surreal experience. From watching the show to actually being on it was a nerve-wracking experience for the entrepreneurs. Fortunately the Dragons were nice and personable, getting to know the two men before they made their pitch.

Paxman and Anderson were feeling confident in their business plan having already won two awards and having opened two successful businesses. The Dragons kept asking questions so they were sure someone was going to make an offer, they were just surprised to get so many.

After their pitch they accepted both Jim Treliving and Bruce Coxon’s offers on $85,000 for 15 per cent of the company.

But in a surprising turn of events and extensive due diligence, Paxman and Anderson decided not to go ahead with the deal made in the Den. Treliving and Coxon obviously wanted to go in a separate direction and wanted to offer more repairs whereas Paxman and Anderson wanted to remain unbiased and offer minimal repairs.

“They gave us a lot of help, guidance and positive feedback and continue to offer support and answer our inquiries as we move forward,” said Anderson. “They commented that they were very impressed with our business and the professionalism we portrayed throughout the process.  They also told us that they would continue to promote us wherever they can and provide us with positive referrals.  It was a really great experience working with such prominent business people and we feel that it gave us that added confidence and direction that we needed to move our business to the next phase.  We feel that not going ahead was for the best. However, we are so grateful for the opportunity and exposure that it provided us.”

The future is looking bright for InspectaCAR as they’ve been working with their accountant and lawyer on putting together packages and manuals. They are in the final stages of being ready to sell owner-operator stores.

Thanks to the show, the business has gained some recognition and they’ve been receiving emails across the country from people wanting to own InspectaCAR shops.

Anderson is also the chair of the Crooks School of Transportation at Lethbridge College and he’s happy he’ll be able to keep teaching and run the business. He feels like they’re managing right now as his wife takes care of most of the administration and running the business during the day and his kids are available to help clean and work on the weekends.

“It’s a bit of a family endeavour,” said Anderson.

Overall he’s a loved instructor. His student Grant Hiebert in the automotive service program saw the episode and knew he would get the deal.

“I thought it was awesome,” said Hiebert. “I like that he knows what he’s doing, he’s really humorous so that’s good.”