How We Ended Up on Dragons' Den: The Story Behind Cubbi

You might have caught our episode of Dragons' Den on Thursday 12th February 2026. If you missed it, you can watch the highlights here.

Olivia and Tanyka Davson stepped into the Den to pitch Cubbi, the UK’s discount platform for new and expecting parents, with Olivia nine months pregnant at the time. Perfect timing.

But Cubbi was not born under studio lights in Manchester. It began much earlier, in 2023, with a newborn baby, a flat white going cold, and a small but powerful realisation.

The spark

When Olivia had her first son in 2023, she quickly felt the shift that so many new parents experience. Income drops. Spending rises. Identity wobbles. And yet life carries on as if nothing monumental has happened.

One afternoon, sitting in a coffee shop with a crying baby and very little sleep, it hit her. Students receive discounts. Key workers receive discounts. Why were parents on parental leave, often earning less while spending more than ever, not recognised in the same way?

It was not about entitlement. It was about acknowledgement. Parental leave is a huge economic and emotional transition, yet there was no infrastructure offering everyday support.

Olivia shared the idea with her sister. Tanyka was not a mum at the time, but immediately saw the gap. “How does this not exist?” became the running theme.

With Olivia eight weeks postpartum, they decided to build it.

Building Cubbi from scratch

For six months, evenings and nap times became brainstorming sessions. A business plan slowly formed. Olivia pitched to hundreds of brands. Tanyka taught herself to code and built the first version of the app despite having no technical background.

In February 2024, Cubbi launched with 30 brands and a very makeshift platform that worked just enough to prove the point.

A few weeks later, a social post went viral. Thousands of parents joined. Messages flooded in saying this was exactly what had been missing. That was the moment it stopped feeling like a side project and started feeling like a movement.

Over the following year, growth was steady but hard won. Olivia was pregnant again. Tanyka was balancing a full time role in finance. By early 2025, Cubbi had around 100 brands and 12,000 parents on board. Momentum was building, even if capacity was stretched.

Then came the message that nearly got deleted.

The call from Dragons' Den

A producer reached out inviting Cubbi to apply for Dragons' Den. It was ignored more than once because it looked like spam. Eventually curiosity won.

Filming was set for May 2025. Slight complication. Olivia was due to give birth in May.

They said yes anyway.

The sisters travelled to Manchester the week before Olivia’s planned C section. Pitch polished. Numbers memorised. Backup plan in place in case Olivia could not stand for the full grilling.

As you saw on the episode, the feedback in the room was positive about the founders and the mission. Some Dragons struggled to understand why focusing specifically on new parents was commercially smart. Others got it instantly.

Susie Ma was one of them. As a fellow founder and mum, she understood both the emotional side and the market opportunity. She offered £50,000 for 10 percent of the company.

After the cameras stopped

Shortly after filming, Olivia welcomed a healthy baby. There was a short pause to breathe and recover. Then it was straight back to work.

With Susie’s support, the focus turned to preparing Cubbi for scale before the episode aired. The investment went into strengthening the tech, refining the user verification system and reworking the brand. The original logo had been designed by Olivia in the middle of the night during a breastfeeding session. It was time for a glow up.

The team also focused on onboarding as many brands as possible so that when parents arrived, the value was obvious from day one. Susie was practical, hands on and hugely supportive throughout.

In December 2025, the air date was confirmed for February 2026. Excitement levels skyrocketted.

When it finally aired

Cubbi aired on national television. The reaction from parents was overwhelmingly positive. Many messaged to say they felt seen. Some were frustrated that not everyone in the Den immediately grasped the idea. Most importantly, they signed up.

They shared feedback.They suggested brands.They introduced partners. The community did what the community has always done. They showed up.

What happens next?

Cubbi is still early and still ambitious. The next phase is about depth as much as scale. More brands. More everyday categories. More meaningful ways for parents to save during parental leave.

Coffees and lunches.Takeaways on tired evenings. Fashion for mum, dad and baby. Essentials and big ticket purchases alike.

The mission has not changed since that coffee shop moment in 2023. To make parents feel recognised and supported at a time when life and finances shift dramatically.

If you have joined us recently, welcome! If you have been here from the early days, thank you.

This is just the beginning.

Dragons' Den: The Story Behind Cubbi