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Entrepreneur and ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ Leicester (²ÝÁñÊÓƵ) graduate Simon Sansome, appeared last night on BBC One’s Dragons' Den where he managed a rare clean sweep of all five dragons.

Simon was in the den looking for £80,000 investment in his Snowball app, which has been described as ‘Trip Advisor for the disabled community’.

The app allows its global community of users to see, and rate for themselves, the accessibility of almost 100,000 business venues and other locations all over the UK including restaurants, shops and attractions.

Simon, who studied journalism at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ, and later joined the university’s Crucible business incubation programme, needed at least one of the multi-millionaire dragons to offer £80k investment in his company Snowball Community Limited, otherwise he would have come away with nothing.

On the night, all five dragons jumped at the chance to invest in and work with Simon, who was named in 2023 and 2024 as one of the UKs most influential disabled people in the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 list.

Veteran dragon Peter Jones proposed the £80k investment was split equally between the five dragons, and the others all agreed to each invest £16k for a 5% share of the Simon’s business.

His stunning success sees Simon join a select group of entrepreneurs who have bagged all five dragons on the popular BBC show.

 Simone said: “When I received a clean sweep of all five dragons I was in shock. After eight years of hard work, it’s fair to say this was a very emotional moment for me.

“Each one of the investors is going to bring a unique and very special element to my business. Steven has the marketing prowess, Peter the tech know-how, and Touker the retail knowledge. Sara has phenomenal brand-building expertise, and Deborah, as well as spending a lifetime in the leisure and hospitality industry, has a sister who is a wheelchair user, so she has a first-hand understanding of the challenges our community can face. It’s an extremely exciting time for Snowball, and this level of investment and expertise is going to help me support a lot of people very quickly.”

Leicestershire-based Simon, who experienced a life-changing injury in 2014, leaving him paralysed from the waist down, came up with the idea for the mobile app, which features user generated content and reviews, after a Facebook page he created to raise awareness of accessible spots reached an audience of over 30 million people.

Dragon Deborah Meaden commented: “In this day and age, wheelchair users and people with disabilities still struggle to identify the most basic of accessible services, and this needs to change. I’m delighted to back Simon and his smart idea to transform the day-to-day lives of people living with disabilities”. Sara Davies added: “The minute Simon entered the den I was blown away by his story. His grit and determination is something to behold, and it’s no surprise his app is already winning awards and changing lives. I’m excited to help him grow his brand and realise his global ambitions for Snowball.”  

Steven Bartlett said: “Simon is such an inspiration. His mission to create better inclusivity for people with a disability is so important and we are looking forward to seeing him drive this forward with this investment”. Touker Suleyman added: “The potential for Snowball is off the scale, and this app is just the start. Simon is brimming with ideas to use his brand to make life better for people with visible and hidden disabilities, and it will be a pleasure to support him on his entrepreneurial journey.” 

Peter Jones, concluded: “Simon is no snowflake. He has been through so much over the past ten years, but instead of feeling sorry for himself, he has poured his energy and lived experience into creating a brand that enables people with disabilities to take control. Snowball isn’t just a mobile app, it’s a game changer for the disabled.”

Even before Dragons Den, Snowball had thousands of users and boasts legendary Paralympian Hannah Cockcroft and Tokyo gold medalist Aaron Phipps as Brand Ambassadors.

Snowball Community can be downloaded for free for Android and Apple devices.

Simon’s story 

Following a life-changing injury at the age of 32 in 2014, which resulted in partial paralysis from the waist down, Simon Sansome took early retirement due to ill health and returned to university to study journalism at ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ, pursuing a passion for writing.

In 2016, Simon launched a Facebook page called Ability Access, now called the Snowball Community, which has grown into the most-read disability page in the world. It can reach over 30 million people a month and has amassed thouisands of social media followers.

In 2023, Simon launched the Snowball Community App, a TripAdvisor-like platform for the disabled community. It allows users to review and rate places for accessibility, with thousands of reviews already submitted. 

Watch Simon’s Amazon documentary, Access All Areas, which follows his and his wife’s journey, from the onset of disability to where they are today. The film has won 16 major awards and is available on Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube Films, and Apple.

Simon also serves as co-chair, alongside Jordan Jarrett Bryan (C4, TalkSPORT), of the Disability and Journalism Forum (DJF) UK.