Product Update

Is M 14 Industries Still in Business? (2026 Update)

Is M 14 Industries from Dragons’ Den still around in 2026? The deal it made, the dragons who invested, and where to buy M 14 Industries today.

Dragons' Den IndexUpdated 13 May 20266 min read

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M14 Industries pitched an unusual idea for the Den, a white-label platform that let anyone build their own niche dating app rather than building one dating app itself. Founder John Kershaw was already known for one product built on that platform, Bristlr, a dating app for beard enthusiasts that had picked up national press for being exactly as odd as it sounds. Working out whether the company is still in business today means untangling two separate threads, the platform and the app.

The Short Answer

This one does not have a clean yes or no. The specific company that pitched in the Den, and the limited company behind the Bristlr brand, was dissolved in February 2024 according to company records. At the same time, the Bristlr app itself is still listed and reviewed as an active dating app into 2026, still downloadable and apparently still matching users. In other words, the corporate entity behind the pitch is gone, but the product it built has, in some form, outlived it.

The Pitch

M14 Industries appeared in series 14, episode 15, pitching in the Tech & Software category. Kershaw asked for £80,000 in exchange for 20 percent of the business, seeking to expand M14's white-label technology beyond Bristlr into a platform other founders could use to launch their own niche dating apps.

The pitch went about as well as a pitch can go. Reports from the episode describe all five Dragons making offers, with Peter Jones and Nick Jenkins ultimately teaming up on a joint offer that matched Kershaw's £80,000 ask at a £400,000 valuation for the business.

Why the On-Air Deal Never Closed

The Dragons' Den deal fell apart after filming, but not for the usual due diligence reasons. According to Kershaw's own account, one of M14's existing clients approached the company wanting to invest, offering better terms at a £1.5 million pre-money valuation, well above what Peter Jones had offered on the show.

When Kershaw asked whether the Dragons' Den terms could be renegotiated to match, Peter Jones said no, and the on-air deal collapsed. Somewhat ironically, the rival investor then also pulled out of investing, choosing to stay on simply as a customer instead. Despite that, M14 Industries reportedly still closed a roughly £100,000 funding round on its own shortly afterward, and went on to acquire another dating startup, Double, that had also appeared on the show.

What Happened Since

Bristlr kept operating for years after the show, at one point reportedly facilitating more than 500,000 matches. But the underlying limited company, Bristlr Limited, was formally dissolved on 27 February 2024, which is a meaningful data point even though it does not automatically mean the app went dark the same day.

Reviews and app store listings dated into 2026 still describe Bristlr as available on iOS and Android, suggesting the brand and app have continued in some form, whether through a new owner, a licensing arrangement, or simply a different corporate structure than the one that pitched in the Den. We could not confirm the current ownership with certainty, and readers should treat that detail as unresolved rather than settled.

Common Questions

Is M14 Industries still in business? Not as the company that pitched. Its flagship Bristlr Limited entity was dissolved in February 2024, though the Bristlr app itself appears to still be listed as available.

Did M14 Industries get a deal on Dragons' Den? Peter Jones and Nick Jenkins jointly offered the full £80,000 ask, but the deal fell through after a client offered better terms, and that rival investment also collapsed.

What was M14 Industries? A white-label platform for building niche dating apps, best known for its own product, Bristlr, a dating app for people with beards and those who like them.

Is Bristlr still an active app? Reviews and app store listings dated into 2026 describe it as available on iOS and Android, though we could not confirm who currently owns or operates it.

Where Things Stand Now

To recap: M14 Industries asked for £80,000 for 20 percent in series 14, secured a joint on-air offer from Peter Jones and Nick Jenkins, and then walked away from that deal after a client offered better terms, a deal that then also fell through.

The company built around that pitch, and the limited company tied to its flagship Bristlr app, was dissolved in 2024. The app itself appears to still be operating as of 2026 under circumstances we cannot fully verify. The safest honest summary is that the original business is gone, but the product had a longer life than the company that built it.

Where to buy M 14 Industries

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