St Albans School alumnus entering the Dragons Den this week

The Dock & Bay towels at work. Credit: Emma Sailah Photography (Image: Archant)

Andrew Jefferies, 28, will present his microfibre beach towels to the panel of business experts, looking for a slice of their fortune.

Having only started Dock and Bay with business partner Ben Muller two years ago, Andrew said it was “pretty surreal” to be in front of the Dragons.

Andrew said: “We both used to work in London, and got fed up with the day-to-day.

“So we started meeting up every week, coming up with ideas.”

The two eventually settled on microfibre towels, as a replacement for traditional cotton towels.

As keen travellers the pair noticed cotton towels were difficult to dry, but microfibre towels were quite dull to look at.

Andrew said: “They are easy, but not something you are proud to take to the beach.

“So a couple of years ago we pulled down one of Ben’s curtains and used white strips to see how the towel would look.

“That is when we became really excited about it.”

The two chose microfibre as it has several advantages over cotton.

It is quick-drying, can be packed down to a third the size of a cotton towel, and does not collect damp smells.

Since they began selling the towels, the pair have shifted over 200,000 of the towels.

100,000 were sold this year alone, in locations as diverse as the USA, Australia, and Canada, mostly through Amazon, but Andrew hopes to start seeing them in more retailers soon.

Something he hopes will be helped along by his imminent appearance on the popular BBC Two show.

You can see Andrew and his towels on Dragons’ Den on Sunday, September 10 at 8pm.

St Albans entrepreneurs have previously enjoyed great success on the show.

Rob Tominey, who went to St Columba’s College, won £100,000 in 2014 for a slice of his youth clubbing travel company.

Outside of the Den, St Albans Girls School’s Nina Devani was given £10,000 by former Dragon Suleman Sacranie for her online security app, Prompt Me Nina.