At the turn of the Millenium, Elnaugh was hot property. She was nominated for the Veuve Clicquot Businesswoman of the Year in 2001 and won the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002. Her business expanded fast and her reputation soared with it.
By this time she had become an angel investor on BBC's BAFTA-winning show, Dragon's Den, supporting start-up businesses to achieve the investment they need to bring their products and services to life. She was the show's first female investor, she was pregnant with her fourth child, and behind the scenes, unbeknown to the media, she was fighting to keep Red Letter Days alive!
It was then that Red Letter Days' fast expansion would come back to haunt her, leaving the business to fall into administration in 2005 despite being profitable. This would lead her to speak candidly about her experiences in a series of books entitled, Business Nightmares, where she openly discussed her darkest moments, tapping into the learning curves and bounce backs that defined her time at the exciting young company. The book goes to detail both the rise and fall of Elnaugh's 16-year journey with Red Letter Days. It explores other entrepreneur's near misses and lends advice to those hoping to avoid the same mistakes.
Red Letter Days had a happy ending though, as Elnaugh's fellow Dragons Theo Phaphitis and Peter Jones bought it out of administration and it has since continued its success today.
Creative, and in many ways a visionary, Rachel Elnaugh has shown her immense ability to overcome adversity and dramatically turn her fortunes around. Her after dinner, business and motivational speeches are now sought-after around the world, and she has spoken at The Oxford Union Debating Society, The British Library, The Business Show and even debuted at TedX at Harvard University.
