Dragons' Den star is 'very lucky to be alive' after being 'sexually assaulted very violently'
Plotpackers founder Louise Truman bravely opened up about being sexually assaulted while backpacking at the age of 21.
A Dragons' Den entrepreneur says she is "very lucky to be alive" after being "sexually assaulted very violently" while travelling.
Louise Truman, founder of Plotpackers, pitched her group travel company to Jenna Meek, 34, Susie Ma, 37, Deborah Meaden, 67, Steven Bartlett, 33, and Peter Jones, 60, seeking £60,000 in exchange for three per cent stake in the business, on Thursday night's (20.08.26's) episode of the BBC show.
She told the Dragons: "For as long as I can remember growing up, all I wanted to do was travel.
"And as much as that’s a cliche, I’m now 25, and my most treasured memories are from my adventures around the world and all of the incredible people that I have met along the way.
"But I am also no stranger to the dangers of travel, from the environmental toll to the personal safety risks that I’ve faced.”
Louise went onto explain that the "extremely traumatic event" on a solo backpacking trip when she was 21 prompted her to explore group travel "as a solution for my safety".
After finding a lack of affordable and sustainable group travel options, she launched Plotpackers in September 2023, turning £3,000 of personal savings into "over £1.5 million in sales, £1.36 million turnover" in the following year.
Peter said Louise's business "sounds great", and then asked why she did not "explain" the event that prompted her to launch Plotpackers.
Louise said: "I’m happy to address it. It is obviously a very traumatic thing.
"I was sexually assaulted very violently and consider myself very lucky to be alive. But as much as I don’t enjoy talking about the topic, it is a big reason why I did this.
"Seventy per cent of the people who travel with us are women, and if you look at studies, women's primary concern when it comes to solo travelling is safety.
"And, obviously, group travel, I'm never going to pretend that this eliminates all risk, but it does give you an additional layer of safeguarding.
"It could have made me never travel again, but I’m glad it led to this."
Peter said: "I'm so dreadfully sorry. Thank you for sharing, it's inspiring of what you've done and turning that into this now. Well done, incredible."
Steven offered Louise £60,000 for six per cent stake, while Susie made the same offer and Deborah offered £60,000 for five per cent.
Louise sought Jenna's advice before she choosing Deborah and Stephen, accepting their £60,000 for a five per cent stake in her business.
