A confectionery startup talked their way into paying business rent with a f-lump sum – of 15,000 marshmallows.
Hipster entrepreneur Harriot Pleydell-Bouverie, 32, has so far paid for four months of office space with a mountain of sweets so high it would stretch taller than The Shard.
The marshmallows trade off makes 50 per cent of the office rent, which starts at £3,600 a month.
Harriot moved her confectionery business in August and has so far handed over a total of 45,000 marshmallows.
She said: “As a start-up, cash is king and we loved the idea of being able to use marshmallows as a currency to help secure our office.
“We loved the office space but we couldn’t afford it, so we came to a mutual decision.
“They do a lot of stuff for their clients and they use the marshmallows for whatever they want, but I know that they do get used in the office.
“They just place an order when they need them if they have certain events on.”
Harriot appeared on Dragons Den in 2014 and turned down two offers from Deborah Meaden and Peter Jones, who offered £65,000 for a 33.3 per cent stake and £80,000 or 40 per cent respectively.
She later found £150,000 investment on her own after setting up a Kickstarter campaign.
The entrepreneur rents her office space in Shoreditch, east London, from Runway East, who several co-working office spaces in the capital for startups.
Runway East managing director Natasha Guerra said: “More companies should think outside the box when it comes to how you can exchange goods and services with other companies as well as just cash.
“We’re going to give most of the marshmallows to our members.”
She added: “We’re very open to discussions with other start-ups who would like to part pay in goods that will help our members.
“We’re particularly keen to talk to any exciting craft beer start-ups out there.”
