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Theo Paphitis and Louise Lloyd
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'Baby signing' entrepreneur mingles with TV dragon

By Tim Harris
December 19, 2011

A BUSINESSWOMAN from Farnborough taught TV dragon Theo Paphitis sign language at the recent opening of his new shop in Guildford.

Louise Lloyd, who runs her own sign language business, was able to teach the Dragons' Den star the sign for 'granddad,' after she was given a press pass for the opening of his new Boux Avenue store.

It is thanks to Paphitis that Louise's business, Baby Signing Mummy, took a positive surge in October 2010.

As part of his 'Sunday night business' tag on social media site Twitter, the dragon 'retweeted' Louise, sparking a boost for her company.

She said: “It was a complete honour to actually meet Theo in person, having been recognised by him on Twitter for my small local business and always watching him on Dragon's Den.

“Theo was a real gentleman and instantly remembered tweeting with me, he took a real interest in my business and was very happy for me to teach him the sign for granddad.

“I was delighted to find out a couple of days later that he had been practising the sign and it had been recognised as the sign for granddad. I was thrilled at being able to meet him in the real world.”

Paphitis, who has recently become a granddad himself, has since been in touch with Louise telling her how much he enjoyed the lesson.

Baby Signing Mummy is an award-winning company, which Louise founded in 2010. It teaches parents, babies and children to communicate through sign language. Teaching to sign is achieved through interactive learning classes.

“Baby Signing Mummy has had a fantastic 2011,” said Louise. “I have great aspirations for 2012 and onwards.

“I want to be able to help as many parents, grandparents and children as possible to enjoy the wonders of communication from such a young age.

“And who knows, maybe I'll try to take on the Dragons in the Den.”

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