Dragon’s Den star Drew Cockton shared Instagram post about bosses helping staff ‘feel comfortable to open up about their lives without fear of judgement’ hours before he was found dead aged 36
- Drew Cockton, 36, died peacefully at home on Saturday, his mother announced
- The entrepreneur impressed Dragon’s Den with his honesty about mental health
- He had £50k investment from Toulker Suleyman for candle business Owen Drew
- Before his death, he shared Instagram post about making staff feel ‘comfortable’
Dragon’s Den star Drew Cockton shared an Instagram post about bosses helping staff ‘feel comfortable to open up about their lives without fear of judgement’ hours before he died aged 36.
Drew Cockton, who secured a £50,000 investment for his scented candle business while impressing the Dragons with his honesty about his mental health battles when he appeared on the BBC1 show last year, died ‘peacefully at home’ on Saturday, his mother said.
Mr Cockton’s final Instagram post before his death spoke about businesses making sure staff feel comfortable enough to be authentic and doing ‘simple things’ to create a safe environment.
‘Businesses big and small should be encouraging their staff to feel comfortable about being their true and authentic selves,’ he wrote, alongside a picture of his smiling face.
‘This has been proven by economists to boost productivity and profitability, so from an economic as well as moral viewpoint there is the impetus to do so.
‘Simple things such as taking the time to learn which pronouns your staff members want to use and creating an environment in which they feel comfortable to open up about their lives outside work without fear of judgement is key.’
Commenting on the post, Paris Hilton wrote: ‘Devastated to hear the news of my friend & #LittleHilton @mrowendrew.
Dragon’s Den star Drew Cockton wrote this Instagram post hours before his death
Paris Hilton later commented on the post following his death, speaking of her devastation
Entrepreneur Drew Cockton, who secured a £50,000 investment in his scented candle business on Dragon’s Den, has died at the age of 36
Mr Cockton impressed the Dragons with his honesty about his mental health when he appeared on the BBC show last year
‘He was so kind with a heart of gold. My heart breaks for his loved ones & family. Sending them all my condolences & so much love. RIP sweet soul. Love you forever my friend.’
Comments paying tribute flooded in after his death was announced, with one saying: ‘Rest in peace Drew. Completely shocked and saddened. Thank you for your kindness, you will forever be remembered as highly driven and, passionate business man with a heart of gold to go along with, the charities and the people in need you extended to will be cherished and appreciated for years to come.’
Another said: ‘I can’t believe the sad news today. Unbelievable to lose such a light in these dark days. I hope he rests in peace and somebody carries on his good work.’
Mr Cockton had quit his high-pressured corporate job to focus on his candle-making enterprise.
The success of his vegan fragrance brand Owen Drew soared after he received a £50,000 investment from Toulker Suleyman, even securing the endorsement of socialite Paris Hilton and reality star Gemma Collins.
But his mother yesterday said that she is ‘truly, utterly heartbroken’ to announce that her ‘gorgeous boy’ died peacefully at home.
In a post on Facebook Kate Drew wrote: ‘We are devastated beyond belief. Life is never, ever going to be the same again. Rest Peacefully darling boy.’
Friends and relatives have described Mr Cockton as a ‘kind and caring person’ with a ‘heart of pure gold’ in tributes.
Mr Cockton created the world’s most expensive candle, designed to celebrate Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018 (pictured)
The 36-year-old, from Wirral, Merseyside, founded vegan fragrance brand Owen Drew in 2017 after quitting his high-pressured corporate job to turn his candle-making hobby into an enterprise.
He claimed to have created the world’s most expensive candle, designed to celebrate Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018, after details of the bride’s floral arrangements and bouquet were released. Set in 24 carat gold vessels, they retail at £750 and contain some of the most expensive oils and perfumes on earth.
Mr Cockton pitched to the Dragons on the BBC show last year and impressed them with how candid he was about his bipolar disorder- so much so that retail mogul Touker Suleyman agreed to invest £50,000 in the venture in exchange for a 30 per cent stake.
Mr Cockton had quit his high-pressured corporate job to focus on his candle-making enterprise
In an interview with FEMAIL last year Mr Cockton admitted he might have remained stuck in an unfulfilling office job had he not fought his own challenging health battles which led to a diagnosis of bipolar disorder.
He told MailOnline: ‘I’m naturally very creative and there’s no doubt certain traits of living with bipolar have helped me, rather than hindered me.
‘My sense of risk is really low, it’s not something I worry about, so it works for me and drives me forward.
‘Every case of bipolar is different and it’s more of a spectrum, so I tend to have cycles of six months where I’ll feel quite flat, but because I’m medicated it’s not actually depression, it’s just a very low time.
‘Then I’ll have six months where I’ve got loads of energy and I’m really productive, want to take on challenges and do new things and feel really creative.
‘Once I’m in that mindset I’m focused and if I decide to do something, I do it. That’s where bipolar helps me, and the lack of concern with taking risks is what made me go on Dragons’ Den – I don’t think I’d have done it otherwise.’
Having graduated from Manchester University with a degree in German and politics he became a postgraduate at the university’s business school.
But as the country struggled to recover from the grip of the 2008 financial crisis, jobs were scarce.
Mr Cockton drafted a business plan, earned funding from a bank and opened a 13-room bed and breakfast called EazySleep on Canal Street. But less than a year later Drew’s dreams were shattered when he had to shut it down.
He admitted he was ‘woefully inexperienced’, adding: ‘I was doing the jobs of about 10 people and eventually I just burned out and had a breakdown.
Drew, pictured right with Michael Skeggs, left, told how bipolar disorder drove him to make a soaring success of his luxury candles venture
Owen Drew sold bath oils, perfumes, soaps and various other high-end wellness fragrance-based products
‘I was severely depressed, lost all my hair, had really bad anxiety and had shaky hands all the time. My mum could see I was really unwell so got me to see a GP who referred me to a psychiatrist, who diagnosed me with bipolar disorder. I was 23.
‘I was a bit of a zombie at the time so didn’t really feel anything about the diagnosis; I was just existing and it’s all a bit of a blur.’
With the right medication Mr Cockton slowly began to get better and rebuild his life. He spent the next seven years working for various companies using his fluency in German to manage accounts in Germany, Switzerland and Austria for various blue chip organisations.
He said: ‘It was fine as a job, but I hated those environments. I hated the drudgery, the passive-aggressive emails from middle managers, I hated the whole corporate world and it wasn’t making me happy or giving me any fulfilment.
‘As a creative outlet I started making candles, just as a hobby, but people began calling at the house, contacting me on social media wanting to buy them and it just snowballed from there.’
In January 2017 he decided to take a gamble, quit his job and throw himself into creating a business.
After a few months his then partner Mike Skeggs, 29, quit his job in investments to become his business partner and they opened their first shop on a trading estate in Birkenhead, embracing the ‘industrial chic’ look.
After the appearance on Dragon’s Den, Owen Drew expanded into bath oils, perfumes, soaps and various other high-end wellness fragrance-based products.
And even the Princess of Wales was said to be partial to the brand. Mr Cockton claimed a Buckingham Palace butler bought six of his £35 Anglesey candles as a gift for Kate.
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