It all started in 2019 on Church Road, Urmston. Two neighbours – Ashley Washington, a local florist with a vision, and Max Thorley, a tech entrepreneur – shared a common frustration: watching their beloved high street struggle against big corporations.
Together, they built SHOCAL from the ground up. No outside funding. No shortcuts. Just hard work, late nights, and an unwavering belief that local businesses deserve a fighting chance.
Four years later, they found themselves walking down those famous stairs into the Dragons' Den, facing five of Britain's most successful investors. After over two hours of intense questioning, they walked out with an £80,000 investment from Touker Suleyman.
"It's like the most stressful interview you've ever done," Ashley recalls. But they did it – and they did it their way.
