Subdury company signs lucrative deal on CBC hit show.

• Author: Migneault, Jonathan
• Position: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Alicia Woods' appearance on the .Season 9 premiere of Dragons' Den on Oct. 15 exceeded her wildest expectations.

Woods, the founder of Covergalls, a Sudbury-based company that produces coveralls tailored specifically for women, received a raucous response from the dragons.

Only new dragon Vikram Vij, a celebrity chef and entrepreneur, did not make an offer because Woods' business differed too much from his area of expertise.

She ended up making a deal with three dragons--Arlene Dickinson, Michael Wekerle and Jim Treliving--for $75,000 and 30 per cent of her company. Treliving later dropped out. "To be able to bring three of them together was way beyond what I expected," Woods said. "It was a lot of fun."

Woods first thought about making coveralls for women about 15 years ago, when she first started going underground as part of her job with a mining supply company.

"When I had to go underground I had to get clothes, and of course there was nothing for women at that time," she said. "I bought the smallest of everything."

While the coveralls were not ideal, the idea to make a better version stayed at the back of her mind for many more years.

In 2011, she was underground in a potash mine, and due to the heat and dust, had a few bottles of water.

Just around the time nature called, Woods thought she was in the clear as she entered the cage to exit the mine.

But it turned out the cage was going down, instead of up. Woods had to use the nearest portable toilet, while wearing coveralls that were clearly not intended for women.

To do her business, she had to remove the entire coverall inside.

"It was just an awful experience," she said.

To ensure other women wouldn't have to go through the same experience in the future, Woods finally put her idea for a female-friendly coverall to market. In 2013, she started Covergalls with special female-fitted coveralls that included special "trap doors" for using the washroom. "You don't have to take the coverall off if you need to...