THREE Basingstoke entrepreneurs were all in a twitter when they met Dragons’ Den investor Theo Paphitis.

Sandrine Wyatt-Gonord, from The Nautical Company, Sarah Evans from Rightbag and Jan Jack from Jan Jack’s Perfect Verse – had been picked as Theo Paphitis Small Business Sunday winners.

Each Sunday, entrepreneurs can catch the attention of the high-profile businessman by sending a tweet to @TheoPaphitis between 5pm and 7.30pm using #SBS.

The trio joined around 300 SBS winners at a special event hosted by the charis-matic entrepreneur at Edgbaston Cricket Stadium in Birmingham.

Comedian and poet Jan, who specialises in writing for special occasions, such as weddings, was chuffed to meet Theo.

She gave him a copy of a poem she had written for him, which ended: “Some pitches are nonsensical, of that there is little doubt, your patience lost, we’re waiting for the word, that’s it, I’m out!”

Jan, who runs Jan Jack’s Laughter House Comedy Club at the Red Lion Hotel, in Basingstoke’s Top of The Town, also gave Theo a book of her naughty poetry.

Sarah, who sells stylish bags, cases and covers for laptops and mobile devices online from Hatch Warren, said: “There was a really good buzz there. Everyone came away feeling very positive.”

Theo’s question-and-answer session overran by more than an hour because he wanted to answer everyone’s questions, including one from Sarah.

She said: “I asked him what he thought the advantages were for being a small business compared to a larger business. He said small businesses can offer a much more personal service and they can make decisions and get things done quicker.”

Sandrine, who runs an outdoor clothing and equipment online business in Eastrop said she was impressed with Theo.

“He really was genuinely interested in small businesses and was very down to earth” she added.

The event saw the launch of theopaphitissbs.com which will allow each winner to add their own profile.