Dragons' Den (Canadian TV series)

Dragons' Den
Genre	Reality show
Directed by	Joseph Interisano
Presented by	Dianne Buckner
Starring	Jim Treliving Michael Wekerle Joe Mimran Manjit Minhas Michele Romanow
Opening theme	"Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is" by Oasis
Country of origin	Canada
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	156
Production
Producer(s)	Tracie Tighe Molly Middleton Alexandra Lane Amy Bourne
Location(s)	Toronto, Ontario
Editor(s)	Steve Tonon Robert Megna
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	43 to 45 minutes
Production company(s)	Celador (2006-2007) 2waytraffic (2007-2012) Sony Pictures Television (2012-present)
Release
Original network	CBC Television
Picture format	480i 4:3 (SDTV) (2006-2007) 1080i 16:9 (HDTV) (2007–present)
Original release	October 3, 2006 – present
External links
Website

Dragons' Den is a Canadian television reality show based on the internationally franchised Dragons' Den format which began in Japan.^[1][2] The show debuted on October 3, 2006 on CBC Television, and is hosted by Dianne Buckner. Aspiring Canadian entrepreneurs pitch business and investment ideas to a panel of five venture capitalists (termed "Dragons") in the hope of securing business financing and partnerships.

Format

Each typical episode features approximately eight pitches, along with a brief synopsis of a further three pitches which usually were rejected by the Dragons.

Each pitch begins with the entrepreneur specifying the amount they are seeking as an investment and the percentage of their business which they are offering in exchange. The entrepreneurs generally describe their business and provide financial details in respect of their costs, sales, and profit margins. Pitches range from those at the conceptual stage to full-fledged long-term businesses. The Dragons ask the entrepreneur questions in order to assess whether their business is one which they would consider investing in. Each Dragon ultimately will either make an offer to invest, or will declare that they "are out", meaning they are not interested in the business. Once all five Dragons are "out", the pitch ends.

While some entrepreneurs are made offers of exactly what they are seeking, most of the offers the Dragons make either seek a greater percentage of the business (equity) or seek a royalty on the sales of the business (this has become more prevalent in later seasons). The entrepreneurs and Dragons may then engage in negotiations until the available offers are either accepted (and a "deal" is made) or rejected.

While Dragons often partner up and make joint offers, they just as often make competing offers. Each of the Dragons has a unique set of skills and connections which sometimes results in the entrepreneur being forced to choose between offers (which might be offering the same or different economic terms) based on the "added" value the specific Dragon would bring to the business.

The main "rule" as set out at the start of every episode is that the entrepreneur is not permitted to accept an offer or multiple offers unless they would receive a total investment of at least the amount that they initially sought. The main ramification of this restriction is that entrepreneurs are often criticised for over-valuing their businesses. This is because the amount sought by the entrepreneur may be more than 50% of the value of their business as perceived by the Dragons (the Dragons rarely make deals for greater than 50%) and sometimes more than the entire value of the business as perceived by the Dragons. The restriction means the Dragons cannot offer a lesser amount that is more in line with their perceived value of the business.

Notwithstanding the acceptances of offers on the show, and the handshake agreements, the offers on the show are generally subject to due diligence by both parties and many "deals" made on the show do not ultimately close, or close at different terms than originally expected. The show sometimes offers updates on both deals which were made and entrepreneurs who were rejected, including certain special episodes focusing exclusively on updates.

Dragons

Timeline of Dragons

Current Dragons

• Jim Treliving (Season 1–present), a former Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer and co-owner of Boston Pizza and Mr. Lube.
• Michael Wekerle (Season 9–present),^[3] founder and CEO of Difference Capital.
• Joe Mimran,^[4] fashion retailer formerly associated with Club Monaco and Joe Fresh
• Manjit Minhas, CEO of Minhas Craft Brewery.^[5]
• Michele Romanow, internet entrepreneur.^[6]

Former Dragons

• Kevin O'Leary (Seasons 1–8), co-host of CBC News Network's business news series The Lang and O'Leary Exchange. O'Leary is the former president of The Learning Company, which was sold to Mattel for $4.2 billion in 1999. He also appears on the US version of the show, Shark Tank. On March 14, 2014, it was announced that O'Leary would not be returning to the show for season 9.^[7]
• Robert Herjavec (Seasons 1–6), founder of an IT security firm that he sold at the height of the dot-com bubble for over $100 million. Currently head of IT security firm "The Herjavec Group". He can still be seen on Shark Tank.^[8]
• Laurence Lewin (Seasons 1–2), co-founder of La Senza, a chain of lingerie shops with more than 310 stores throughout Canada, and, through corporate licensees, a further 320 stores operating in 30 countries around the world. Lewin left the show for health reasons and died on November 12, 2008. The show broadcast a dedication in memory of him on November 17, 2008.^[9]
• Jennifer Wood (Season 1), an executive in Canada's beef industry. Her career in the cattle business began in 1990.
• Arlene Dickinson (Seasons 2–9), the owner of Venture Communications, a marketing company with offices across Canada. Announced she would be leaving the show February 13, 2015 to pursue other career aspirations.
• W. Brett Wilson (Seasons 3–5) is a founder of FirstEnergy Capital Corp, a part owner of the English football team Derby County, and a minor partner in NHL's Nashville Predators team. During his time on the show, he brokered more business deals than any other Dragon on any version of the show worldwide.^[10] Said to be the most philanthropically-minded of the Canadian Dragons,^[11] he has been involved in numerous charities and participated in a CBC staff video for the online It Gets Better Project. Wilson left the show following season 5. In interviews following the announcement of his departure, Wilson criticized the show's producers for sticking to a format that favoured "abuse" and "criticism", rather than offering constructive guidance and feedback to potential entrepreneurs.^[12] He subsequently announced his own entrepreneurship-themed series, Risky Business, to air on Slice.^[13]
• Bruce Croxon (Seasons 6–8) is a founder of online dating website Lavalife and owner of Vida Wellness Spas and partner of Round 13 Capital Investment Firm.^[14] Croxon departed the series at the end of season 8.^[7]
• David Chilton (Seasons 7–9) is the author of the The Wealthy Barber books.^[15]
• Vikram Vij (Season 9),^[3] restaurant magnate, celebrity chef, author and entrepreneur.

Episode list

Awards

On June 13, 2011, Dragons' Den was named best reality program at the Banff World Television Festival.^[28]

Spin-offs

Two spinoff shows featuring Dragons on their own have been created, Redemption Inc. with Kevin O'Leary, and, The Big Decision with Arlene Dickinson & Jim Treliving.

References

External links

• Dragons' Den