Genre Reality show Presented by Dianne Buckner | Directed by Joseph Interisano Country of origin Canada | |
Starring Jim Treliving
Michael Wekerle
Joe Mimran
Manjit Minhas
Michele Romanow Opening theme "Put Yer Money Where Yer Mouth Is" by Oasis | ||
Dragons' Den is a Canadian television reality show based on the internationally franchised Dragons' Den format which began in Japan. 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.
Contents
Auditions for the 12th season began on February 11 and will end on April 1, after a multi-city audition tour across Canada.
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.
Timeline of Dragons
Current Dragons
Former Dragons
Awards
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.