The BBC television series
Dragon's Den is calling for entrepreneurs to pitch their proposals
to a panel of some of the UK's most successful business people who
have pledged to invest their own money in the best ideas.
The series is seeking entrepreneurs with a business idea or
product that is investment-ready.
Each business (pitcher) can bid for a specified amount of
funding for their idea or product. If the pitcher can convince one
or more of the Dragons to meet that specified amount (usually in
exchange for shares in their company), the pitcher walks away with
the cash.
If the pitcher finds themselves short of the specified amount of
funding, they lose it all.
Each pitcher is free to bargain with the Dragons in order to get
the specified level of funding.
As demonstrated by the investments in the last four series
- ideas, businesses and products that meet some or all of the
following criteria stand a good chance of securing the Dragons’
interest:
- The Unique Selling Point - a product that serves a need
like nothing else
- Scalability - something that can be up scaled to make
real money
- Route to Market - the clear way the product can be sold
and marketed
- Mutually Beneficial Arrangement - just what will the
Dragons get out of it?
- Exit Strategy - a plan of how the
entrepreneur/Dragon will exit and make money
Examples of entrepreneurs who recently secured
funding on Dragon's Den include:
- a teddy bear with an integrated multi-media player which
secured an investment of £140,000, which saw it becoming a top
selling toy of Christmas 2007, signing a multi-million pound deal
with the UK's number 1 toy & game distributor
- £50,000 investment for a secret sauce recipe, which has
launched in nationwide supermakets and has now apparently sold over
a million bottles within a few weeks of appearing on the show
- a simple plastic housing that protects cable connects
which secured £150,000. Within weeks the production was increase
from 1 million to 3 million units per year, securing a 5 year deal
with a multi-national distributor with the resources to export to
150 countries.
ENTERING
For further information and to apply please contact Dragon's
Den by Email: dragonsden@bbc.co.uk Tel: 0871
200 3003 (Calls cost 10p per minute from a BT Landline, other operators and
mobiles may be higher) or visit: www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden
The Dragon's Den website features case studies of the last
series and details of the deals that were made between
entrepreneurs and the investers. The site also includes information
on how to pitch an idea, links to further assistance on starting up
a business, and an online application form to take part in the
show.