Dragons' Den Explained

Dragons' Den
Creator:Nippon TV
Origin:The Tigers of Money (Japanese: マネーの虎|manē no tora|label=none) (Japan)
Owner:Nippon TV
Years:2001–present
Tv:Dragons' Den (see franchises)
Otherlabel1:Genre
Otherdata1:Reality television
Otherlabel2:First aired
Otherlabel3:Distributor
Otherdata3:Sony Pictures Television

Dragons' Den is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is known as The Tigers of Money (Japanese: マネーの虎| manē no tora), a pun on "The Tiger of Malaya" (Japanese: マレーの虎|marē no tora|label=none), which was the nickname of WWII general Tomoyuki Yamashita.[1] The format was created and is owned by Nippon TV and is distributed by Sony Pictures Television.

Local versions of the show have been produced in over 40 countries, as well as one for the Arab world and Morocco; in some countries, more than one version has been aired. The first version to air outside of Japan was the British programme Dragons' Den, which launched in 2005; in the several years afterward, most versions named themselves Dragons' Den or variations thereof, though some also used other animals in the title, such as lions. Since the launch of the U.S. version of the show, Shark Tank, in 2009, many versions have been named Shark Tank or variations thereof. In versions where the name of the show contains a creature's name, the investors are referred to by that name. The Israeli version of the show, HaKrishim ("The Sharks"), was the first to use the "shark" moniker, during its launch in 2006.

Format

The contestants are usually inventors, product designers, or service operators who have what they consider to be a viable and potentially very profitable business idea, but who lack funding and/or business acumen. They pitch their idea to five rich entrepreneurial businesspeople, who in most iterations of the show are referred to as "dragons", "tigers" (in the original Japanese show), "lions" or "sharks". Before the show, the contestants have named a specific amount of money that they wish to get along with a percentage in the business that the contestant is offering to sell to the investors. The rules stipulate that if they do not raise at least this amount from the dragons, they get nothing. In return, the contestant gives the dragons a percentage of the company's capital stock, which is the chief point of negotiation. The program does not show the entire pitch as scenes are selected and edited from the episode due to time constraints.

The dragons probe the idea further once the contestant has made the presentation. This will either reveal a sound business proposition resulting in an investment offer from one or more of the dragons in return for equity or a withdrawal from the transaction by either the contestant or all of the dragons. A rejection by the dragons is often given as "I'm out" which is usually triggered (in the investor's opinion) by the investor asking for a larger equity stake in the business than the contestant wants to give up, the contestant's valuation on the business being too high compared to its overall profits, the product not having any proprietary value, or the investor's belief that they cannot add value to the business. Sometimes the dragons identify troubling facts such as an embarrassing lack of preparation on the part of the contestant, the contestant's lack of business knowledge, their perceived margins, competitors, insufficient sales, or high manufacturing costs. Contestants often negotiate and barter with the investors. The deals agreed to on the program may or may not actually be carried through.

International versions

Currently airing

An upcoming season

Status unknown

No longer airing

Country! scope="col"
Local titleNetworkCurrent InvestorsSeasons
AfghanistanFikr wa TalashTOLO
Arab WorldDragons' Den: Al AareenFuture TV
  • Omar El-Quqa
  • Ahmad Tantash
  • Nassif Karam
  • Roger Azar
Season 1, 2007
Morocco Qui veut investir dans mon projet ?2M TV Season 1, 2020Season 2, 2021

Presented by : Mehdi Boukhari

AustraliaDragon's DenSeven Network Season 1, 2005
Shark TankNetwork 10Current

Former

Austria2 Minuten 2 MillionenPuls 4
  • Hans Peter Haselsteiner (1–9)
  • Oliver Holle (1)
  • Leo Hillinger (2–9)
  • Michael Altrichter (1–5)
  • Martin Rohla (6–9)
  • Hansi Hansmann (1)
  • Heinrich Prokop (2–5)
  • Florian Gschwandtner (6–8)
  • Felix Ohswald (9)
  • Selma Prodanovic (1)
  • Marie Hélène Ametsreiter (2–4)
  • Katharina Schneider (5–9)
  • Daniel Mattes (1)
  • Daniel Zech (2–7)
  • Philipp Maderthaner (8–9)
  • Alexander Schuetz (8–9)
  • Stefan Piëch (8–9)
BelgiumLeeuwenkuilVIER Season 1, 2018
BangladeshShark Tank BangladeshBongo
Deepto TV
  • Sami Ahmed
  • Navin Ahmed
  • Ahmed Ali Leon
  • Nazim Farhan Chowdhury
  • Golam Murshed
  • Sausan Khan Moyeen
  • Samanzar Khan
  • Kazi Mahboob Hassan
  • Faatin Haque
  • Anika Chowdhury
Season 1, 2024
BrazilShark Tank Brazil[pt]Current
  • João Appolinário (1–)
  • José Carlos Semenzato (4–)
  • Carol Paiffer (5–)
  • Joel Jota (8–)
  • Monique Evelle (8–)
  • Sergio Zimerman (8–)

Former

  • Camila Farani (1–6)
  • Christiana Arcangeli (1–4)
  • Robinson Shiba (1–3)
  • Sorocaba (1)
  • Caito Maia (2–)
  • Sandra Chayo (7)
  • Felipe Titto (7)
CanadaDragons' DenCBCCurrent

Former

Season 18, 2023
Dans l'œil du dragon(fr)Ici Télé
China合伙中国人
("Chinese Partner")
Shenzhen Satellite TV
  • Bob Xu (1–2)
  • Annabelle Long Yu (1–2)
  • Li Guoqing (1–2)
  • Yao Jinbo (1–2)
  • Hugo Shong (1)
  • Zhou Hongyi (1)
  • Jerry Huang (2)
ColombiaShark Tank Colombia[es]Current
  • Mauricio Hoyos (1–)
  • Alexander Torrenegra (1–3, 5–)
  • Leonardo Wehe (2–)
  • Andrea Arnau (3–)
  • Hanoi Morillo (4–)
  • Miguel McAllister (5–)
  • Álvaro Rodríguez (5–)

Former

  • Ricardo Leyva (1–4)
  • Frank Kanayet (1–3)
  • Juliana Barreto (1–2)
  • Alejandra Torres (3–4)
  • Samy Bessudo (3–4)
  • Miguel Caballero (4)
CroatiaDragon's NestHRT
  • Maja Pečarević
  • Hrvoje Prpić
  • Branko Roglić
Season 1, 2007
(Cancelled in production)
Czech RepublicDen D
(The D-Day)
ČT1
  • Dana Bérová (1–3)
  • Marta Nováková (1–3)
  • Tomio Okamura (1–3)
  • Ivan Pilný (1, 3)
  • Ondřej Bartoš (1–2)
  • Michael Rostock (2–4)
  • Margareta Křížová (4)
  • Petra Rychnovská (4)
  • John Vanhara (4)
  • Michal Hanus (4)
DenmarkLøvens HuleDR1Current
  • Louise Herping Ellegaard (8–)
  • Anne Stampe (8–)
  • Morten Larsen (9-)
  • Nikolaj Nyholm (9-)
  • Tahir Siddique (9-)

Former

  • Ilse Jacobsen (1–3)
  • Jan Dal Lehrmann (4–7)
  • Tommy Ahlers (1–3)
  • Mia Wagner (4–7)
  • Birgit Aaby (1–3)
  • Peter Warnøe (4)
  • Christian Stadil (1–4)
  • Jesper Buch (1–8)
  • Christian Arnstedt (5–8)
  • Jacob Risgaard (5–8)
EgyptDragons' Den is El MashrouaAlnahar
  • Hala Hattab
  • Hisham Al Jamal
Season 1, 2013
Finland
(Lion's Mouth)
MTV3 Season 1, 2007

(Lion's Den)
Nelonen
  • Riku Asikainen (1–2)
  • Ari Lahti (1–2)
  • Jorma Terentjeff (1)
  • Anne Berner (1)
  • Oskari Lehtonen (1)
  • Miika Toivonen (2)
  • Saga Forss (2)
  • Kim Väisänen (2)
Leijonan luola Suomi
(Lion's Den Finland)
Season 1, 2023
FranceQui veut être mon associé?
("Who wants to be my business partner?")
M6Current
  • Delphine André (1–)
  • (1–)
  • (1–)
  • (2–)
  • (2–)
  • Isabele Chevalier (3–)

Former

GermanyDie Höhle der Löwen
("The Lions' Den")
VOXCurrent

Former

GreeceDragons' DenANT1
  • Haris Vafias
  • Tasos Economou
  • Demetrios Mallios
  • Lily Perganda
  • Maria Hatzistefani
  • Leon Yohai

Former:

  • Paul Eformidis (1)
HungaryCápák között
("Among Sharks")[hu]
RTLCurrent
  • Levente Balogh (1–)
  • Péter Balogh (1–)
  • András Moldován (1–)
  • István Lakatos (3–5, 7–)
  • Ilona Orbók (6–)
  • Dr. Eszter Varga (6–)
  • Albert Sárospataki (7–)

Former

  • Gyula Fehér (1–2)
  • Anna Apró (1)
  • Szabina Tomán (2–5)
IndiaShark Tank IndiaSETCurrent
  • Anupam Mittal (1–)
  • Namita Thapar (1–)
  • Peyush Bansal (1–)
  • Vineeta Singh (1–)
  • Aman Gupta (1–)
  • Amit Jain (2–)
  • Azhar Iqubal (3–)
  • Deepinder Goyal (3–)
  • Ritesh Agarwal (3–)
  • Radhika Gupta (3–)
  • Ronnie Screwala (3–)
  • Varun Dua (3–)

Former

  • Ashneer Grover (1)
  • Ghazal Alagh (1)
IrelandDragons' DenRTE One
IsraelHebrew: Hakrishim
("The Sharks")[he]
Channel 10 (1–2)Keshet 12 (3–5)
  • Aviv Tzidon (1–2)
  • Jacky Ben-Zaken (1–2)
  • Zeev Holtzman (1)
  • Amir Eyal (2, 5)
  • Isralea Shatir (1)
  • Yossi Moladvasky (2)
  • Nir Shretzky (1)
  • Nir Barkat (2)
  • Oded Daseu (1)
  • Ronni Ross (2)
  • Dovvi Frances (3–5)
  • Zohar Levkovitz (3–5)
  • Hadar Goldman (3)
  • Eldad Tamir (4)
  • Stav Schachman (3)
  • Oren Dobronsky (4–5)
  • Enia Adivberar (3)
  • Yasmin Luchach (4–5)
ItalyShark Tank Italia[it]Italia 1
  • Luciano Bonetti
  • Fabio Cannavale
  • Gianpietro Vigorelli
  • Mariarita Costanza
  • Gianluca Dettori
Season 1, 2015
JapanManē no Tora
("Money Tigers")
Nippon TVVarious
KenyaLion's DenNTV Season 1, 2016
MaltaShark Tank MaltaTVMCurrent
  • Mark Bajada (1–)
  • Alexander Fenech (1–)
  • Michael Bonello (1–)
  • Dino Fino (2–)
  • Kirsy Kullmann (3–)

Former

  • Mark Weingard (1–2)
  • Christabelle Borg (1–2)
MexicoShark Tank Mexico[es]Current
  • Marcus Dantus (3–)
  • Alejandra Ríos Spinola (6–)
  • Marisa Lazo (6–)
  • Alejandro Litchi (7–)
  • Amaury Vergara (7–)
  • Adriana Gallardo (8–)
  • Brian Requarth (8–)
  • Karla Berman (8–)
  • Oswaldo Trava (8–)

Former

  • Rodrigo Herrera Aspra (1–6)
  • Carlos Bremer (1–5)
  • Arturo Elías Ayub (1–2, 4–6)
  • Jorge Vergara (1–2)
  • Ana Victoria García (1)
  • Patricia Armendáriz (2–5)
  • Luis Harvey (3–4)
  • Braulio Arsuaga (7)
  • Ernesto Coppel (7)
NepalShark Tank NepalHimalaya TV
NetherlandsDragon's DenCurrent
  • Won Yip (3–)
  • Pieter Schoen (3–)
  • Shawn Harris (3–)
  • Manon van Essen (5–)
  • Bas Witvoet (5–)

Former

  • Henk Keilman (1–2)
  • Annemarie Van Gaal (1–2)
  • Willem Sijtoff (1–2)
  • Arjen De Koning (1–2)
  • Jan Pieter Melchior (1)
  • George Banken (2)
  • Michael Perridon (3–4)
  • Nikkie Plesson (3–4)
New ZealandDragon's Den New ZealandTV One Season 1, 2006
NigeriaDragons' DenAIT Network Season 1, 2008
PakistanDragons' DenNeo News
  • Salim Ghauri
  • Naeem Zamindar
  • Humayun Mazhar
Season 1, 2017
PolandDragons' Den – jak zostać milionerem
("How to become a millionaire")
  • Maciej Kaczmarski (1–3)
  • Marian Owerko (1–3)
  • Anna Hejka (3)
  • Andrzej Glowacki (3)
  • Adam Kruszewski (3)
  • Anna Garwolińska (1–2)
  • Grzegorz Hajdarowicz (1–2)
  • Krzysztof Golonka (1)
  • Marek Rusiecki (2)
PortugalShark Tank[pt]
  • Mário Ferreira
  • João Rafael Koehler
  • Susana Sequeira
  • Tim Vieira
  • Miguel Ribeiro Ferreira
RomaniaRomanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Arena Leilor
("Lions' Arena")
TVR 2
  • Marius Ghenea (1–7)
  • Dragoș Anastasiu (1–7)
  • Cristina Bâtlan (1–3)
  • Rucsandra Hurezeanu (4)
  • Cristina Bâtlan (5–6)
  • Sorin Posa (1)
  • Radu Ioan Tudorache (2–3)
  • Florin Talpes (4–7)
  • Gyorgy Baba (1–2)
  • Micrea Tudor (4–6)
  • Orlando Szasz (7)
  • Carmen Sandulescu (1)
  • Mirela Rosca (2)
  • Teodor Frolu (4)
  • Mihaela Nicola (5–6)
Romanian; Moldavian; Moldovan: Imperiul Leilor
("Lions' Empire")
Pro TV
  • Dragos Petrescu (1–4)
  • Mohammad Murad (1–2)
  • Daniela Mariscu (1)
  • Cristian Onețiu (1)
  • Monica Cadogan (1)
  • Dan Șucu (2–4)
  • Cristina Bâtlan (2–4)
  • Bogdan Micu (2)
  • Sebastian Dobrincu (3)
  • Wargha Enayati (3–4)
  • Daniel Mischie (4)
  • Felix Patrăşcanu (4)
  • Răzvan Raţ (4)
  • Mircea Căpăţînă (4)
RussiaKapitalTNT Season 1, 2006
Saudi ArabiaDragons' DenSTV1
  • Saleh Kamel
  • Ahmed Fitihy
  • Nashwa Altahir
  • Altaiar
  • Alhalafy
Season 1, 2011
Slovakia
("The Lion Pit")
TV Markiza
  • Igor Rattaj
  • Milan Dubec
  • Tatiana Ondrejkova
  • Juraj Fehervari
  • Igor Kolla
Season 1, 2023
SloveniaSlovenian: Dober posel Planet TV
  • Branko Drobnak
  • Borut Rismal
  • Daniela Bervar
  • Jure Mikuž
  • Matjaž Krč
Season 1, 2012
South AfricaDragons' DenMzansi Magic
Shark Tank South AfricaM-Net
  • Dawn Nathan-Jones
  • Vinny Lingham
  • Romeo Kumalo
  • Marnus Broodryk
  • Gil Oved
Season 1, 2016
SpainSpanish; Castilian: Tu Oportunidad
("Your Opportunity")
TVE
  • María Eugenia Girón
  • Javier Pérez Dolset
  • Catalina Hoffmann
  • Gonzalo de la Cierva
  • Pablo Gimeno
Season 1, 2013
SwedenDraknästet[sv</sup>]]]]
("The Dragons' Nest")| rowspan="1"| |Current
  • Lena Apler (4–)
  • Sara Wimmercranz (4–)
  • Shervin Razani (4–)
  • Jonas Tellander (6–)
  • Fredrik Eklund (6–)
  • Ash Pournouri (6–)
  • Hannah Widell (6–)
  • Christian von Koenigsegg (6–)

Former

  • Mats Gabrielsson (1–2)
  • Ljubo Mrnjavac (1)
  • Gunilla von Platen (1)
  • Sven Hagströmer (1–2)
  • Richard Båge (1–2)
  • Douglas Roos (2)
  • Susanna Falkengren (2)
  • Dani Evanoff (3)
  • Anne Berner (3)
  • Anders Holm (3)
  • Lars Wingefors (3)
  • Olle Nordberg (3)
  • Jacob de Geer (4–5)
  • Jonas Eriksson (4–5)

| |-| bgcolor="A6EC99"|Switzerland| Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz
("Lion's Den Switzerland")| rowspan="1"| |Current

  • Tobias Reichmuth (1–)
  • Bettina Hein (1–)
  • Roland Brack (1–)
  • Anja Graf (1–)
  • Jürg Schwarzenbach (3–)
  • Lukas Speiser (3–)
  • Patrick Mollet (3–)

Former

| |-| bgcolor="A6EC99"|Thailand| Shark Tank Thailand| Channel 7|Current

  • Natavudh Pungcharoenpong (1–)
  • Krit Srichawla (1–)
  • Bhurit Bhirombhakdi (2–)
  • Chanapan Juangroongruan (3–)
  • Prapol Milintachinda (3–)

Former

  • Shannon Kalayanamitr (1)
  • Chalermchai Mahagitsiri (1)
  • Bodintorn Juangroongruangkit (2)
  • Nishita Shah (1)
  • Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip (2)
  • Rawit Harnausanha (1)

| |-| bgcolor="F0ADAB"|Trinidad and Tobago| Planting Seeds| CNC3|

  • Joseph Rahael
  • Racquel Moses
  • Joe Pires
  • Sheldon Stephen

| |-| bgcolor="F0ADAB"|Turkey| Dragons' Den Türkiye| Bloomberg HT|

| Season 1, 2010|-| bgcolor="F0ADAB"|Ukraine| Ukrainian: Акули бізнесу
(Ukrainian: Akuly biznesu, "Business Sharks")| ICTV| | Season 1, N/A|-| bgcolor="A6EC99"|United Kingdom| Dragons' Den| |Current

Former

| |-| bgcolor="A6EC99"|United States| Shark Tank| ABC |Current

Former

| |-| rowspan ="2"; bgcolor="A6EC99"|Vietnam| Khởi nghiệp| VTV3| | 2005–2006|-| Shark Tank Vietnam – Thương vụ bạc tỷ[vi]| VTV3| | |-|}

See also

External links

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Notes and References

  1. News: Tanaka . Yuki . 1 September 2008 . Last Words of the Tiger of Malaya, General Yamashita Tomoyuki . JapanFocus . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20131016062221/http://in.reuters.com/article/2008/09/01/us-afghan-entrepreneurs-idINISL13086720080901 . 16 October 2013.