Dragon's Den

micromary

I had a business last year which I have put on hold for a while as it was not working out. However I also applied to Dragon's Den while it was in operation.

To cut a long story short I went to a interview when the business stopped. I told the production team this but I advised them that with the right business advise it could be a success. I have heard today that they want me on the show and have set a day in February for recording.

I am confused. Should I go on or not? I may be working at that stage and I have heard that if it goes wrong you could be made a complete laughing stock. Have anybody any experiences of the Irish Dragon's Den? Could somebody give me some advise please?

jimmii

If you still think the business still has the potential to work then as long as you put together a good pitch they aren't going to make you a laughing stock its only when people go on with ridiculous expectations or no real business that they look silly. Probably best not to say you put the business on hold because it wasn't working out though! If there is potential and your expectations are realistic from an investment point of you are always in with a chance.

Peterdalkey

Unless you are much more committed to the business that you appear from this post, I would say it is a mistake to proceed. Look at the kinds of questions they ask from previous shows and put your own answers to them.
Also consider the following

How can you demonstrate that you are fully engaged with the project, when you have already partly abandoned it?
Why has it not worked out so far?
What kind of a return can you offer any investor?
How could a Dragon use their contatcs to enhance your business?
Has any Dragon ever invested in your general type of business?

The list goes on.....

The programme also has the "walk-throughs" who last 30 seconds and get dismissed, are you prepared for this?

There is 0% chance obtaining an investment in Dragons Den if your business is already shut down or 'on the shelf'. Dozens of reasons why they wont.

The producers are not the dragons and just want people to fill up the show. The dragons will just dismiss you out of hand and slate you. The producers will then cut it however they want it to fill their timeslot. They won't show you saying 'but you were the ones who wanted me to come', 'and I told you the situation"

They'll say your not investable because you gave up, they'll point out the things you could have done to make it work, or they'll point to the fact that it hasnt worked and the market has already told you this. Whatever way you turn they will find a problem because its its been put on hold. Thats my two cents anyway as someone who has watched various versions in various countries over the last 5 years

lucky john

Its obvious neither your nor your abandoned business has anything to gain from dragons den at this time. Best case you get 20 second of fame as you walk on and off. Worst case, they decide to use you as entertainment for the viewer's. Its takes 3 hrs + in the den to get 5 or 10 minutes of tv. Its inevitable your own reservations about the business will come out in that time and you could end up been savaged by Gavin Duffy. Great tv entertainment but at your expense.

I had a friend on it a couple of years ago. They grilled him for almost 4 hours on a product that was 100% developed and ready to go. He had prepared really well for them but found it very difficult.

If you want a bit of dragon's den gold, utube DD Nigeria. Have a look at the guy who looked for 50, 000 dollars. 25000 for advertising ect and 25000 for "bribes".

edanto

I'd agree with the others - why showcase a business that hasn't made money.

One potentially compelling reason; is it the kind of business that could potentially benefit hugely from a brief national exposure? Is there any chance that a months hard work could get it into a presentable state, that you would be proud of?

If they're both no, best to walk away.

You must have been close to something good though, if they wanted you on the show! If you have a website, I'd be interested if you could PM it to me. Just curious!

ImDave

I was in a somewhat similar situation to yourself OP when I appeared on Dragon's Den in 2009. I applied along with a friend on the back of a business plan created in University as part of a final year project. We had put a lot of work into the actual plan, but it was not really functioning as a business at the time. We applied presuming we wouldn't get on, but being a fan of the TV series I was interested about the process.

I worked very hard to have something tangible when making the pitch, however it wasn't sufficient. I knew this going on, so I was in no way optimistic as to our chances. We pretty much got slated in the Den itself, however we did get some nice feedback from some of the guys about our own potential etc. We ended up being one of the 30 second walk-throughs' that Peter mentioned, which I was quite glad of when it came around to airing!

My advice is don't go near Dragon's Den with hopes of investment unless you believe in your business 110% and are willing to move mountains to see its success realised. If you don't have this passion, it will show through when in the Den, and that will instantly turn the investors against you (understandably).

Despite the fact the Den was a negative experience for me at the time, looking back on it now I am glad I done it. Once you have pitched a proposal, defended yourself and stood your ground on a melting-hot set surrounded by lights and TV cameras in front of a panel of Dragon's, you will never be nervous again! It has given me great confidence when delivering presentations and attending interviews.

jimmii

lucky john wrote: »

They grilled him for almost 4 hours

They must have been pretty interested if they were grilling him for 4 hours thats an insane amount of time. Did he get an investment?

micromary

Thanks folks. Appreciate the honest answers. I think that you have answered my question!!

lucky john

jimmii wrote: »

They must have been pretty interested if they were grilling him for 4 hours thats an insane amount of time. Did he get an investment?

Yes. Sean invested. He's a very talented guy so a lot of the time was spent trying to tie him personally (rather than the particular product he went in with) into something. He held out on that and the whole thing has worked out extremely well for him.

Fries-With-That

micromary wrote: »

I had a business last year which I have put on hold for a while as it was not working out. However I also applied to Dragon's Den while it was in operation.

To cut a long story short I went to a interview when the business stopped. I told the production team this but I advised them that with the right business advise it could be a success. I have heard today that they want me on the show and have set a day in February for recording.

I am confused. Should I go on or not? I may be working at that stage and I have heard that if it goes wrong you could be made a complete laughing stock. Have anybody any experiences of the Irish Dragon's Den? Could somebody give me some advise please?

Have you watched the show ?

How many of the current dragons do you think would be interested or have the network to support/mentor your business.

If your web based business is not generating income for you or has failed to generate any reasonable income after your best efforts, it would be difficult to see a dragon willing to risk their money.

I believe businesses that gain investment are ones that appeal to the dragons extended stable of business interests.

I'm sorry to see that you have parked your business because I thought that it had potential, if the correct market was targeted.

Peterdalkey

Hard to do and against all I have said so far. Turn the tables, go in not giving a flying fcuk about what they, the programme makers want, or the Dragons might want to make themselves look über smart just stick to your own business promo message . Would take great balls!

Axwell

Imo the fact you are asking shows you aren't 100% committed to the business and the belief it is good enough, if you were you would be jumping at the opportunity to go on the show and not care about the fact they might not like the idea and you might get slated. Putting the business on hold sounds like you gave up on it to be honest. Do you not work at it still part time or in some capacity to keep it going? Putting it on hold can be looked at another way, that aren't willing to fully let it go but you aren't committed enough to stick at it.

Personally I don't believe it does much damage to anyone that gets shown on it as one of the featured products even if they get grilled and get no investment. You get the air time and publicity and others have got investment after the show off the back of it. Most of the time its down to a good business idea that's been badly implemented, their sales figures or being under some illusion as to how much their business is actually worth. But if you don't to feature on the episode you might at best come out of it with some good advice which will give the boost to stick at it or they might tell you its a waste of time and forget about it.

Once of the first things they are going to ask is about sales, if there are little or none then the product or business needs to be something special for them to see any opportunity in it. They aren't going to give their time, money and advice to a business they don't see potential in. They need to see graft on your side, some decent sales and from that they can see something to build on not just a presentation where you say I think my business has great potential if a Dragon helped me - so do you have some decent sales figures and can you show them that you worked day and night at the business to get it where it is?

Based on your posts I don't think you are committed to it 100% and I think if you went on Dragons Den this would be evident to them after a few minutes of questions and you would be wasting your time. Even if the business isn't working out if you were truly passionate about it you would be going on there and giving it everything you have at the chance of investment.

micromary

To be honest I am not the right person to lead the company forward. That is bottom line. One thing I have learned is despite all my work and effort after 1 year I learned that I am not a entrepreneur or a person who can turn right marketing into sales. While I have learned a hell of a lot though I have to be honest with myself. A lot of money went out and little came in.

It is easy saying that I am not fully committed to it. At the moment I am not as I have had a number of interviews and will hopefully hear this week on 2 jobs. While I will look to work at it part-time I have also spoken to 2 people who would be interested in taking on the project full-time and investing in it.

jimmii

In that case it does seem a waste of time going on then really.

Axwell

If that's the case then they would have little or no interest, the Dragons are investing in you and the business. They arent going to run it for you or put people in place to do it. You have learned something from the experience and that will stand to you. You would be better progressing with the 2 people you have spoken to who are interested and see how that goes. Good luck with your interviews.

Dazzler88

I see the new episode of Dragons Dens is starting this Sunday, I am looking forward to it. Anyone on here on the show this series?

Atomico

Dazzler88 wrote: »

I see the new episode of Dragons Dens is starting this Sunday, I am looking forward to it. Anyone on here on the show this series?

Looking forward to it on Sunday alright! They need to change the title music on the ad for it asap though

Dazzler88

Atomico wrote: »

Looking forward to it on Sunday alright! They need to change the title music on the ad for it asap though

Was thinking the same when I saw the ad last night, it is terrible music.

have2flushtwice

does anyone know any indivuduals who actually received funding from the dragons?
the amount of stories of "i know a lad who knows a lad who went on and they promised 20k and they never paid up....
is this a myth? the only one ive seen id the wheelie bin compactor in woodies.

Dazzler88

have2flushtwice wrote: »

does anyone know any indivuduals who actually received funding from the dragons?
the amount of stories of "i know a lad who knows a lad who went on and they promised 20k and they never paid up....
is this a myth? the only one ive seen id the wheelie bin compactor in woodies.

This is definitely true but not in the sense that they didn't pay up, after the show there is a process called 'Due Diligence', which in a nutshell means they sit down and make sure everything is as was discussed on the show, e.g. We have an agreement with a supplier in UK for paper cups at €1 each but after the show turns out they have no supplier, hence the deal falls through.

This has happens on any of the business deals done on Dragons Den Worldwide but I have heard that there is a large number of the deals done on the Irish show that fall through afterwards.

lucky john

Sean o sullivan has been replaced by a new mystery Dragon. Anyone any idea who?

Dazzler88

lucky john wrote: »

Sean o sullivan has been replaced by a new mystery Dragon. Anyone any idea who?

I heard it was Sean Quinn :P

Atomico

Dazzler88 wrote: »

Was thinking the same when I saw the ad last night, it is terrible music.

Shocking stuff altogether!

Reedsie

Eamonn Quinn is replacing Sean O'Sullivan

Dazzler88

Paddy_R wrote: »

Eamonn Quinn is replacing Sean O'Sullivan

Really Eamonn Quinn? wouldn't have thought he would suit the bill, Dragons usually are self made millionaires, he inherited his role in the Superquinn business. What has he been up to since he left Superquinn?

Atomico

have2flushtwice wrote: »

does anyone know any indivuduals who actually received funding from the dragons?
the amount of stories of "i know a lad who knows a lad who went on and they promised 20k and they never paid up....
is this a myth? the only one ive seen id the wheelie bin compactor in woodies.

Not a case of not paying up as much as either the deal doesn't pass due diligence or the entrepreneur backs out, among other reasons.

Reading Duncan Bannatyne's latest book at the minute, and he says lots of them don't go through. He says that one of the reasons is simply that sometimes the person / team gets so much attention or PR from the show that they no longer need the dragon!

have2flushtwice

have2flushtwice wrote: »

does anyone know any indivuduals who actually received funding from the dragons?
the amount of stories of "i know a lad who knows a lad who went on and they promised 20k and they never paid up....
is this a myth? the only one ive seen id the wheelie bin compactor in woodies.

In order to get funding you have to sign a contract, a 30 page monster with a few gems such as this:

The investor (your new dragon) has complete control over how their money is spent (fair enough I suppose)
The investor can appoint anyone they wish as a director
The investor only needs the vote of one other director to make a decision, (or get rid of another director)

My friend didn't secure the investment after

lucky john

Paddy_R wrote: »

Eamonn Quinn is replacing Sean O'Sullivan

http://www.ceochallenges.com/?q=profiles/eamonn-quinn never heard of him but he fits the profile.

lucky john

lucky john wrote: »

http://www.ceochallenges.com/?q=profiles/eamonn-quinn never heard of him but he fits the profile.

The first half of the of the profile anyway, maybe not the second half. Sorry Gavin D.

Peterdalkey

lucky john wrote: »

http://www.ceochallenges.com/?q=profiles/eamonn-quinn never heard of him but he fits the profile.

I will wager he came close to the bottom of his class in spelling and grammar , if the link is representative !!

lucky john

Peterdalkey wrote: »

I will wager he came close to the bottom of his class in spelling and grammar , if the link is representative !!

Not big on attention to detail. His dad will be disappointed.

I thought it was written about him by someone else. I just copped the " my father"bit now. Still, not fair to judge him on this so I'll wait to see the colour of his money on Sunday night.

OU812

I know of one guy who got investment & ended up going bang about a year after. Was very cocky for that year though. Spent a lot of the investment on items not really necessary for the business.

If you guys like DD, check out Shark Tank (American version). Much more enjoyable. I watch the Irish one out of interest, and the American one because it's a better program, the uk one doesn't interest me at all anymore.

CatFromHue

lucky john wrote: »

Sean o sullivan has been replaced by a new mystery Dragon. Anyone any idea who?

Sean was one of the best ones :mad:

lucky john

One thing that interested me on the den last night was the dragon's eagerness to invest in the Green smoothy guy. Quinn, who surely knows this sector, gave his reasons and was out straight away. Yet all the other dragon's went for it. Should they not have thougt twice when Quinn jumped out so fast?

I often see it on the UK den. If a particular dragon has an interest in the area of the pitch the other dragon's take their lead from them.

OU812

Quinn was the ideal partner for that guy. If he didn't see it, then the others were acting on ego.

For me, the real one with potential was the "improper butter" one. gtwo girls with business heads doing something innovative that they love. Decent branding, innovative(isn) product, enthusiastic, Probably sell it to Kerry Foods in a couple of years.

ifah

Anyone else a bit disappointed with the show last night ? There were no real displays of the Entrepreneurial spirit that everyone talks about.

The Juice and Butter ideas were ok but not really ground breaking and will probably continue to be nice little earners.

Was anyone else expecting some good Tech or Product based pitches instead of fake tan, bull sperm and kitch cocktail bars ?

CatFromHue

I was surprised that the Smoothie and Juice guy got so much interest too.

I did think though for pure entrepreneurial spirit though the Bull Sperm guy had it.

lucky john

CatFromHue wrote: »

I was surprised that the Smoothie and Juice guy got so much interest too.

I did think though for pure entrepreneurial spirit though the Bull Sperm guy had it.

Great guy but what he is trying to do is nothing new. There's a few companies already operating in this area and I would be surprised if there's much of a market left. Maybe at the very niche end of breeding.

jmcc

OU812 wrote: »

I know of one guy who got investment & ended up going bang about a year after.

Tech or non-tech? Might be interesting to see how some of the website type businesses from the last few series fared.

Regards...jmcc

CatFromHue

lucky john wrote: »

Great guy but what he is trying to do is nothing new. There's a few companies already operating in this area and I would be surprised if there's much of a market left. Maybe at the very niche end of breeding.

Ah right, as a city slicker I didn't know that.

OU812

jmcc wrote: »

Tech or non-tech? Might be interesting to see how some of the website type businesses from the last few series fared.

Regards...jmcc

Food

jmcc

OU812 wrote: »

Food

Probably the only one that's higher risk than a tech/web venture.

Regards...jmcc

OU812

jmcc wrote: »

Probably the only one that's higher risk than a tech/web venture.

Regards...jmcc

The product was a bit of a fad anyway. Personally I thought it was vastly over valued in terms of how much he received & how much he had in sales. I think more than any of the shark tank/dragons den shows, the Irish one suffers most from ego. It's almost like they're investing to stop one of the others getting it.

This guy was very flash, bought a sports car etc to "promote" the product, it just didn't work out well.

jmcc

OU812 wrote: »

The product was a bit of a fad anyway. Personally I thought it was vastly over valued in terms of how much he received & how much he had in sales. I think more than any of the shark tank/dragons den shows, the Irish one suffers most from ego. It's almost like they're investing to stop one of the others getting it.

The Irish one seems to be like a cattle mart. Apart from Sean O'Sullivan, the other dragons didn't really seem like serious players in that some of the businesses they were being asked to invest in were almost at the end of their options for funding (or may have never tried to raise funding) or were hobbies being pitched as investment opportunities. However there were some diamonds in the rough there.

This guy was very flash, bought a sports car etc to "promote" the product, it just didn't work out well.

That's a dead giveaway and any investor should have been out the door immediately.

Regards...jmcc

AlmightyCushion

jmcc wrote: »

The Irish one seems to be like a cattle mart. Apart from Sean O'Sullivan, the other dragons didn't really seem like serious players in that some of the businesses they were being asked to invest in were almost at the end of their options for funding (or may have never tried to raise funding) or were hobbies being pitched as investment opportunities. However there were some diamonds in the rough there.

That reminds me when Cherry Blossom Bakery were on Dragon's Den. They asked for 200,000 and all the dragons bar Peter Casey and Sean O Sullivan were out. Peter Casey says 'It's a pity you didn't come in asking for 100,000, I would have given it to you straight away but 200,000, that's real money', then Sean laughs and says 'Some of us have real money'. Sean ended up investing after Peter said he was out.

It was funny but it really did highlight how Sean was the only one with pretty deep pockets and the only real dragon so to speak.

2013LEO

Does anyone know who supplies The Smart Bunker (which was shown on tonights show) in Ireland? I've checked their website & it looks like you can only order it online. I'd prefer to have a look at it first. Thanks.

Dazzler88

Just watched Sunday night episode last night. Was impressed with the innovative idea of the Aurora Hair Band, I was surprised that Ramona didn't invest, would seem to me like a no brainer with her Cara Pharmacy chain.

The One Who Knocks

Disappointed Sixth Dragon isn't making a return.

Was coming first last year and then my internet connection went (typical!) on the finale!
Dropped to second place but I still won the weekly prize 2 weeks in a row so it wasn't all bad. Saying that, the top prize was worth €5,000!


Can't say it was all luck though. I put a lot of work into it, I used to analyse the teaser for next weeks episode and try to figure out the businesses that would be appearing. Then I'd research them online to see if I could tell whether or not they got investment. Also noticed a pattern developing, for example they'd never finish on someone who didn't get investment.

Was really looking forward to it this year again, ah well

CatFromHue

Just watched the show there and thought there was a good couple of products or potential in the products.

The Smart Bunker, FIXIY, and The Aurora Band all looked good to me.

Buttercake

Watched Dragons Den from last night.. The apparel printing business got a decent investment and the womens pants

Those 2 lads from Derry with their Whey and protein drinks.. how did they even get an interview to come on the show?