Ever since Dragons’ Den was launched in the year in January, is has helped many enterprisers in fulfilling their dreams and helped many existing businesses grow and expand into huge corporations worth million of pounds. Dragons’ Den has also managed to turn the image of the dragons like Deborah Meadan, Duncan Bannatyne and Peter Jones into common household names who everybody knows now.
The Dragons’ Den was later made in to a Dragons’ Den online series. Dragons’ Den online was known also popularly known as the ‘underground’ adaptation of the famous show and Dragons’ Den online gave the aspiring enterprisers the opportunity to deliver their business ideas and concepts through a small video pitch, which was later posted on the official website of the show. The visitors on the site were asked rank each pitch on the Dragons’ Den’s online website, on a scale of five stars, and the best pitches were chosen to present the business idea to the Dragons’ Den’s online dragons, in person, which was later broadcasted on TV.
The Dragons’ Den online has just two dragons unlike the TV based show, which has five. Julie Meyer and Shaf Rasul are the two dragons at Dragons’ Den online.
Dragons’ Den online is hosted by Dominic Byrne. Entrepreneurs at the Dragons’ Den online can pitch their presentation for a max amount of £50,000 and just like the television version of the series, the entrepreneurs at Dragons’ Den online also ought to secure the whole money else they have to leave with no money. Unlike the television adaptation of the show, the entrepreneurs at Dragons’ Den online apply to the show by submitting their pitch of three minutes.
Dragons Den Online is the place where entrepreneurs can get investment for the unique business concepts, inventions or ideas.
An important component of Dragons’ Den online is definitely debating ideas openly before they can actually be put forth before the judging panel or the dragons. With their three minute video pitches, the business ideas of the enterprisers induce debate and the people who visit the Dragons’ Den online website can give their comments and ratings to various pitches. These comments and ratings of pitches helps enterprisers to create their ideas however, only the most sound and best ideas take a step further and are put forth before the dragons at the Dragons’ Den online, by the presenter himself, in person.
The rules of Dragons’ Den online are simple: the enterprisers can ask the dragons at Dragons’ Den online for investment in cash in return for a percentage of equity shares in the business. Nonetheless, the entrepreneurs at Dragons’ Den online should at least be able to secure the money that they asked for before the show else they leave the show with nothing at hand. The dragons at Dragons’ Den online are ready hear pitches for any sort of business concept or idea however, the dragons at the Dragons’ Den online need to be persuaded that the business idea will help them make money, else they won’t invest. Dragons’ Den online has two dragons who are prepared to invest an amount of up to £50,000 in profitable and innovative business ideas.
As evidenced by investments on TV as well as Dragons’ Den online; concepts, ideas, products and businesses that meet a few criteria’s have a good prospect of securing investments from the Dragons’ Den’s online dragons. Here are the few criteria’s which need to be met:
- The business idea or concept pitched in at Dragons’ Den online should have a clear and crisp ‘unique selling point’ or known as the USP
- Scalability: The business idea should have the quality which could be up scaled for making actual money
- The business concept needs to have a clear path or way defined as to how would the product be marketed and sold.
- An arrangement which is mutually beneficial for both the parties – the entrepreneur as well as the online dragons at Dragons’ Den online.
- A proper exit strategy: The entrepreneur at Dragons’ Den online should have designed a plan about how and when he/she will take an exit and make some good money
The dragons at Dragons’ Den online so far have made investments in many diverse and innovative ideas.
The dragons at Dragons’ Den Online:
Julie Meyer:
Julie Meyer, one of the dragons at Dragons’ Den online, is an American citizen by birth. In the year 1998, she went to Paris and since then she has been doing a lot of work with entrepreneurs and business leaders in technology. Julie Meyers located to London later on in the same year.
She is the Chief Executive and Founder of London based Ariadne Capital, which is an advisory and an investment company. The early clients at Ariadne Capital included Skype, Kashya and MIVA or Espotting.
The company Ariadne Capital is esteemed at approx £14 million by about top fifty business leaders and entrepreneurs who invested.
Julie Meyers of Dragons’ Den online is also very famous for launching First Tuesday, which is a leading entrepreneur network. At its prime days, about 500,000 entrepreneurs met online as well as during the month’s first Tuesday.
The company was later sold off for a cash value and shares of $50 million in the year 2000.
Julie Meyers was also a significant part of the New Media Investors team from the year 1998 to 1999, where she assisted many companies, including Arc Cores, WGSN and lastminute.com to create their teams as well as to internationalise and produce venture capital financing.
Julie Meyers of Dragons’ Den online is also global leader at the World Economic Forum for Tomorrow, a speaker on Leadership and Entrepreneurship, an Entrepreneur of the year title given to her by Ernst and Young, a regular speaker on Entrepreneurship and Leadership as well as a CityAM columnist.
Shaf Rasul
He is an Edinburgh based businessman and an entrepreneur who has made millions of pounds in computers and property. His company, the E-net Computers is estimated at £35 million. His interests in property and Dubai take his total net worth to £82 million.
Shaf Rasul founded E-net Computers in the year 1999 and this organization now is one of Europe’s biggest memory devices distributors and also it is the biggest buyer in the world of CRD media and DVD.
Shaf has accumulated a personal fortune which makes him the 27th wealthiest person in the whole of Britain.
Already doing operations with huge turnovers, Shaf know has his eyes on the American sector.
Dragons’ Den Online exhibits quiet a simple, accessible and a great way for enterprisers to pitch in their business idea for securing an investment and because of the fact that Dragons’ Den online allows the visitors on its site decide, comment and rate on the best concepts and ideas, it is a good indicant of what could be the next most famous, known and popular ideas and products, before the online dragons.