06 Sep

Written by Sean McColgan on September 6, 2010

Dragons’ Den is a British television series, hosted by Evan Davis, and was first broadcast on BBC Two on 4th January 2005. The format of the show is owned by Sony, and is based on the original Japanese series, which has been sold around the world.

Contestants, who have what they perceive to be a viable and potentially profitable business venture, appear on the show to present their business ideas to five wealthy entrepreneurial business people to try and win investment.

In this infographic, we take a look at an overview of the Dragons, pitchers, statistics & investments from series one through eight:

(Click image to enlarge)

Dragons Den Facts: The Dragons, Pitchers, Investments & Statistics

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Dragons Den Facts: The Dragons, Pitchers, Investments & Statistics
Dragons Den Infographic By Promotional Codes

Health club owner Duncan Bannatyne – statistically the most frugal of the dragons – has the biggest fortune, despite the fact that he came from a relatively poor family, and only managed to acquire a bank account at the age of 30.

Interestingly, the joint second biggest risk-taker based on investments per show is James Caan, who posses less than 25% of Bannatyne’s net worth. Maybe this goes to show that caution makes the better venture capitalist, or possibly that Caan feels like he has something to prove? This paranoia could be well-founded though, as BBC is reportedly planning a revamp of the show, which could see Caan, along with co-stars Theo Paphitis and Deborah Meaden, removed from the panel.

Moving on to the numbers, it’s staggering that there are only an average of eleven investments per season, given that there are, again on average, a total of 7.5 episodes. This equates to just under 1.5 investments per episode, which definitely seems quite conservative.

One factor that could be causing this is the recession, although now that the worst is supposedly over, will we see the Dragons adopting a more aggressive approach to their investment strategy? There’s only one way to find out – tune in to the show on Mondays at 9pm on BBC2.

I think it’s fitting to leave you with our favourite pitch of all time, performed by the legendary Levi Roots. Enjoy:

 

8 Comments

  1. 8

    Peter Tilke
    September 26th, 2011

    How many days does it take to film a series of dragons den?

  2. 7

    sanjeev
    October 25th, 2010

    I have seen the show and the information here is great! I think many people would enjoy the show and gain some great insight regarding presenting a business to potential investors. These people take no prisoners, they really let people know what they think and often give them very good advice. Thanks for putting this blog up and I hope lots of people read it. Well presented!!

  3. 6

    Hugo
    September 21st, 2010

    I would have thought the statistic everyone would want to see is the total return % (or present value of predicted return) on investment – strangely no mention of this anywhere, despite it being a business venture programme.

  4. 5

    Goutam Sarkar
    September 7th, 2010

    Interesting Tv show. The concept of show is very impressive and to be frank from now I acquired interest on this show by reading this unique concept. Thank you for sharing.

  5. 4

    Marji Stone
    September 7th, 2010

    I have seen the show and the information here is great! I think many people would enjoy the show and gain some great insight regarding presenting a business to potential investors. These people take no prisoners, they really let people know what they think and often give them very good advice. Thanks for putting this blog up and I hope lots of people read it. Well presented!!

  6. 3

    SwaroopSra
    September 7th, 2010

    Wow, what an Interesting Tv show and effective way for every contestant to promote and present his successful business idea and mutually impress and attain capital for their idea from five wealthy entrepreneurial.The concept of show is very impressive and to be frank from now i acquired interest on this show by reading this unique concept in the blogpost because i like to hear business idea from contestants and rate their presentation skills.Thank you for sharing:)

  7. 2

    dhivya
    September 7th, 2010

    It is really surprising to hear all these facts.however it was a great sucess.

  8. 1

    trickykidzmum
    September 6th, 2010

    Interesting read! Thanks for posting.

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