Inside the Dragons' Den

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Moving, Moving, Moving......

Moving_truck
Well folks, after more than 14 months as the "unoffical blog for Dragons' Den" this site will be closing down and moving.....

TO BECOME THE OFFICIAL SHOW BLOG!!!!

Yes, that's right, CBC has offered me a spot on the new Dragons' Den website: www.CBC.ca/DragonsDen and I've accepted. So starting this week, find all the behind the scenes gossip about Season Two here: www.CBC.ca/dragonsden See you on the new site.

How is having a baby similar to starting a business?

I had dinner last night with Ian Protsmouth, editor of Profit. We are both in Dryden, Ontario this week Portsmouth_ian_lg for the FIRE 2007 conference on entrepreneurship.  Ian's bringing his "Best Practices from the Profit 100" while I'm flogging my "Lessons from the Dragons' Den" lecture.

Over dinner we got caught up, discussed entrepreneurship in Canada but mostly riffed on how having a baby isn't that dissimilar to starting a new business. 

Here is what we came up with:

How is having a baby similar to starting a business?

  1. both become your sole focus, requiring self sacrifice and focus
  2. both rob you of sleep and leave you exhausted at the end of the day
  3. both cost way more than you anticipate
  4. no matter how much education and training you have prior, you are never fully ready for everything
  5. both jobs can be thankless
  6. no matter how much you plan, both seem to eventually take on a life of there own becoming more than you would have ever thought

I'm sure there were more points, but there's a start......

Dragons' Profit!!!

Profit_cover This month's PROFIT magasine features an indepth look season two of Dragons' Den (which by the way begins 8 pm, Monday, Oct 1st) incluidng a 3 page article by me!!!

It is avaiable on news stands now. Give it a read and let me know what you think!

Gettting Ready for Season Two

We are now 2 weeks away from the launch of Season Two.  By now you've probably seen the promotions and soon you can a copy of PROFIT magazines October special on the show.

I've now had the chance to watch the first two episodes and trust me, they look great.  More drama, better companies, better offers, better overall.

For those who went into the Den and are wondering "if they made the cut", rest assured you will be informed.  Currently, Lara C is busy emailing pitchers a week before their air date. So no need to keep emailing me. :)

Remember, the show launches 8 pm Monday, Oct 1st on CBC, so get your popcorn and a comfy seat 'cuz soon....
the Dragons are Back!!!!

CBC releases - Season 2 Promo(s)

Today an insider from CBC's team sent two promos that will start running as early as this weekend........having now watched episodes 1 and 2 of Season Two, let me tell you, this promo says it all.

Laurence helps out the UK Dragons

As most of you know Dragons' Den originated in England on the UK's BBC. Also, as most of you know, our white haired Dragon, Laurence Lewin, also originated from England. So in a flash of brilliance we put 1 and 1 together and shipped our English Dragon home, where he visited the set of our sister show. 

Here are the pictures he sent back from the set of Series 4 of Dragons' Den on the BBC. (click the pic to enlarge)

Europe_036 Europe_035 Europe_030

Dragons vs. Green Lantern?

This month in my Globe and Mail column on Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship focuses on my Sean_green_lantern favortie superhero, the Green Lantern. In particular what the ringslinging emerlad warrior can teach business people.

Here's an execerpt:

Lessons from the Green Lantern

Globe and Mail Update

In today's rapidly changing business environment, inspiration comes from all sorts of interesting places. A quick preview of the shelves of the local business bookstore confirms this with titles including:

  • Aslett's Everything I Needed to Know About Business I Learned in the Barnyard;
  • Axelrod's Everything I Know About Business I Learned from Monopoly;
  • Robert's Make It So: Leadership Lessons from Star Trek: The Next Generation;
  • Bing's Sun Tzu Was a Sissy: Conquer Your Enemies, Promote Your Friends, and Wage the Real Art of War

And my favourite, of course:

  • Brody's Everything I Needed to Know about Business I Learned from a Canadian

Dragons' keeper slain by Love

Thanks to the help of Mikey A from the DD production team, I was able to put the video below together.  Thanks to the video, my long standing gf, Ms. Allison Hughes, said yes to my proposal. 

Just click below to see what is sure to be a web classic as marriage moves into the YouTube age.

NOTE: no CBC equipment or time was used. After all that is taxpayer money.

O'Leary speaks out!!!

Picture_068 Last night I spoke with Dragon superstar Kevin O'Leary. 

We discussed his new show on the Discovery network, Season Two's upcoming launch (Oct 1st) and of course the Gemini nomination for Season One of Dragons Den. 

On hearing that the Den was up against "Next Top Model" and "Top Chef" the fiery Dragon said:

You can't buy food or sex without money, that’s why money always wins and in the end is the only thing that really matters. Now give us the Gemini!

DD nominated for Gemini

Congrats to Stu and the entire crew from Season One.  Dragons Den has just been nominated for a Gemni for: Best Reality Show.  The award will be handed down on Oct 16th (15 days after season 2 begins) and the nominees include:

   

5 Seekers
p. Joan Jenkinson, Ralph Benmergui, Allan Novak
(Seekers Television Inc.)

Canada's Next Top Model - Season 1
p. Sheila Hockin, David Fortier, Ivan Schneeberg
(Temple Street Productions)

Design Interns
p. Maria Pimentel, Joseph Blasioli
(Design Interns Productions Inc.)

Dragons' Den
p. Stuart Coxe, Mike Downie, Tracie Tighe
(CBC)

The Next Great Chef - Season 2
p. Edi Osghian, Giuliana Bertuzzi, Nick Versteeg
(Next Entertainment Inc

When asked for comment, DD Exec Producer Stuart Coxe was unavailable (understandable since he is busy on his next project, bringing back FRONT PAGE CHALLENGE) so we instead went to on-set insider Stella Bigglesworth who had this to say:

"It is between us and the Next Top Models, and hear me now Canada, we will kill those skinny skanks".

Dragons Den Season Two - the review

Rumor has it that I may get to see the first rough cut of an episode for Season Two this week and I am actually viscerally excited to see it.

Even though you work on the entire show, and are present for tapings, there is nothing like seeing the final product, even a rough cut, to get you stoked.

Stay Tuned!!