Show Format
The contestants are usually 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 direction. They pitch their idea to five rich entrepreneurial businesspeople, the eponymous "dragons" (or "tigers" in the original Japanese show, "sharks" in the U.S. and Israeli versions and "lions" in Finland and Romania). The contestants have, before the show, named an amount of money that they wish to get, and 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 stock, which is the chief point of negotiation.
Once the contestant has made the presentation, the dragons probe the idea further, often revealing an embarrassing lack of preparation on the part of the contestant, or uncovering troubling facts and consequently rejecting the investment, or revealing a sound business proposition and offering to invest capital in return for equity.
The show does not reveal the whole pitch as scenes are selected and cut out of the episode.
Read more about this topic: Dragons' Den
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