''Dragons' Den'' is a

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

program format in which

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

s pitch their business ideas to a panel of

venture capitalist Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to start-up company, startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth poten ...

s in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is known as ''The Tigers of Money'' ( ja, マネーの虎, manē no tora), a pun on "The Tiger of Malaya" ( ja, マレーの虎, marē no tora, label=none), which was the nickname of WWII general Tomoyuki Yamashita. The format was created and is owned by

Nippon TV JOAX-DTV (channel 4), branded as , is the flagship station of the Nippon News Network and the Nippon Television Network System, owned-and-operated by the which is a subsidiary of the certified broadcasting holding company , itself a listed ...

and is distributed by

Sony Pictures Television Sony Pictures Television Inc. (abbreviated as SPT) is an American television production and distribution studio. Based at the Sony Pictures Studios complex in Culver City, it is a division of Sony Entertainment's unit Sony Pictures Enterta ...

. Local versions of the show have been produced in nearly 30 countries, as well as one for the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

; in some countries, more than one version has been aired. The first version to air outside of Japan was the British programme ''

Dragons' Den ''Dragons' Den'' is a reality television program format in which entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to a panel of venture capitalists in the hope of securing investment finance from them. The program originated in 2001 in Japan, where it is k ...

'', which launched in 2005; in the several years afterward, most versions named themselves ''Dragons' Den'' or variations thereof, though some also used other animals in the title, such as lions. Since the launch of the U.S. version of the show, ''

Shark Tank ''Shark Tank'' is an American business Reality television#Investments, reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on American Broadcasting Company, ABC.Hibberd, James (May 10, 201'Dancing,' 'Bachelor,' and a bigger 'Shark Tank' ...

'', in 2009, many versions have been named ''Shark Tank'' or variations thereof. In versions where the name of the show contains a creature's name, the investors are referred to by that name.

Format

The contestants are usually

inventor An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an id ...

s, 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/or business acumen. They pitch their idea to five rich entrepreneurial businesspeople, who in most iterations of the show are referred to as "dragons", "tigers" (in the original Japanese show), "lions" or "sharks". Before the show, the contestants have named a specific amount of money that they wish to get along with a percentage in the business that the contestant is offering to sell to the investors. 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

capital stock A corporation's share capital, commonly referred to as capital stock in the United States, is the portion of a corporation's equity that has been derived by the issue of shares in the corporation to a shareholder, usually for cash. "Share capit ...

, which is the chief point of negotiation. The program does not show the entire pitch as scenes are selected and edited from the episode due to time constraints. The dragons probe the idea further once the contestant has made the presentation. This will either reveal a sound business proposition resulting in an investment offer from one or more of the dragons in return for

equity Equity may refer to: Finance, accounting and ownership * Equity (finance), ownership of assets that have liabilities attached to them ** Stock, equity based on original contributions of cash or other value to a business ** Home equity, the diff ...

or a withdrawal from the transaction by either the contestant or all of the dragons. A rejection by the dragons is often given as "I'm out" which is usually triggered (in the investor's opinion) by the investor asking for a larger equity stake in the business than the contestant wants to give up, the contestant's valuation on the business being too high compared to its overall profits, the product not having any proprietary value, or the investor's belief that they cannot add value to the business. Sometimes the dragons identify troubling facts such as an embarrassing lack of preparation on the part of the contestant, the contestant's lack of business knowledge, their perceived margins, competitors, insufficient sales, or high manufacturing costs. Contestants often negotiate and barter with the investors. The deals agreed to on the program may or may not actually be carried through.

Versions

''Dragons' Den'' series have been produced in numerous countries. Apart from Japan (where the show debuted) the show names, structures, and styles are based upon the UK version.

Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, the show is called ''

Fikr wa Talash ''Fikr wa Talash'' was an Afghan television programme, presented by Ramiz Baktiar. The format of the show is owned by Sony Pictures Television and is based on the original Japanese programme, ''Tigers of Money'', which has been adapted worldwide ...

'' (''Dream and Achieve''). The show's purpose is to encourage Afghans to embark on entrepreneurship. It aimed to promote entrepreneurial spirit among ordinary Afghans, with the show giving contestants a lifetime opportunity to pitch their creative business ideas before a panel of business tycoons and walk away with the cash prize of US$20,000. The show began in 2008 on

TOLO TV TOLO ( fa, طلوع, , sunrise) is a commercial television station operated by MOBY Group in Afghanistan. Launched in 2004, it became one of the first commercial stations in the country and laid the foundation for an accessible media outlet by o ...

. The first series ended in August 2008, with the final contestant, Faizulhaq Moshkani, winning $20,000 towards his

plastic recycling Plastic recycling is the reprocessing of plastic waste into new products. When performed correctly, this can reduce dependence on landfill, conserve resources and protect the environment from plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. ...

business. At the time of the show, he owned a plastic recycling plant in

Qandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the ca ...

in southern Afghanistan. After winning, Moshkani shut the factory due to the high cost of fuel to power generators. Instead, he used the $20,000 prize money to move the business to Kabul, where he planned to build a miniature

hydroelectric plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

to power the new

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. The Energy recycling, recovery of energy from waste materials is often included in this concept. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability t ...

plant. Mariam Al Ahmadi collected the runner-up prize of $10,000. In the second season, a follow-up episode was introduced with the top contestants tracking their progress in their businesses. The show was produced by Bamyan media with the help of the Moby Group's strategic communications arm, Lapis Ltd, and aired on the Group's most popular channel in Afghanistan, TOLO TV, reaching an estimated 7 million viewers in 2010. ''Fikr wa Talash'' was sponsored by

USAID The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible f ...

, Roshan telecommunication (the country's leading mobile operator) and Bank e Milli (Afghan National Bank). The host is Ramiz Baktiar. Like the Egyptian version, it was created by Anna Elliot, founder of the NGO Bamyan Media.

Arab world

In the

, ''Dragons' Den'' was known as ''Dragons' Den: Al Aareen العرين'' (The Den). It was broadcast on the

Lebanese Lebanese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic * Lebanese people The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...

channel

Future Television Future Television ( ar, تلفزيون المستقبل, ''Televiziyon al-Mustaqbal'') was a Lebanese free-to-air television station founded in 1993 by the Future Movement leader Rafik Hariri, a former Prime Minister of Lebanon. Future TV was als ...

and was hosted by Ibrahim Abu Jawdeh. The show received contestants from various Arab countries. The panel of Dragons for the 2007 series consisted of: * Omar El-Quqa * Ahmad Tantash * Nassif Karam * Roger Azar

Egypt

The Egyptian version of Dragons' Den is ''El Mashroua'' ("The Project"). The show was created in 2013 by Anna Elliot, the founder of the NGO Bamyan Media. It was broadcast on the national channel Alnahar and followed by approximately four million people. The program created the largest community of entrepreneurs through a digital platform connected to the show with one million participants. The winner of the first season, Tina Boules, won the sum of 350,000 Egyptian pounds to develop her startup Taqa Solutions, which specializes in agricultural waste recycling and

biogas Biogas is a mixture of gases, primarily consisting of methane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulphide, produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste, manure, municipal waste, plant material, sewage, green waste and food waste. I ...

exploitation. The panel of Dragons consisted of : * Hala Hattab * Hisham Al Jamal

Australia

Dragons' Den (2005 version)

The Australian version of ''Dragons' Den'' was broadcast on the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by Seven West Media Limited, and is one of five main free-to-air television networks in Australi ...

and hosted by

Andrew O'Keefe Andrew Patrick O'Keefe AM (born 1 October 1971) is an Australian former television presenter and lawyer. He is best known for being the host of the game shows ''Deal or No Deal'' and '' The Chase Australia''. He was also the co-host of '' Wee ...

. Unlike in other versions, the host ran through the outline of the business with the contestant before the contestant began negotiating with the Dragons for a deal. The show was produced by Michael Horrock. The Australian Dragons were: *Peter Higgins *

Sarina Russo Sarina Russo is the founder of The Sarina Russo Group. Early life Russo migrated to Australia from Sicily with her family in 1956, and attended St Stephen's Primary School and All Hallows' School. Career She worked as a legal secretary and as ...

* Darryn Lyons *Suzi Dafnis *Siimon Reynolds The Seven Network announced in December 2005 that the show would not be back for a second season after poor ratings.

Shark Tank (2015 version)

The format was revived by

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

, under the American ''Shark Tank'' name, for a show that premiered February 2015. It ran for four seasons, until August 2018. The show was hosted by Sarah Harris. The Sharks for this edition are: * Janine Allis (founder of

Boost Juice Boost Juice Bars is an Australian multinational retail outlet owned by parent company Retail Zoo that specialise in fruit juice and smoothies. Boost Juice Bars was formed in 2000 with the first store located in Adelaide, South Australia The c ...

) * Andrew Banks (founder of Talent2) * Steve Baxter (entrepreneur, investor, internet pioneer) * Naomi Simson (founder of

RedBalloon RedBalloon is an experiential gifts company. History RedBalloon was founded in 2001 by Naomi Simson. Simson began the company out of her house with a $25,000 personal investment. She grew the company to forty six employees by 2011. The busines ...

) * John McGrath (founder of McGrath Estate Agents) (season 1) * Glen Richards ( Greencross Vets) (seasons 2–4)

Austria

The Austrian version is called ' "2 Minutes 2 Million". It debuted on .

Belgium

The Belgian (

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

) version is called
Leeuwenkuil
' (''Lions' Den'').

Brazil

The Brazilian version is called ''Shark Tank Brasil — Negociando com Tubarões'' ('Negotiating with Sharks'). It debuted in October 2016. The sharks (investors) have included João Appolinário, Cristiana Arcangeli, Robinson Shiba, Sorocaba (of Fernando & Sorocaba), Camila Farani, José Semezato,

Carlos Wizard Martins Carlos Wizard Martins (born 1956) is a Brazilian entrepreneur and founder of Grupo Multi, a company that offers franchises for English courses. Grupo Multi was bought out by Pearson in 2013. Biography He was born in Curitiba, Paraná, Bra ...

and Caito Maia. Specials episodes included Roberto Justus, Luiza (Magazine Luiza) and others.

Canada

English version

The English-language Canadian version of ''Dragons' Den'' began airing in 2006. The Canadian Dragons were:

French version

The

French-language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in No ...

version, ' (''In the Dragon's Eye''), began airing in 2012, hosted by

Paul Houde Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

. Past and present dragons include: *

Dany Vachon Dany may refer to: People with the name Given name A form of the Hebrew words and names '' daniyyel'' דניאל (« God is my Judge ») or ''dan'' דָּן (« judgement » or « he judged ») * Dany Abounaoum (born 1969), Lebanese alpine skier * ...

— co-founder of

Impera Advisory Inc ''Impera'' is the fifth studio album by the Swedish rock band Ghost. Released on 11 March 2022, it was produced by Klas Åhlund who also produced the band's 2015 album, ''Meliora''. The release of ''Impera'' was preceded by three singles: t ...

, PVG Partners LLC and Fusion Immunovative/ NVNC * Danièle Henkel — president and founder of Danièle Henkel Inc *

François Lambert Francis Lambert (c. 1486 – April 8, 1530) was a Protestant reformer, the son of a papal official at Avignon, where he was born between 1485 and 1487. At the age of 15 he entered the Franciscan monastery at Avignon, and after 1517 he was an ...

— co-founder of Aheeva and Atelka * Gaétan Frigon — executive chairman of Publipage * Normand Legault (

Canadian Grand Prix The Canadian Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix du Canada) is an annual motor racing event held since 1961. It has been part of the Formula One World Championship since 1967. It was first staged at Mosport Park in Bowmanville, Ontario, as a sp ...

, Just for Laughs) *

Alexandre Taillefer Alexandre Taillefer is a Canadian entrepreneur from Quebec. He is the founder and managing partner of XPND Capital, a private equity firm. Commercial activities In 1993, at age 21, Tallifer founded Intellia, an e-commerce service provider later ...

(

Stingray Digital Stingray Group Inc. (formerly Stingray Digital and Stingray Digital Group) is a publicly traded Canadian media and entertainment company based in Montreal, Quebec, with offices in the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, ...

, Téo Taxi,

Voir ''Voir'' was a francophone alternative weekly newspaper in Montreal, Quebec, published by Communications Voir. ''Voir'' was founded by Pierre Paquet in November 1986. The first issue of the newspaper was published on 27 November 1986. Later on ...

L'Actualité ''L'actualité'' is a Canadian French-language news and general interest magazine published in Montreal by Rogers Communications until 2016, then by Mishmash (XPND Capital). The magazine has over a million readers, according to Canada's Print Mea ...

, etc.) * Serge Beauchemin * Martin-Luc Archambault * Mitch Garber

China

The Chinese version of ''Dragons' Den'' (中国合伙人 "Chinese Partner") started airing in May 2016 on Shenzhen Satellite TV. The Chinese format is produced by Shanghai-based IPCN (International Programme International Network). Past and present Chinese Dragons include: * Bob Xu, co-founder of New Oriental Education and

ZhenFund ZhenFund () is a Beijing-based venture capital firm founded in 2011 by New Oriental co-founders Bob Xu and Victor Wang. It is considered one of the largest Angel investors in China. Background In 2011, Bob Xu and Victor Wang established Zhe ...

(season 1–2) * Annabelle Long Yu, CEO of Bertelsmann China (season 1–2) * Li Guoqing, co-founder & CEO of Dang Dang (season 1–2) * Yao Jinbo, Founder & CEO of 58.com (season 1–2) * Hugo Shong, chairman of IDG Greater China (season 1) * Zhou Hongyi, co-founder and CEO of Qihoo 360 (season 1) * Jerry Huang, founder and CEO of Gaudi Capital (season 2)

Colombia

The Colombian version of ''Shark Tank'' called ''Shark Tank Colombia'' began airing on 23 February 2018 on Canal Sony. Colombian sharks include: *

Alexander Torrenegra Alexander Torrenegra (born July 31, 1978) is a Colombian-American entrepreneur, inventor, and investor. He is the founder and CEO of Torre and has founded multiple companies including Voice123, Bunny Studio, and Tribe. He is also one of the "sha ...

(seasons 1–2) * Leonardo Wehe (season 1) * Ricardo Leyva Gutiérrez (seasons 1–2) * Juliana Barreto (seasons 1–2) * Frank Kanayet (seasons 1–2) * Mauricio Hoyos (seasons 1–2)

Croatia

The Croatian version of ''Dragons' Den'' called ' (''Dragon's Nest'') was scheduled to broadcast in May 2007 on

Croatian Radiotelevision ''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' (abbr. HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is Croatia's public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into t ...

and produced by Ocean Film, a local production company. Contracted Croatian Dragons were: * Maja Pečarević — owner of Generalturist, the leading and oldest travel agency in Croatia. * Hrvoje Prpić — owner of Smee d.o.o, bamboo flooring company. * Davor Štern — owner of Trade Consulting d.o.o., business consulting company. * Juroslav Buljubašić — co-owner of Blue Line International, the international maritime company. * Branko Roglić — owner of Orbico, one of the leading importers and distributors of various consumer goods and toys in Croatia. A few episodes were filmed but never broadcast for undisclosed reasons.

Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, the show is called ''Den D'' (''The D-Day''). It first aired on 31 March 2009 on

Czech TV Czech Television ( cs, Česká televize, italics=no ; abbreviation: ČT) is a public television broadcaster in the Czech Republic, broadcasting seven channels. Established after the Velvet Revolution in 1992, it is the successor to Czechoslov ...

(

CT1 CT1 stands for ''Cordless telephone generation 1'' and is an analog cordless telephone standard that was standardized by the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) in 1984 and deployed in eleven European coun ...

channel), in a very similar set up to the British version of

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

. The show is hosted by radio host Jan Pokorny and the dragon investors are: *

Ivan Pilny Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgar ...

– former general manager of

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...

in the Czech Republic, chairman of the board of Czech Telecom and entrepreneur (Series 1 & 3) * Marta Novakova – founder and CEO of U&SLUNO software company (Series 1, 2 & 3) *

Ondrej Bartos Ondrej is a Slovak male given name, equivalent to Andrew. Notable people with the name include: * Ondrej Duda, Slovak football player * Ondrej Otčenáš (1987), Slovak ice hockey player * Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater ** Ondrej Nepela Arena ...

– serial entrepreneur, consultant and venture capitalist, Partner with Credo Ventures (Series 1 & 2) *

Dana Berova Dana may refer to: People Given name * Dana (given name) Surname * Dana (surname) * Dana family of Cambridge, Massachusetts ** James Dwight Dana (1813–1895), scientist, zoological author abbreviation Dana Nickname or stage name * D ...

– former minister of informatics, entrepreneur and business development director of Gartner (1st, 2nd & 3rd series) *

Tomio Okamura is a Czech politician and entrepreneur of Moravian Wallachian, Japanese and Korean ethnicity. He founded the Czech political parties Dawn of Direct Democracy and Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD). Since October 2013, he has been a member of t ...

– Czech-Japanese entrepreneur in travel and retail (Series 1, 2 & 3) * Michael Rostock – investment banker and advisor with Venture Investors Corporate Finance (Series 2 & 3) The Dragons are/were:

Denmark

A Danish version of the show, ' (''The Lion's Den''), began airing in April 2015. The five "lions" in the first season were

Christian Stadil Christian Nicholas Stadil is a Danish executive and chairman. He owns the sports brand Hummel International, is CEO of Thornico Group and co-author of ''Company Karma''. In 2014 he was appointed honorary professor of creative leadership at the C ...

Birgit Aaby Birgit is a female given name, a short form of Birgitta and ultimately a Germanic form of the Gaelic name Bridget. Notable people with the name include: * Birgit Brüel, Danish singer and actress * Birgit Collin-Langen, German politician * Bir ...

Tommy Ahlers Tommy Ahlers (born 18 November 1975 in Haderslev) is a Danish former businessman and politician who was a member of the Folketing for the Venstre political party from 2015 to 2021. He was the Minister of Science, Technology, Information and High ...

, Ilse Jacobsen and Jesper Buch. Only Jesper Buch remains as of 2022.

Finland

Lion's Mouth (2007)

In Finland, the first version of the show was ', which means the jaws or the mouth of a lion. The show began running on 27 September 2007 on the

MTV3 MTV3 ( fi, MTV Kolme, sv, MTV Tre) is a Finnish commercial television station. It had the biggest audience share of all Finnish TV channels until Yle TV1 (from Yle) took the lead. The letters MTV stand for Mainos-TV (literally "Advertiseme ...

channel and aired for one season. It was hosted by Anna Sorainen. The local ' (lions) were Kyösti Kakkonen, Eero Lehti, Toivo Sukari, Lisa Sounio and Kaija Ward.

Lion's Den (2013)

In February 2013 the show re-emerged on the

Nelonen Nelonen () is a Finnish commercial television channel. It started out as Helsinki's local television channel PTV in 1990 on the HTV cable network (now part of DNA Welho), and changed its name first to PTV4. On June 1, 1997, the channel expand ...

channel, this time named ' (''Lion's Den''). The show was hosted by Kirsi Salo, and the new lions were

Riku Asikainen Riku is both a masculine Finnish given name and a unisex Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer *Riku Hahl (born 1980), Finnish NHL hockey player *, Japanese footballer *Riku Heini (born 1990), Finnish ...

, Jorma Terentjeff, Ari Lahti,

Anne Berner Anne-Catherine Berner (born 16 January 1964) is a Swiss- Finnish business executive, board professional, and the former Minister of Transport and Communications. In 2015, Berner was elected Member of the Finnish Parliament from the electoral dist ...

and

Oskari Lehtonen Oskari Lehtonen (29 May 1889, Hollola – 23 July 1964, Lahti) was a Finnish lawyer, bank director and politician. He served as Minister of Justice from 27 March 1940 to 8 August 1944. He was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1927 to ...

France

The French version is called ''Qui veut être mon associé?'' ("Who wants to be my business partner?"). It debuted on 14 January 2020 on M6. The second season debuted on 5 January 2022. The investors have been: * Delphine André * * *

Catherine Barba Catherine Barba Chiaramonti (born 28February 1973) is a French entrepreneur and business executive who is active in digital retail. Her company, Catherine Barba Group, specializes in assisting retail startups with entering the digital market. ...

(season 1 only) * Frédéric Mazzella (season 1 only) * (season 1 only) * (season 2 only) * Sophie Mechaly (season 2 only) * (season 2 only) * Isabelle Weill (season 2 only)

Germany

The German version is called ' (''The Lions' Cave''). It debuted on 19 August 2014 on VOX. The German "lions" are: * Vural Öger (season 1–2) — Travel entrepreneur * Jochen Schweizer (season 1–3) — Pioneer of

bungee jumping Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...

in Germany, founder of a German

web portal A web portal is a specially designed website that brings information from diverse sources, like emails, online forums and search engines, together in a uniform way. Usually, each information source gets its dedicated area on the page for displa ...

for adventure gifts * Lencke Wischhusen (season 1–2) — chairwoman of German Federal Association of Young Entrepreneurs (BJU),

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie H ...

head of the

Free Democratic Party Free Democratic Party is the name of several political parties around the world. It usually designates a party ideologically based on liberalism. Current parties with that name include: *Free Democratic Party (Germany), a liberal political party in ...

* Frank Thelen (seasons 1–5) – managing director of a venture capital and private equity company * Judith Williams (seasons 1–5) —

shopping channel Shopping channels (also known in British English as teleshopping) are a type of television program or specialty channel devoted to home shopping. Their formats typically feature live presentations and demonstrations of products, hosted by on-air pr ...

presenter and businesswoman with her own fashion and jewellery lines * Carsten Maschmeyer (seasons 3–5) — founder of financial services company

AWD Holding Swiss Life Select Deutschland GmbH, headquartered in Hanover, is a financial advisory firm offering consultation in insurance, investment and real estate matters. It was initially created under the name AWD Holding by Carsten Maschmeyer and acq ...

and investor in technology and health care companies *

Ralf Dümmel Ralf Dümmel (born 2 December 1966) is a German entrepreneur, managing director of the family business DS Produkte and investor in the VOX founder show '' Die Höhle der Löwen''. Biography Dümmel was born in Bad Segeberg, Schleswig-Holst ...

(seasons 3–5) — head of consumer goods company DS Produkte *

Dagmar Wöhrl Dagmar Gabriele Wöhrl (''née'' Winkler; born 5 May 1954) is a German politician of the Christian Social Union in Bavaria (CSU). She has served as Chairwoman of the Committee for Economic Cooperation and Development of the German Bundestag. Sh ...

(season 4–5) — lawyer, entrepreneur, and politician The first episode of the second season aired on 18 August 2015. The third season launched on 23 August 2016, introducing two new presenters. A fourth season was announced for 2017.

Nico Rosberg Nico Erik Rosberg (born 27 June 1985) is a German-Finnish former professional racing driver. He competed in Formula One from 2006 to 2016, winning the World Drivers' Championship in with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. The only child of Fin ...

replaced Frank Thelen as an investor on the programme ('The Lions' Cave') in late 2019.

Hungary

The Hungarian version is called ''Cápák között (Among Sharks)''. It debuted on 18 February 2019 on RTL. The Hungarian "sharks" are/were:

India

An Indian version of the show began in 2021 on

SET India Sony Entertainment Television (SET) is an Indian Hindi-language general entertainment pay television channel, that was launched on 30 September 1995, and is owned by Culver Max Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese Sony. SET India's You ...

. It is hosted by Rannvijay Singha. The seven sharks who participated in season 1 are:

Ireland

An Irish version of the show began in 2009 on

RTÉ One RTÉ One ( ga, RTÉ a hAon) is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís ...

, the state broadcaster. It is presented by Richard Curran, deputy editor of ''

The Sunday Business Post The ''Business Post'' (formerly ''The Sunday Business Post'') is a Sunday newspaper distributed nationally in Ireland and an online publication. It is focused mainly on business and financial issues in Ireland. Founding to Irish financial crisi ...

''. The Irish Dragons are/were: The Dragons have appeared on television in Ireland, in promotion of the series, on ''

Tubridy Tonight ''Tubridy Tonight'' is a talk show hosted by Ryan Tubridy that aired on RTÉ One for five seasons between 2004 and 2009. The programme featured guest interviews (usually three per show), audience participation and live music from both a guest mu ...

'', on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, while ...

started broadcasting show promos after Christmas 2008 as part of their winter line-up. The first episode was broadcast on 19 February 2009. A third season of ''Dragons' Den'' began airing on RTÉ One, on Thursday, 20 February 2011. Norah Casey was the new Dragon for the third season. Episodes at the end of the third season, for the first time on ''Dragons' Den'' in Ireland, showed the Dragons on tour visiting their past investments. A fourth season of ''Dragons' Den'' was commissioned. Sean O'Sullivan replaced Seán Gallagher. Sean is co-founder at Avego Ltd, based in

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 ...

. For the fourth series of Dragons' Den, a live, interactive "Sixth Dragon Game" was developed to be played whilst watching the show, in which viewers are able to decide in real time if they're IN or OUT as the pitches unfold. The "Sixth Dragon Game" is the first live, interactive game for a TV show in Ireland.

Israel

In Israel, ''Dragons' Den'' is entitled ', Hebrew for "The Sharks". It was produced by

Gil Productions Gil or GIL may refer to: Places * Gil Island (disambiguation), one of several islands by that name * Gil, Iran, a village in Hormozgan Province, Iran * Hil, Azerbaijan, also spelled ''Gil, a village in Azerbaijan * Hiloba, also spelled ''Gi ...

and was broadcast on the now defunct Channel 10. It was hosted by Guy Zohar and ran for two seasons. In the Israeli version, there were six dragons who rotate their appearance weekly. The first season was broadcast during the summer and fall of 2006 and the second during the summer of 2007. In 2018 the show wa
renewed
by Gil Productions and is now being broadcast on

Keshet 12 Channel 12 ( he, ערוץ 12), also known as Keshet 12 ( he, קשת 12), is an Israeli free-to-air television channel owned by Keshet Media Group. It launched on 1 November 2017 as one of two replacements of the outgoing Channel 2. History I ...

. The show is currently airing its 3rd season on

. The show welcomed an entirely new cast, with dragon Amir Eyal from the original iteration of the show returning for the 3rd season.

Japan

Titled , this is the original version. It was created by and broadcast on Nippon Television from 2001 to 2004. It was the first entertainment programme in the history of Japanese television that dealt with the concept of business investment. During its three-year run, as many as 16 business executives appeared in the programme as Tigers.

Kenya

The premier of Lion's Den was in October 2016 on NTV. The show was sponsored by

KCB Group KCB Group Limited, also known as the KCB Group, is a financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. The Group's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with its subsidiaries being KCB Bank Kenya Limited, KCB Bank Burundi L ...

, the largest commercial bank in

East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the histori ...

. The format was introduced to Kenya by Quite Bright Films Kenya Ltd (QBF) who produce the show in Nairobi. The Kenyan Lions are: * Darshan Chandaria, director and Group CEO of Chandaria group * Kris Senanu, venture capitalist and MD, Telkom Digital * Myke Rabar, entertainment Guru and Founder, CEO o
Homeboyz Entertainment Group
* Olive Gachara, businesswoman in fashion, image consultant and Editor in Chief o
Couture Africa Magazine
* Wandia Gichuru, businesswoman with own fashion lines and stores

Mexico

In Mexico the series is called ''Shark Tank México: Negociando con tiburones'' or just simply ', Spanish for "Negotiating with Sharks". The sharks were: * Ana Victoria García (season 1) Victoria 147 Women's entrepreneur incubator and training * Arturo Elías Ayub (season main 1–2, 3 guest) Director of Strategic Alliances at

Telmex Telmex is a Mexican telecommunications company headquartered in Mexico City that provides telecommunications products and services in Mexico. Telmex is still the dominant fixed-line phone carrier in Mexico. In addition to traditional fixed-line ...

Carlos Bremer Carlos Manuel Bremer Gutiérrez (1 June 1960 – 5 January 2024) was a Mexican businessman, partner of the conglomerate Grupo Financiero Value, and general director until his death and philanthropist who participated in international foundation ...

(season 1–3) Owner Grupo Financiero Value Stock Brokerage firm *

Jorge Vergara Jorge Carlos Vergara Madrigal (; 3 March 1955 – 15 November 2019) was a Mexican businessman and film producer. He was the founder of the multi-level marketing company Grupo Omnilife. In addition to its health products business, Grupo Omnil ...

(season 1–2) Omnilife nutraceuticals and Anhelo movie production *

Rodrigo Herrera Aspra Rodrigo is a Spanish, Portuguese and Italian name derived from the Germanic name '' Roderick'' (Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given specifically in reference to either King Roderic (d. 712), the last ...

es (season 1–3) CEO Genomma Labs OTC drugs and skin lotions * Patricia Armendáriz (season 2–3) Politician, actuary and business consultant * Marcus Dantus (season 3) Startup Mexico business incubator chain * Luis Harvey (season 3) Nexxus Private equity and investment banking

Nepal

This series is titled ''Shark Tank Nepal''. Himalaya Television HD has the rights to produce and broadcast the show.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands the show ran on

Nederland 3 NPO 3 (''NPO drie'', formerly Nederland 3 until 2014) is the third and youngest of the terrestrial television channels operated by the Dutch public-broadcasting organization NPO in the Netherlands. It carries programmes provided by member-ba ...

for three seasons. The first season was broadcast in May 2007, every Friday at 20:25. The second season was broadcast in May 2008, every Monday at 21:25. Both seasons were hosted by Jort Kelder. The dragons were: * Henk Keilman *

Annemarie van Gaal Annemarie (or Annamarie, Annmarie) is a Danish, Dutch and German feminine given name. It is merging of the names Anne and Marie. Notable people named Annemarie * Annemarie Biechl (born 1949), German politician * Annemarie Bischofberger (born 19 ...

* Jan Pieter Melchior (2007) * Willem Sijthoff *

Arjen de Koning Arjen (also spelled as Arjan) is a given name, a variant of the Dutch/ Finnish name Adrian. Arjen (sometimes also Ariën) is derived from the Latin name Adrianus. The name Adrianus means "native of, from Adria", a place near Venice. Adria is asso ...

George Banken George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

(2008) In 2020 a third season was broadcast on

NPO 1 NPO 1 (''NPO een'', formerly Nederland 1 until 2014) is the first national television station in the Netherlands. It launched on 2 October 1951. It provides public broadcasting and currently exists next to sister channels NPO 2 and NPO 3. Sever ...

, hosted by Sander Schimmelpenninck. The dragons were: *

Michel Perridon Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...

Won Yip Won may refer to: *The Korean won from 1902–1910 *South Korean won, the currency of the Republic of Korea * North Korean won, the currency of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea * Won (Korean surname) * Won (Korean given name) * Won Bud ...

* Nikkie Plessen * Shawn Harris *

Pieter Schoen Pieter is a male given name, the Dutch form of Peter. The name has been one of the most common names in the Netherlands for centuries, but since the mid-twentieth century its popularity has dropped steadily, from almost 3000 per year in 1947 ...

New Zealand

Initially, the UK and Australian series of ''Dragons' Den'' were broadcast in New Zealand before a local version was produced by Eyeworks Television. It broadcast on TV One in 2006 and was hosted by Rawdon Christie. The dragons were: * Julie Christie * Bob Jones *

Annette Presley Annette Sylvia Presley (born 1964) is a New Zealand telecommunications entrepreneur, known as a co-founder of Slingshot, one of New Zealand's largest internet service providers (). Presley attended McAuley High School, and studied at the Auc ...

* Paul Webb * Barry Colman

Nigeria

Nigeria's adaptation of ''Dragons' Den'' was broadcast weekly in 2008 on the

AIT Network An ait (, like ''eight'') or eyot () is a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England. Aits are typically formed by the deposit of sediment in the water, which accum ...

and produced by Storm Vision. The Nigerian Dragons were: *

Prince Femi Tejuoso A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

* Ibukun Awosika *

Chris Parkes Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, Christine, and Christos. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name *Chris Abani (born 1966), Nige ...

* Alexander Amosu *

John Momoh John Momoh (born 1 July 1957) is a Nigerian broadcast journalist and the Chairman and CEO of Channels TV, an independent and multiple award-winning 24-hour news and media television channel based in Lagos. He is widely recognized in Nigeria as ...

* Tokunboh Ishmael

Pakistan

In Pakistan, the program airs as ''Idea Croron Ka'' and is broadcast on

Neo News Neo News is a 24 hours national Urdu language news and current affairs television channel operating in Pakistan. It is governed and operated by the FUN infotainment Pvt. Ltd. Its a part of Nai Baat Media Network. Its head office is situated at ...

. It is a joint venture between Chaudhry Muhammad Akram Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CMACED) at Superior University and

. The first episode premiered on 18 March 2017. The main lead and driving force of this show is Nabeel A. Qadeer who was the Director Entrepreneurship at Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB). The judges include: * Salim Ghauri, Founder and CEO of Netsol technologies (Pvt.) Ltd * Naeem Zamindar, Pakistan Country Director and CEO of Acumen * Humayun Mazhar, Founder, CEO and chairman at CresVentures

Poland

In Poland, the program is called ''Dragons' Den – jak zostać milionerem'' ("How to be a millionaire") and has been broadcast on TV4 since 2011. The largest investment ever secured on the program was 15 million PLN (US$5.5 million), on 24 April 2011. The Polish Dragons in 2011 were: *

Maciej Kaczmarski Maciej (Polish pronunciation: ) is a Polish language, Polish given name, the etymological equivalent of Matthias. Its diminutive forms are Maciek, Maciuś. Namedays according to Polish calendar: 30 January, 24 February, 14 May Maciej may refer to: ...

, founder, "Kaczmarski Inkasso companies", "National Debt Register" and "Reliable Company", called the ''king of Polish recovery'' * Anna Garwolińska, head of "Glaubicz Garwolińska Consultants" *

Grzegorz Hajdarowicz Grzegorz Hajdarowicz (born 27 October 1965) is a Polish entrepreneur, film producer, publisher (acting through his company Gremi Media), honorary consul of the Federative Republic of Brazil in Kraków. Participant of the international Bilderbe ...

, owner of the "Group Gremi" *

Marian Owerko Marian may refer to: People * Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia * Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name * Marian (surname), a list of people so named Places *Marian, Iran (disambiguation) * Marian, Queenslan ...

, CEO

Bakalland Bakalland S.A. is a corporate group of enterprises specialised in the food industry of dried fruit, of which it holds 24% of the Polish market. The company is specialised in the import, processing, packaging and distribution of nuts, dried and ...

* Krzysztof Golonka, president of an investment fund "Xevin"

Portugal

The Portuguese version of ''Dragons' Den'' has the American name ''Shark Tank''. It ran for two seasons, from 2015 to 2016, on the SIC Network. The Portuguese Sharks are: *

Mário Ferreira Mário Nuno dos Santos Ferreira (born 1968) is a Portuguese businessman and entrepreneur in the tourism, hotel, real estate and photography sectors, among others.. On 4 August 2022 at 8:57 (GMT-5), as part of the Blue Origin NS-22 mission, Mário ...

João Rafael Koehler João is the Portuguese equivalent of the given name John. The diminutive is Joãozinho and the feminine is Joana. It is widespread in Portuguese-speaking countries. Notable people with the name are enumerated in the sections below. Kings * ...

* Susana Sequeira * Tim Vieira *

Miguel Ribeiro Ferreira --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands *São Miguel (disambi ...

Romania

There is a Romanian version of the format called ' (Lions' Arena). The Romanian Lions are: * Marius Ghenea * Dragos Anastasiu *

Florin Talpes The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purc ...

Mircea Tudor Tudor Scan Tech SA is a Swiss company that manufactures aircraft and cargo scanners, including x-ray scanners and robotic scanning systems. The company was founded in 2014 by Mircea Tudor and is currently headquartered in Saint-Imier, Switzerlan ...

* Mihaela Nicola * Cristina Batlan * Orlando Szasz The show started in 2007. It lasted for a few years and then it was canceled. The show was released again in 2019 under the name ' (Lions' Empire). The new Romanian lions are: * Dragoș Petrescu *

Mohammad Murad Mohammad Murad (Arabic: محمد مراد; born 1976) is a Kuwaiti wildlife photographer who specializes in bird photography. His photos have won awards such as the 2017–2018 Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography A ...

* Monica Cadogan * Cristian Onețiu * Daniela Mariscu

Russia

There was a Russian version of the show called ''KAPITAL''.

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabian broadcaster STV1 showed the BBC version of ''Dragons' Den'' in 2010, then broadcast a local version in 2011. It was called ''التجار'', or "Traders". The dragons were: * Saleh Kamel * Ahmed Fitihy * Nashwa Altahir * Altaiar * Alhalafy

Slovenia

The Slovenian version of the show was called ' ("Good Deal"). It was aired by new Slovenian broadcaster Planet TV, owned by

Telekom Slovenije Telekom Slovenije d.d. (, "Telecom of Slovenia") is a telecommunications company based in Slovenia, with its headquarters in Ljubljana. History In 1994 PTT Slovenija separated postal and telecommunication activities and transferred all telecommu ...

. The show was announced in May 2012, and premiered on 11 November 2012. The Slovenian investors were: * Branko Drobnak, Procurator at Alta Skupina d.d., an asset management, non-discretional brokerage services, corporate finance services, accounting and audit services company. He is part of The Business Angels Club of Slovenia and non-executive chairman of Acies bio d.o.o, a biotechnology contract research organization. * Borut Rismal General Manager, CHS d.o.o., a computer peripherals distribution company * Daniela Bervar Country Manager for Slovenia at Cotrugli Business School and co-owner of MEDIA LAB d.o.o. deal of the day business company. * Jure Mikuž founder of RSG Capital, a venture-capital management company * Matjaž Krč, a business angel and managing director at Ideus d.o.o., business consulting services for small and mid-sized companies.

South Africa

''Dragon's Den

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

'' premiered on 23 September 2014 on

Mzansi Magic Mzansi Magic is a South African digital satellite and general entertainment channel created by Multichoice and run by M-Net's local interest division, and is broadcast on DStv. History The channel launched in mid-July 2010 on channel 107 as ...

. In a 2014 episode, Vusi Thembekwayo, one of the Dragons, signed his biggest deal, when he invested ZAR2 million in a

Halaal ''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kn ...

abattoir owned by contestant Johan Jacobs and received a 40% stake in the business. There were two seasons of the show. The South African "dragons" were: * Lebo Gunguluza, runs Gunguluza Enterprises & Media which boasts 12 print publications, stakes in numerous hotels and a car-hire business. * Vusi Thembekwayo, a motivational speaker and CEO of Watermark Pan-African Capital Ltd, with over ZAR4,32 billion in capital. * Polo Leteka Radebe, CEO of Identity Partners, a small and medium enterprises advisory and fund management services firm founded in 2007 *

Vinny Lingham Vinny Lingham (born Vinodan Lingham) is a South African-born American Internet entrepreneur who is the co-founder & CEO of Civic – an identity protection and management startup based in California. He was also previously the founder and CEO ...

, a serial internet entrepreneur from Cape Town with ties to Silicon Valley. *

Gil Oved Gil Oved (born 16 August 1975) is a South African entrepreneur who is the co-founder and co-CEO of The Creative Counsel, South Africa's largest advertising agency. He is a member of the global Young Presidents' Organization where he is the ...

, founder and co-CEO of The Creative Counsel, an advertising agency with over ZAR600 million in turnover per year. In October 2016 the show was renamed to ''Shark Tank South Africa'' and premiered on

M-Net M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

. The "sharks" are: * Dawn Nathan-Jones * Vinny Lingham * Romeo Kumalo * Marnus Broodryk * Gil Oved

Spain

The title of the Spanish version is ' (Your Opportunity) and went to air on 30 October 2013 by

TVE TVE may stand for: Television * Televisión Española, a Spanish state-owned public-service television broadcaster ** TVE HD, a high-definition channel run by Televisión Española * Televisão Educativa, a defunct Brazilian TV network * TV Eduk ...

Sri Lanka

The Sri Lankan version is called " Ath Pavura" (ඇත් පවුර), which means "Wall of Tuskers". It debuted on

Independent Television Network Independent Television Network Ltd ( si, ස්වාධීන රූපවාහිනී මාධ්‍ය ජාලය; ta, சுயாதீன தொலைக்காட்சி ஊடக வளையமைப்பு) also known a ...

on 24 September 2017. Unlike the other versions, the Sri Lankan version focuses on social entrepreneurs and impact investors.

Sweden

The British version was on air in Sweden for several years on TV8 and

BBC Prime BBC Prime was the BBC's general entertainment TV channel in Europe, Middle East, Africa, South Asia and Asia Pacific from 30 January 1995 until 11 November 2009, when it was replaced by BBC Entertainment. Launch BBC Prime was launched a ...

. A Swedish version called ' ("The Dragons' Nest") ran for two seasons, from 2009 to 2010, on

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Swedish national public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksdag (national parliament). Prior to 2019 ...

. The Swedish Dragons were: * Gunilla von Platen CEO and founder of Xzakt Kundrelation, a telemarketing company (season 1 only) * Ljubo Mrnjavac sold his

fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredie ...

company Pölsemannen 2002, then became active in real estate (season 1 only) * Mats Gabrielsson, who sold his IT firm in the late 1980s for over $100 million * Douglas Roos, founder and chairman of nyheter24.se (season 2 only) * Susanna Falkengren cofounder and member of Exipos Invest (season 2 only) * Sven Hagströmer founder of HQ, Avanza, Investment AB Öresund and also on the board for the public companies Bilia, Eworks and Insplanet * Richard Båge, founder of Insplanet, founder and chairman of Mediaplanet

Switzerland

The Swiss version is called "Die Höhle der Löwen Schweiz" (''Lion's Cave'') and uses the same style, design and name as the German version. The first season premiered on July 7, 2020, on the German-speaking channel 3+. A second season was aired on TV24 and featured famous music producer

DJ Antoine Antoine Konrad (born 23 June 1975), better known as DJ Antoine, is a Swiss house DJ and record producer from Basel. He has a number of successful single and album releases in Western Europe, in particular Switzerland, Germany and France. Mus ...

Thailand

In 2018, MEDIA Tank Co. Ltd. licensed ''Shark Tank Thailand'' franchise from Sony Pictures Television to be aired on Channel 7. * The first season was first aired on 3 March 2019 and last aired on 23 June 2019. ** Shannon Kalayanamitr, Chalermchai Mahagitsiri, Nishita Shah, Rawit Harnausanha, Natavudh Pungcharoenpong, and Krit Srichawla as investors ** Shahkrit Yamnam as guest investor. * The second season was first aired on 5 July 2020 and last aired on 25 October 2020. ** Natavudh Pungcharoenpong and Krit Srichawla as return investors. ** Bhurit Bhirombhakdi, Bodintorn Juangroongruangkit and Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip as new investors. ** Pattarapon Sinlapajan and Prapol Milintachinda as guest investors. * The third season will be first aired on 28 August 2022 and last aired on 27 November 2022. ** Natavudh Pungcharoenpong, Krit Srichawla, and Bhurit Bhirombhakdi as return investors. ** Chanapan Juangroongruangkit and Prapol Milintachinda as new investors.

Trinidad and Tobago

The Trinbagonian version of Dragon's Den is called "Planting Seeds". The first season premiered on August 23, 2016, on CNC3. The show ran for four seasons before becoming an online sales platform called
Seed Shops
. The original four investors on the show were: * Joseph Rahael, managing director for Real Estate at The ANSA McAL Group * Racquel Moses, CEO at The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator * Joe Pires, managing director at Caribbean Chemicals & Agencies * Sheldon Stephen (Managing Direction at Lollabee Group of Companies

Turkey

The Turkish version of Dragons' Den is on BloombergHT.

Baybars Altuntaş Baybars Altuntaş (born October 27, 1969) is a Turkish entrepreneur, angel investor, speaker and author based in Istanbul. He founded Deulcom International, a vocational training school in Turkey in 1992 and currently serves as the president of t ...

is one of the dragons.

Ukraine

In Ukraine, the series was called ' (', "Business Sharks") and featured Dragons such as future presidential candidate

Serhiy Tihipko Serhiy Leonidovych Tihipko ( uk, Сергій Леонідович Тiгiпко; born 13 February 1960) is a Ukrainian politician and finance specialist who was Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine. Tihipko was Minister of Economics in 2000 and subse ...

United Kingdom

''Dragons' Den'' was first broadcast in the UK on 4 January 2005 on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

. Since 2021, after 16 series on that channel, the show has been broadcast on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

, with reruns of previous episodes still broadcast on BBC Two. The producers are Darrell Olsen and Samantha Davies, and it is hosted by

presenter A presenter is a person or organization responsible for the running of a public event, or someone who conveys information on media via a broadcasting outlet. Presenter may refer to: People * News presenter, person who presents news during a new ...

Evan Davis Evan Harold Davis (born 8 April 1962) is an English economist, journalist, and presenter for the BBC. He has presented ''Dragons' Den'' since 2005. In October 2001, Davis took over from Peter Jay as the BBC's economics editor. He left this p ...

. The Dragons are/were: During filming for series 17, Touker Suleyman fell ill with

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

and was unable to appear on the show for the second half of the series;

Theo Paphitis Theodoros "Theo" Paphitis ( el, Θεόδωρος Παφίτης; born 24 September 1959) is a Greek-Cypriot British retail magnate and entrepreneur. He is best known for his appearances on the BBC business programme '' Dragons' Den'' and as forme ...

returned temporarily to cover his place. In May 2021 it was confirmed that Steven Bartlett would become the youngest ever Dragon to join the den.

United States

In 2008, television producer

Mark Burnett Mark Burnett (born 17 July 1960) is a television producer who is the former Chairman of MGM Worldwide Television Group. He is best known for creating and producing the reality shows ''The Apprentice'', ''Survivor'', The Voice (franchise), ' ...

signed a deal with format holder Sony to produce an American version of the series. The series on U.S. television is titled ''

''. The U.S. network

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

ordered a pilot episode which was produced by Sony Pictures TV. On 9 October 2008, a casting producer announced that ''The Shark Tank'' was accepting applications for a pilot, giving entrepreneurs two weeks to submit their ideas. The pilot was filmed from 6 to 9 January 2009 in Los Angeles. On 23 September 2016, ''Shark Tank'' began its eighth season. The current "sharks" are: *

Robert Herjavec Robert Herjavec (; ; born September 14, 1962) is a Croatian-Canadian businessman, investor, and television personality. Herjavec founded BRAK Systems, a Canadian integrator of Internet security software, and sold it to AT&T Canada (now Allstrea ...

, who sold his IT security firm at the height of the

dot-com bubble The dot-com bubble (dot-com boom, tech bubble, or the Internet bubble) was a stock market bubble in the late 1990s, a period of massive growth in the use and adoption of the Internet. Between 1995 and its peak in March 2000, the Nasdaq Comp ...

for over $100 million. Previously appeared on the Canadian version of Dragon's Den. * Lori Greiner, President and CEO of ''For Your Ease Only'', as well as host of a monthly show on the QVC Network. *

Kevin O'Leary Terence Thomas Kevin O'Leary (born 9 July 1954), also known as Mr. Wonderful, is a Canadians, Canadian businessman, Entrepreneurship, entrepreneur, and television personality. From 2004 to 2014, he appeared on various Canadian television shows. ...

, former co-host of ''

The Lang and O'Leary Exchange ''The Exchange'' was a Canadian business news television series which aired weekdays on CBC News Network, with an overnight rebroadcast on CBC Television, from October 26, 2009 to September 9, 2016. The show originally launched as ''The Lang and ...

'' on

CBC News Network CBC News Network (formerly CBC Newsworld) is a Canadian English-language specialty news channel owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). It broadcasts into over 10 million homes in Canada. As Canada's first all-news channel, it is th ...

, formerly president of

The Learning Company The Learning Company (TLC) was an educational software company founded in 1980 in Palo Alto, California and headquartered in Fremont, California. The company produced a grade-based line of learning software, edutainment games, and productivity ...

, which was sold to

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...

for $3.7 billion in 1999. Previously appeared on the Canadian version of Dragon's Den. *

Barbara Corcoran Barbara Ann Corcoran (born March 10, 1949) is an American businesswoman, investor, syndicated columnist, and television personality. She founded The Corcoran Group, a real estate brokerage in New York City, which she sold to NRT for $66 million ...

, self-made real estate millionaire who sold her company The Corcoran Group for $66 million in 2001. *

Daymond John Daymond Garfield John (born February 23, 1969) is an American businessman, investor, and television personality. He is best known as the founder, president, and chief executive officer of FUBU, and appears as an investor on the ABC reality tel ...

, founder of

FUBU FUBU (, ) is an American hip hop apparel company. FUBU stands for "For Us, By Us" and was created when the founders were brainstorming for a catchy four-letter word following other big brands such as Nike and Coke.Keith Perrin interviewed by Ian ...

. *

Mark Cuban Mark Cuban (born July 31, 1958) is an American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, and media proprietor whose net worth is an estimated $4.8 billion, according to '' Forbes'', and ranked No. 177 on the 2020 ''Forbes'' 400 lis ...

, owner of the basketball franchise

Dallas Mavericks The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. The ...

and billionaire entrepreneur. For the first two seasons of the series, Kevin Harrington was a regular shark. He was replaced in the third season by Mark Cuban. Unlike versions of the show in other countries, the U.S. version uses a rotating cast of sharks every season, of which five usually appear in each episode, although all six sharks have occasionally appeared on a single episode. Also on occasion, guest investors fill in for a regular shark on the panel. Past guest investors include: *

Jeff Foxworthy Jeffrey Marshall Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is an American actor, author, comedian, producer and writer. He is a member of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, with Larry the Cable Guy, Bill Engvall, and Ron White. Known for his "You might be a ...

, comedian and television personality. *

Steve Tisch Steven Elliot Tisch (born February 14, 1949) is an American film producer and businessman. He is the chairman, co-owner and executive vice president of the New York Giants, the NFL team co-owned by his family, as well as a film and television pro ...

, chairman and Executive Vice President of the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

. *

John Paul DeJoria John Paul Jones DeJoria (born April 13, 1944) is an American entrepreneur, self-made billionaire and philanthropist best known as a co-founder of the Paul Mitchell line of hair products and The Patrón Spirits Company. Due to his personal care ...

, founder of

John Paul Mitchell Systems John Paul Mitchell Systems (JPMS) is an American manufacturer of hair care products and styling tools through several brands including Paul Mitchell, Tea Tree, Neuro, Pro Tools, Awapuhi Wild Ginger, MITCH, MVRCK, and Professoinal Hair Color. Hi ...

haircare line and

Patrón Patrón is a brand of tequila products by the Patrón Spirits Company with 40% Alcohol in each bottle. Patrón Tequilas, like all tequilas, are produced in Mexico from the "corazon" (heart or core) of the blue agave plant. Everything includin ...

. *

Nick Woodman Nicholas D. Woodman (born June 24, 1975) is an American businessman, and the founder and CEO of GoPro. Early life and education Woodman is the son of Concepcion (née Socarras) and Dean Woodman.GoPro GoPro, Inc. (marketed as GoPro and sometimes stylized as GoPRO) is an American technology company founded in 2002 by Nick Woodman. It manufactures action cameras and develops its own mobile apps and video-editing software. Founded as Woodman ...

. *

Chris Sacca Christopher Sacca (born May 12, 1975) is an American venture investor, company advisor, entrepreneur, and lawyer. He is the proprietor of Lowercase Capital, a venture capital fund in the United States that has invested in seed and early-stage t ...

, Proprietor of Lowercase Capital which made early investments in companies including

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery ( Uber Eats and Postmates), pack ...

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...

and

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

. *

Ashton Kutcher Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978) is an American actor, producer, entrepreneur, and former model. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a People's Choice Award, and nominations for two Young Artist Awards, a S ...

, American actor and investor. *

Troy Carter Troy Carter may refer to: *Troy Carter (physicist) (born 1973), American plasma physicist *Troy Carter (politician) (born 1963), American politician *Troy Carter (talent manager) (born 1972), American music talent manager Fictional characters *2nd ...

, Founder, chairman and CEO of Atom Factory. *

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop and third baseman, businessman and philanthropist. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the ...

, retired

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

player, currently

ESPN Sunday Night Baseball ''Sunday Night Baseball'' is an exclusive weekly telecast of a Major League Baseball game that airs Sunday nights at 7:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN during the regular season. The games are preceded most weeks by the studio show ''Baseball Tonight: ...

commentator and investor. * Jamie Siminoff, Founder of

Ring Inc. Ring LLC is a home security and smart home company owned by Amazon (company), Amazon. Ring manufactures home security products that incorporate outdoor surveillance cameras, including the Ring Video Doorbell smart doorbell, and hosts an app, N ...

Sara Blakely Sara Treleaven Blakely (born February 27, 1971) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the founder of Spanx, an American intimate apparel company with pants and leggings, founded in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2012, Blakely was named in ...

, Founder of

Spanx Spanx, Inc. is an American underwear maker focusing on shaping briefs and leggings, founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The company manufactures mainly pantyhose and other underwear for women and, since 2010, produces male underwear as well. Spanx spe ...

. *

Rohan Oza Rohan Oza is an American businessman, investor, and marketing expert behind several large brands. Rohan has been a recurring guest on the television show ''Shark Tank''. Early life Oza was born in Zambia in an ethnic Indian family. He studied ...

, brand marketer. *

Daniel Lubetzky Daniel Lubetzky (born 1968) is a Mexican American billionaire businessman, philanthropist, author, and founder and executive chairman of snack company Kind LLC. Biography Daniel Lubetzky is the son of Sonia and Roman Lubetzky. A Holocaust su ...

, Founder of

Kind (company) Kind LLC, stylized as KIND, is a snack food company based in New York City. It was founded in 2004 by Daniel Lubetzky. Since 2020, it has been a subsidiary of Mars. History Daniel Lubetzky founded Kind in 2004. The company reached $1 millio ...

. * Kendra Scott, Founder of Kendra Scott LLC. *

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons in the Nati ...

, Former NBA MVP and investor. * Peter Jones, dragon on ''Dragons' Den'' * Emma Grede, CEO and co-founder of Good American and founding partner of Skims *

Kevin Hart Kevin Darnell Hart (born July 6, 1979) is an American comedian and actor. Originally known as a stand-up comedian, he has since starred in Hollywood films and on TV. He has also released several well-received comedy albums. After winning s ...

, founder of Laugh Out Loud Productions, and an actor and comedian * Nirav Tolia, co-founder of Nextdoor

Vietnam

A Vietnamese version of the show, titled ''Thương vụ bạc tỷ'' ("billion-dollar deal"), with the English-language title ''Shark Tank Vietnam'', has aired for five seasons on

Vietnam Television Vietnam Television ( vi, Đài Truyền hình Việt Nam), or VTV, is the national television broadcaster of Vietnam. As the state broadcaster under the direction of the government of Vietnam, VTV is tasked with "propagating the views of the ...

, starting in 2017.

Format

Versions

Afghanistan

Arab world

Egypt

Australia

Dragons' Den (2005 version)

Shark Tank (2015 version)

Austria

Belgium

Brazil

Canada

English version

French version

China

Colombia

Croatia

Czech Republic

Denmark

Finland

Lion's Mouth (2007)

Lion's Den (2013)

France

Germany

Hungary

India

Ireland

Israel

Japan

Kenya

Mexico

Nepal

Netherlands

New Zealand

Nigeria

Pakistan

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Slovenia

South Africa

Spain

Sri Lanka

Sweden

Switzerland

Thailand

Trinidad and Tobago

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

United States

Vietnam

See also

References

External links