Smart Agency: Marketing & PR Leeds, Yorkshire, UK

The popular BBC series the Dragons' Den is coming back to our screens. To viewers already in business the programme is great 'car-crash' TV – terrible, but you just have to look.

Like many, I have watched cringing as potential entrepreneurs stumble up and down stairs, sweat profusely, dry-up or gibber nervously. A favourite was the lovely chap who offered a commode-type chair that doubled up as an exercise system who had to stop his pitch due to guffaws from the Dragons.

Worst still are the people who are dispatched with a less than ringing endorsement from the fearsome five-some on their life’s work and which they have double-mortgaged their house to support. Would James Dyson have received investment for his dual cyclone? One for discussion I feel.

Yet, there are successes. Frozen food transport company, Igloo Thermo Logistics secured finance from dour Scot Duncan Bannatyne and Aussie Richard Farley and look set to become the first £1m turnover company from the programme. At an event in Yorkshire last year they spoke of the benefits they gained from PR, access to the Dragons’ expertise and also their bankers to secure better credit terms.

So, should entrepreneurs contemplate having a go at impressing the panel?

Entertain me

First off, entrepreneurs deserve our respect for putting their necks on the line and following their dreams. Most people don’t have it in them and wouldn’t even try. That said an appearance on Dragons’ Den is a high-risk strategy.

Remember, the programme is there to entertain the audience, often at the expense of the tongue-tied presenter. Think of it less than a business programme, more Pop Idol for start-ups. Of course, instead of one Simon Cowell there are five of them to shoot-down your idea.

As viewers we see perhaps 10 or 15 minutes of the highlights on screen, while stand-up interrogation can take place for up to an hour or more. Most presentations to venture capitalists take place in less combative settings and while the questions will be as searching, most don’t expect entrepreneurs to answer detailed financial questions off the cuff.

Another risk is if you are a trading company with an existing customer base, to have you and your entire business model ridiculed (and they take no prisoners) is likely to be harmful to the health of the business. How would you face a customer the next day after a grilling?

Open and honest

One fatal flaw people make is to hide key facts. Being less than open with issues such as confirmation of secured purchase orders, supplier contracts or patents pending tend to turn off the investors and can make you look a little shifty. For all their egos, the dragons are successful and shrewd business people. They will find out.

And if there is one thing the Dragons hate, it is company overvaluation. If you are looking for £100,000 in return for 10 percent equity, it means you think your company is worth £1million. Sound reasonable?

Profile-raising

On the upside, an appearance on Dragons’ Den can raise your profile with millions of potential customers, attract distributors and other investors. The Thermo Igloo founders were inundated with offers from venture capital companies the day after their appearance was broadcast. The PR potential is also huge because if the proposition is sound, TV gives instant credibility and opens doors.

So, if you don’t think money is gross and a net is something to catch fish in, or can’t rattle off your profit projections for the next five years, think twice about taking the limelight. If you do want to go ahead, have a chat with those nice people at Business Link, or speak to your accountant and get acquainted with the figures.

Practice your presentation and get professional help to hone your technique. It’s also a good idea to talk to a PR company about exploiting the exposure.

Who is the perfect Dragons’ Den candidate? Well, it’s someone with exclusive rights to a new or better product already on the market, with a patent secured. A massive order secured from a large customer would be good, plus bags of energy, enthusiasm and experience in a related field.

If that’s you, success is already within your grasp, so why feel the heat from the Dragon's?

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