Dragon's Den (Canada) - General Discussion

[sadiegirl]

Wow, I didn't even think of that.  Does the drink go 'bad' if it is mixed prior to drinking it?  Because if not, there's no need to mix it right before pouring it into a glass.

[Taeolas]

The next Dragon has been announced!

 

Joe Mimran, the man behind the Joe Fresh fashion line is joining the Den. I don't know much about him, but from the article, he seems to be a decent enough fit. I don't think we really have any Dragon's in the fashion industry at the moment in any case. We'll see how he fits personality wise later.

 

I suspect CBC knows who the next dragon will be, but they'll probably wait until next week, or after Easter, so they can get the most PR bang for their announcement buck. Since it pretty much has to be a female dragon, it's sure to generate some chatter. 

 

I'm a little disappointed that Joe's announcement means we'll only have 1 female dragon. :( 

[Oinky Boinky]

Very telling that the menopod can be sold by Naturopaths and Chiropractors as a medical device without FDA approval but anywhere else requires expensive clinical trials and approval. No testing at all of efficacy or safety with alternative medicine. Leave it to buyers based on words natural, safe or organic to not be duped or injured.

Also pretty good promotion of you can wait for us to spend 2 million on clinical trials or you can run to that trustworthy snake oil salesman and have it right now.

Why the double standard? Why does only real medicine have to proove itself?

[Traveller519]

They really need to come up with better teasers for these episodes. Even just loose descriptions of the products to be promoted would be helpful than vague nothingness. "An entrepreneur presents his product, really."

 

I cannot believe the Astrology guy got a deal. I give that one a 10% chance of making it through due diligence. And why did no one ask him about his tshirt!?!?!

[Amarsir]

So astrology is really that big in India, huh? I did not realize that.

 

Very telling that the menopod can be sold by Naturopaths and Chiropractors as a medical device without FDA approval but anywhere else requires expensive clinical trials and approval. No testing at all of efficacy or safety with alternative medicine. Leave it to buyers based on words natural, safe or organic to not be duped or injured.

Also pretty good promotion of you can wait for us to spend 2 million on clinical trials or you can run to that trustworthy snake oil salesman and have it right now.

Why the double standard? Why does only real medicine have to prove itself?

Because that's what makes it "real medicine".

 

Make two columns. Call one "Unproven" and the other one "Proven". So if I rephrase your questions as "Why does stuff in the unproven column need to prove itself before it can sell in the proven column?" then I think the answer is self-explanatory.

I was a little surprised the show put to tiny deals in the middle like that. One for $15k and one for $20k.  Even if they were both worthy of discussion (and I admit the conversations were more interesting than I'd expected) I would expect the show to break them up a little.  Filling the show like that makes the whole thing seem small potatoes.

[Oinky Boinky]

Good point to be proven medicine there is the prooving part attached to it. The thing is not just efficacy gets proven but safety. If people want to spend Mega bucks on sugar pills that falls back on them but that they don't have to prove safety is another matter. Scary.

[Kel Varnsen]

Very telling that the menopod can be sold by Naturopaths and Chiropractors as a medical device without FDA approval but anywhere else requires expensive clinical trials and approval. No testing at all of efficacy or safety with alternative medicine. Leave it to buyers based on words natural, safe or organic to not be duped or injured.

I remember reading about how the whole natural supplement industry is based out of Utah and has crazy good lobbyists and make a lot of donations to their senator, and that is how you can have that whole natural supplement shelf at a pharmacy that can sell stuff and make claims without meeting the same standards actual drugs and medical devices do.

[Amarsir]

Their website, which includes all modern web design trends while still being awful, throws around the words "pure" and "fresh" to imply there's some benefit there. And if that sounds like a pretty weak claim to you then I certainly agree.

 

Canned pre-mixed drinks are already in existence from Smirnoff, and reportedly they're pretty bad but how much of that is being cheap and how much is the method is harder to say.

[Taeolas]

Well, they seem to be listening. Three New Dragons coming, including 2 women and Vikram IS leaving after one season.

 

Major changes are underway at CBC’s Dragons' Den as the broadcaster revealed the addition of two young female entrepreneurs to its roster of venture capitalists, and announced the departure of Vikram Vij.

Calgary-born distillery and brewery owner Manjit Minhas and Toronto-born Buytopia.ca co-founder Michele Romanow are joining the hit reality TV show in season 10, the broadcaster announced Wednesday.

Vij, the celebrated Vancouver chef and restaurant magnate, has said he is leaving the den after only one season to spend more time building his own businesses, including his frozen food line.

 

I don't recognize their names, but I didn't recognize most of the others to start either. I'm a bit concerned their backing power might not be enough, even for the Canadian market, but we'll see how this goes. 

 

Reading their bios does seem promising at least, and the age range and expertise now seems solid. Dare I say, I'm getting a bit excited to see what next season will be like.

[Taeolas]

CBC Marketplace just had an episode on Homeopathy; and it looks like Canada's system is woefully inadequete. They apparently were able to get an aches and pains cure approved simply by including a photocopy of a page from an old book that mentioned the ingredients and what they did. Frankly, it's rather scary how easy they were able to do it. 

[Amarsir]

It is an exciting group of Dragons, I'm pretty psyched too.  Michele Romanow could prove very interesting: not only a female voice but younger and with web, retail, and wholesale experience.  Dragons who are willing to go in on anything are the most interesting ones.

[Taeolas]

Plus, at least one of them is on the Web version of Dragons Den for entrepreneurs apparently, so they're stepping into the big den with experience already; that should be a plus. (Since lack of Den-style experience IMO is one of the main reasons Vikram didn't do well)

[Miss Scarlet]

I'm very happy that 2 of them are women. I've always thought it was ridiculous that Arlene was the only woman. They probably felt pressured to have more than 1 woman because Shark Tank has 2 (although Barbara rotates with Daymond). 

Edited March 28, 2015 by wudpixie

[hawk09]

And this show is still on the air and will be returning for another season?  CBC must be desperate for entertainment, because after the first amateurish pitch with the zombies, I had to sign off and will never watch DD again.  Who approves the auditions?  If these people made it, who didn't make it?

 

Really, really bad.  A bunch of morons pitching with zombies, dressed up like people you'd find in a school play, to rich people with money they hope will invest.  Go figure, would you dare even compare this to any other show.  They should be ashamed of themselves.  Why didn't they just edit this pitch out and save themselves the embarrassment?  Imagine the Dragons sitting there listening to that crap? 

 

Then next season they have the Joe Fresh guy.  Cancel the show before all is lost.

Edited April 3, 2015 by hawk09

[LakeGal]

I am getting very bored with this show.  It seems to have lost so much this season.  I had this episode on in the background and did not pay much attention at all.

[Amarsir]

I guess I have to disagree because I thought this was a very interesting episode.

 

Obstacle races are hot right now. Personally I don't quite get it, but Cuban put in $1.75 million on Rugged Maniac when they appeared on Shark Tank. The combination of zombies ties into another hot trend (which I also don't quite get).  As a business it's fine: they had 35% margins on something that can't possibly be taking full time.  I don't think there was anything wrong with that pitch at all.

 

The hug vest was probably the low point for me, just because there wasn't much going on. Probably a good product though, especially since it sounds like they've gotten approval for government expenditures.

 

WipeBoard was weird, but I enjoyed the conversation. I'm with David where I think the idea is 20 years too late.  But Arlene - who's been kind of the grouch this season (and this episode) - was all over it.  I expected she'd make her offer in services not cash, but maybe she figures on just paying herself for marketing anyway so she didn't need the distinction.

 

And the wine fridge did look good. A very polished product which I'm sure Jim and Wek will navigate to the right market.  I didn't realize there was such a thing as solid state refrigeration, so following a Wikipedia trip I got an education too.

 

Overall I thought it was fine. Other than Vikram's pattern of "not my area" and having the worst bid in the room, it all pretty much worked.

[Amarsir]

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but for what it's worth the Australian Shark Tank (which just started) has two female Sharks as well.  And the BBC Dragons' Den has maintained two spots for women since 2011. (They're also replacing 3 spots next year, coincidentally.)  So yeah, this show was definitely bringing up the rear for representation.

[Traveller519]

I always enjoy these wrap ups and seeing into the private lives of the Dragons.

[Amarsir]

I do too. It's tough to balance personal pieces and business followups in a single show and I wouldn't mind them going to 2 episodes for it. 

 

Is Pizza really so new that people in the 1960s had never had it? I know it's odd to refer to 50 years ago as "new", but I would have figured it for at least a generation before then.  I'm going to have to find a biography or something on Jim because that seems so odd to me, a police officer trying pizza for the first time and going "well that's it, I have to quit my job and start selling this."

 

I'm also a little curious if these followups were before or after their respective shows aired.  At first I thought VeloFix selling 5 franchises in a month was superb. But on second thought it probably wouldn't surprise me if they got a bunch of contacts after appearing.  Still nice growth though.

[The Crazed Spruce]

Is Pizza really so new that people in the 1960s had never had it? I know it's odd to refer to 50 years ago as "new", but I would have figured it for at least a generation before then.  I'm going to have to find a biography or something on Jim because that seems so odd to me, a police officer trying pizza for the first time and going "well that's it, I have to quit my job and start selling this."

Well, according to Wikipedia, it wasn't introduced to Canada 'til the late 50's, and that was mainly in pizzerias in large urban areas, so it's entirely possible.

[Traveller519]

As someone who lives in Calgary and enjoys craft beers, I don't know that I've ever seen the Minhas beers anywhere, but I'll definitely be on the lookout for it.

 

I'm interested to see how the show plays out, but I am saddened to be losing two of the most hands on Dragons. David also represented the common-sense investing strategy he preached. He never quite appeared as the extravagant Millionaire with some passion projects, he wanted to help people and liked building the businesses. Arlene was glue in the Den for a long time.

[The Crazed Spruce]

The 5 Funniest Dragon's Den Pitches Of All Time.

[Taeolas]

The first deal was probably a plant; it was custom made for a new Dragon, so it wasn't surprising there was a deal. Michael and Jim's offers were just to offer a 'choice'. I will say, Michael did offer one of the more unique offers I've seen.

 

The Dragons Minature market, he had it but it slipped from his grasp... and it was probably the best for the Dragons; Games Workshop would probably squish him if he ever showed up on their radar in any way. 

 

Coconut guy had potential, but it does feel like an overfilled market.

 

Crowdsourcing delivery, I suspect Joe and Michele are going to get burned about it. Jim knows the delivery market backwards and forwards and he wasn't touching that with a ten foot pole. 

 

I missed the gong show segment, but it was probably cut for time to deal with the intro.

 

As for the new dragons... I think they're going to work. Everyone's still feeling out their positions and their roles, but it's got a lot of good dynamics. The Delivery deal shows a strong Old vs Young dynamic, and the fields are certainly diverse enough. Michele seems confident enough to take over Arlene's role, and Manjit seems to know her stuff and holds her own.

 

Joe held his ground well and got in some good digs back at Jim too, so he should fit well. 

 

All in all, a good start to the season, and a refreshing shakeup. 

 

Is it just me or does Michael seem a lot older or something? He did not seem well, or maybe he got too much sun over the summer.

[The Crazed Spruce]

I'll miss Arlene, but the three new Dragons are already fitting in much better than Vikram ever did. (Too bad they cut out the Montage Of Crap, though. But at least they didn't include the entrepreneurs' sob stories. That's the worst part of Shark Tank, IMO.)

 

Crowdsourcing delivery, I suspect Joe and Michele are going to get burned about it. Jim knows the delivery market backwards and forwards and he wasn't touching that with a ten foot pole.

Hey, maybe they can use those reusable pizza boxes from a few seasons back! :)

 

Is it just me or does Michael seem a lot older or something? He did not seem well, or maybe he got too much sun over the summer.

It's not just you. He looks like he was partying too much just before taping. Like, the entire week before.

[sadiegirl]

I like the new people but miss David & Arlene.  They were my favorite.

 

I want to buy some of that mix.  It looked tasty and for $10 you can make 30 drinks.  Not a bad deal.

[Amarsir]

I need a couple more episodes to really feel like I know the new Dragons, but they all looked good, interactive, and distinct here.  And they were all really having fun during that delivery pitch.

 

I do hope that "We are the Uber of X" is not a theme this season. Yes, timesharing and crowdsourcing have further to go, but that's such a startup cliche already. And much like everyone was doing Groupon clones 2 years ago, I'm afraid of getting sick of it.

[Kel Varnsen]

So at the end of the season are they going to reveal that the whole thing was just a giant Funny or Die prank and that Michelle is actually Eliza Coupe? Because not only does she sound just like her, but they look very similar from some angles too. 

 

Or maybe in the final episode the real Eliza Coupe can come on and get the dragons to invest in producing another season of Happy Endings.

[Miss Scarlet]

I find Jim to be insufferable. Not surprised that he would patronize Michele and that the preview for the season shows him calling her "sweetie". Good for her for telling him off about it.

[Amarsir]

I think the commercial teases over-played that "fight" between Jim and Manjit. I like that they had different points of view and it didn't strike me as ill-mannered at all.  (And my $0.02 is that they should have a sell out plan. You don't want to be a long-term single snack item company if you don't have to be.)

 

Not sure what Jim saw in the fish finder, but I'm sure he knows that market better than I. $50,000 from in-season monthly sales?  I don't see how you get to the $3m valuation he put on it.

[Kiss my mutt]

Definitely a good start to a new season though I do miss Dave and Arlene too.

The coconut guy really bugged me. I don't know if he thought he would get sympathy by saying he had a single mom who worked for $10 an hour and he took the equity from her home to start this business? What a loser risking his moms security like that. There comes a point where the child, now adult, needs to be a good steward to their parents and he never should have asked. Plus coconut oil and even the aminos are everywhere.

The mix does look good. I'd definitely be down for trying that. I guess the dragon game dude has a kick starter campaign where he's raised over $100,000.

I have my doubts as well that the delivery business deal will come to fruition.

[Amarsir]

I find Jim to be insufferable. Not surprised that he would patronize Michele and that the preview for the season shows him calling her "sweetie". Good for her for telling him off about it.

I'm not as harsh as him as you are but I definitely get the sense he doesn't see these new Dragons as peers. And that does need a comeuppance.

[Taeolas]

Two episodes and no Gong show. HOpefully they're still in the honeymoon period with the new dragons and the Gong show pitch section will come back soon. 

[Taeolas]

Still no Gong show. How disappointing. :( 

 

The rehab deal was certainly the Feel Good deal of the season; everyone in for 50G each effectively as a long term loan. Easy charity writeoff basically. (Not to dismiss their actual goal; glad to see they're doing well). 

 

The jacket one was a good deal; I'm a bit surprised more dragons weren't biting at it, but seems like something that should do well, especially in northern climates. 

 

The Game company has potential maybe, but ultimately is going for the DD bump I think. They need a Big game to go viral to really take off I think, then a few big winners they can trumpet. 

 

Flytographer seems like an interesting idea. You're basically hiring a photographer/tour guide at your destination. The DD bump will definitly help her I think. It's not a service I'd use, but I can certainly see its use case. Surprised she walked out like that; I think she made a mistake in not asking the Dragon to go in alone after Joe butted into the first offer. 

 

Nutri-Qual seems like an interesting idea. The big challenge is getting over the perception, but the Yogurt industry has already trailblazed that for him. Call it a Pro-Biotic treated meats and he's all set. 5 years from now, his treatment will either be common, or there will be some disastrous misstep that will kill his product. 

[sadiegirl]

I would love to use Flytographer but good god, it is expensive.  Wedding photographers charge less.

[Taeolas]

As it grows they might be able to lower the price; but really you are paying for a professional photographer and amateur tourguide combined in one. 

 

I could see doing it for special moments on a trip, like a day tour around Paris for a Honeymoon or Anniversary trip or something. Or even a family vacation when everyone's all together at once, so you won't have as many odd-man out moments during the trip. Good for memorable moments of the trip, but you aren't tied to the guide for the entire trip, and get some good photos out of it. 

 

Very situational in other words, and I don't see myself using it, but I can see the appeal of it as well. 

[Amarsir]

I didn't care for any of the first 3 products, though the last 2 made up for it. The app in particular seemed like dressing without the meat. "What if we made a game, eschewing the most profitable model for doing so, and disregarding how good the game is. Who wants to invest?"

Surprised she walked out like that; I think she made a mistake in not asking the Dragon to go in alone after Joe butted into the first offer. 

Me too. Either that was weirdly edited or she completely choked on her chance to counter. I wouldn't have invested but she should have been able to lure Michelle back in.

[kitten59]

A b it late tuning in to this season, but what the hell happened to Michael's face?? I never thought he was a looker, but my God, talk about accelerated aging!

[Amarsir]

ThinIce I'd actually heard of via their IndieGoGo during the time between when they must have filmed this and when it aired.  They raised almost $600,000 in US dollars.  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/thin-ice-the-very-first-weight-loss-clothing-line#/story

 

And it wasn't the first time I've heard the idea. The purpose of fat storage on the body is to maintain heat during lean winters, not for fast-burst exercise.  (Carbs in the form of glycogen stores are used for that.)  So in a certain sense chilling yourself makes more sense for weight loss than a treadmill does.  However I think a vest makes more sense than insoles and his ice bath demonstration was predictably unpleasant and thus a silly way to open a pitch.

 

Is "Hangry" really a new kind of idea? I don't do nearly enough takeout to have looked into the options, but this easily seems like something that's been covered years ago.  

[Amarsir]

Michelle's point on forcing the download for the drink app is very interesting. I see their point and I'd be marginally less likely to use the app if I thought I was forcing a download on someone. But she's right: if being annoying was a negative characteristic in apps, Candy Crush wouldn't be worth $6 billion.

 

DD gets enough healthful food products that they really need a Shark Tank like promotion that puts a shelf in a major chain. They should have the clout to get that done and it would really increase the odds of any prospective food companies getting a deal.

[sadiegirl]

Michelle's point on forcing the download for the drink app is very interesting. I see their point and I'd be marginally less likely to use the app if I thought I was forcing a download on someone. But she's right: if being annoying was a negative characteristic in apps, Candy Crush wouldn't be worth $6 billion.

 

I agree with this.  Being forced to download would make me not use the app.  I don't want to force my friends to put things on their phone and I'd be pissed if they forced me to do it.  But maybe I'm too old for that app.

[Amarsir]

I know I saw this episode, but for the life of me I can't remember any of the pitches ... even with the hints above.  My fault for multitasking, I guess.  (OK I kind of remember the tomato sauce at the end.)

 

I did think the Hope Blooms follow-up was interesting. My thinking at the time was that the project would only last as long as there were interested adults. But spinning up the program with lots of donations and potentially expanding to multiple cities is a good way to do that. The bigger it gets, the easier it will be to find replacements when a few get busy / burned out / move away.

[Amarsir]

 

A music artist enters the Den with his kid-friendly music, a hard-working entrepreneur brings the Dragons to tears, and outdoor enthusiasts are on the hunt for a partner.

 

[Amarsir]

Lots of Dragon personality in this episode. It feels like this group is really hitting their stride. And IMHO there's no dead weight. They all weigh in and make offers pretty frequently.  (Although I do miss the quickie montages.)

 

Those Whey guys were thrown a lifeline and wrapped it around their necks. It sounds like they haven't gotten any reorders yet, and by year end they could as easily be at zero as at their projected million sales. Jim would obviously had been an amazing partner and he came in well under Joe's 40% even though he didn't have to.

[Amarsir]

An unconventional twist on a Canadian classic, childhood friends look for a million-dollar investment into their online business, a father-son team aim to land a partner, and more!

[Amarsir]

Jim had it coming on the "don't call me 'sweetie'" rebuke from Michelle. He's right that she was getting a little overheated during that pitch, but no way would he have addressed another Dragon anywhere like that. (Not Arlene either, so I think it's more age than gender, though likely some of both.)  At least that made it more satisfying when she got the auto deal over him later on.

 

I also liked Joe commenting on the guy's shoes. That's the sort of personality injection some past Dragons have lacked.

[UsernameFatigue]

I don't know why some of the Dragons were so upset that the cowboy guy had blown a million dollars on his stupid invention. They should be feeling sorry for his father in law who apparently gave him the money. And I get the feeling there was more for the asking so they guy wasn't the least bit fazed. I do agree though that Joe's shoe comment was funny, as well as his comment that he was going to use the paint gun to baste his steak.

 

I do agree that Jim had it coming with the sweetie comment. He did look pretty sheepish afterwards. Though I found Michelle to be quite mouthy this epi. She went out on the poutine deal (and I think another one as well) but then kept yapping when the others were talking. If you are out, shut up.

[sadiegirl]

Thank god someone is discussing this episode.  I'm from the States and wanted to find out more about the food but couldn't remember what it was called.  Now, I can do some research.

 

These dragons are growing on me.  I think Joe is my favorite, although I still miss Arlene and David. 

[rcc]

I like the new dragons. I wish Wek would leave though. I didn't like him last year and still don't. Will always miss Arlene.

 

How great was that to make a deal with the Canadian boxing champion. Unlike the U.S. where there are managers, agents and hangers-on the guy did everything himself. Kudos to him for his accomplishment and the Dragons will help him.

Edited December 10, 2015 by rcc

[Kel Varnsen]

ThinIce I'd actually heard of via their IndieGoGo during the time between when they must have filmed this and when it aired.  They raised almost $600,000 in US dollars.  https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/thin-ice-the-very-first-weight-loss-clothing-line#/story

 

And it wasn't the first time I've heard the idea. The purpose of fat storage on the body is to maintain heat during lean winters, not for fast-burst exercise.  (Carbs in the form of glycogen stores are used for that.)  So in a certain sense chilling yourself makes more sense for weight loss than a treadmill does.  However I think a vest makes more sense than insoles and his ice bath demonstration was predictably unpleasant and thus a silly way to open a pitch.

 

Is "Hangry" really a new kind of idea? I don't do nearly enough takeout to have looked into the options, but this easily seems like something that's been covered years ago.  

The ice thing seemed kind of interesting. I know that swimming burns more calories than a lot of other exercises (even if you are exerting the same amount of energy) since your body burns a ton of calories just by regulating your body temperature in the water.

 

The Hangry thing was weird. Not sure why they would ask Jim if Boston Pizza would be interested in it since why would Boston Pizza even need it. I can go to the Boston Pizza website right now and order pretty much anything from their menu for take out and pick it up, if they were on Hangry why would I pay an extra 10% premium for what the BP website can do for free. Although that just goes along with a bigger general complaint I have of why the hell does everything need to be an app. But going after the university food service thing seemed like a smart way since those places aren't going to have much in the way of an online presence. 

 

The soda lady was kind of interesting although a pretty standard Vancouver Island crazy person (and I say that as someone from Vancouver Island). It would have been awesome if Kevin had still been around to get his take on her. Also one thing confused me is why were they talking about the soda being fermented? It's not alcoholic, so what is going on with the fermentation?

[Kel Varnsen]

I agree with this.  Being forced to download would make me not use the app.  I don't want to force my friends to put things on their phone and I'd be pissed if they forced me to do it.  But maybe I'm too old for that app.

I think I am too old for this too, because I can't see a whole lot of times where something like this would be useful to me. If I go out with friends and buy a round don't need this, if a single version of me saw a hot girl at a bar and wanted to buy her a drink i wouldn't need this (and it wouldn't work). Hell in the scenario they set up in the demo you could do the exact same thing with an Interac e-transfer.