Dragons’ Den is a national institution at this point. First launched in 2005 as a reimagining of Japan’s Tigers of Money, it’s since endured over two decades and played host to all manner of ideas great and terrible.
Representing one of the most hostile pitching environments imaginable, wannabe magnates stand before a panel of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs with the aim of winning investment in exchange for business equity.
Along with supercharging dozens of small businesses over the years, it’s also spawned tonnes of memes, an American spinoff in Shark Tank, and some immortal Harry and Paul sketches.
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The Dragons have got it wrong on many occasions over that time. In 2006, ride-on kids’ suitcase brand Trunki was rejected only for it to build major success. It was sold in 2023 for around £12 million, massively outstripping the £100,000 investment it didn’t get from the Dragons.
As far as missed opportunities go, that one’s an absolute minnow compared to the comparative megalodon of BrewDog.
Back in 2009, founders James Watt and Martin Dickie appeared on the show seeking a £100,000 investment in exchange for 20% of the business.
The Dragons didn’t foresee the explosion of craft beers’ popularity on the horizon and passed on the fledgling brewer. Let’s hope they’re all sleeping all right; BrewDog was valued at around $2 billion (around £1.55 billion) in 2023.
Stake-wise, 20% of that is $400,000,000. Some might question whether those Dragons know what they’re doing when that kind of money’s getting left on the table.
Watt discussed their appearance in a post to X in 2020: "In 2008 we applied to Dragons' Den & got as far as a screen test and we pitched our hearts out before the producers rejected us.
"They deemed Martin and myself not investment worthy. We were crushed. We were prepared to offer the Dragons 20% for £100,000.
"Based on our latest [at the time] BrewDog valuation, that investment would now be worth almost £360m meaning the Dragons missed out on by far the best deal in Den history.
"We got over the rejection eventually. But it took a while."
While the Dragons themselves are hardly scraping by, any fiend for business would sprout a few greys over that missed opportunity.
The City Index valuation of $2 billion in 2023 amounted to a market cap of £1.8 billion at the time.
That puts Watt’s 24% share in the business at around $480 million, and Dickie’s own 20% at the aforementioned $400 million
Watt has become the face of his own investment TV show in 2025: House of Unicorns. Its aim is to double the number of British unicorns, otherwise known as privately-owned businesses valued at $1 billion or more.
“I think we partly wanted to do this because it’s never been a more difficult time to start a business in the UK,” Watt told PA Media.
“There are still an amazing batch of entrepreneurs and opportunities in the UK, but I think the environment at the minute does mean that some need that extra support to really grow to their full potential.
“I don’t think the autumn Budget was helpful, and we are seeing founders leaving to run businesses overseas, so I really hope we see the momentum shift soon.”
It just goes to show: if someone can be wildly successful after getting knocked on their backside by Peter Jones et al, anything’s possible.
2025 has been a busy year for Watt. He recently married TV personality and former Made in Chelsea star Georgia Toffolo.
Toffolo, 30, wrote in an Instagram post: “James and I got married today. 1st March will forever be the best day of my life – the day I became your wife.”
Topics: TV and Film, Alcohol
Rachael Davis