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 Japan, where it is known as The Tigers of Money (マネーの虎 manē no tora), a pun on "The Tiger of Malaya" (マレーの虎 marē no tora), the nickname of WWII general Tomoyuki Yamashita.^[1] The format was created and is owned by Nippon TV and is distributed by Sony Pictures Television.

Local versions of the show have been produced in nearly 30 countries, as well as one for the Arab world; in some countries, more than one version has been aired. The most popular name for the show is Dragons' Den or variations thereof, a name that originated in the United Kingdom. The show has also been titled Shark Tank (a name that originated in the United States) and Lions' Den, and variations on those names, among others. In versions where the name of the show contains a creature's name, the investors are referred to by that name.

The contestants are usually product designers or service operators who have what they consider to be a viable and potentially very profitable business idea, but who lack funding and direction. They pitch their idea to five rich entrepreneurial businesspeople, 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), and the rules stipulate that if they do not raise at least this amount from the dragons, they get nothing. In return, the contestant gives the dragons a percentage of the company's stock, which is the chief point of negotiation. 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 that the investor may become interested in investing capital in return for equity, or an embarrassing lack of preparation on the part of the contestant (such as the contestant's lack of knowledge of the business' profits or margins), the uncovering of troubling facts (such as insufficient sales or manufacturing margins) or other reasons which may play a factor in the investors consequently rejecting the investment (such as 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). A contestant may give a counteroffer to the investors, if they feel their offer is not sufficient compared to the contestant's initial offer, which may also be subject to rejection if the investor feels the contestant asking for too high a monetary amount and/or an insufficiently low equity.

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

In Afghanistan, the show is called Fikr wa Talash, which means Dream and Achieve in English. 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 $20,000 USD.^[2]

The show began in 2008 on TOLO TV. The first series ended in August 2008, with the final contestant, Faizulhaq Moshkani, winning $20,000 towards his plastic recycling business. At the time of the show, he owned a plastic recycling plant in Qandahar 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 mini hydroelectric plant to power the new recycling factory. 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.^[3]

The show was produced by Bamyan media^[4] 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,^[5] reaching an estimated 7 million viewers in 2010.^[6][7]

Fikr wa Talash was sponsored by USAID, Roshan telecommunication (the country's leading mobile operator) and Bank e Milli (Afghan National Bank). The host is Ramiz Baktiar.^[8][9] Like the Egyptian version, it was created by Anna Elliot, the founder of the NGO Bamyan Media.

In the Arab world, Dragons' Den was known as Dragons' Den: Al Aareen العرين (The Den). It was broadcast on the Lebanese channel Future Television 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:

The Egyptian version of Dragons' Den is El Mashroua ("The Project").^[10] The show was created in 2013^[11] by Anna Elliot, the founder of the NGO Bamyan Media. It was broadcast on the national channel Alnahar^[12] and followed by approximately 4 million people. The program also created the biggest community of entrepreneurs through a digital platform connected to the show with 1 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 bio gas exploitation.^[13] The panel of Dragons consisted of :

The Australian version of Dragons' Den was broadcast on the Seven Network and hosted by Andrew O'Keefe. Unlike in other versions, here 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:

The Seven Network announced in December 2005 that the show would not be back for a second season after poor ratings.

The format was revived by Network Ten, under the American Shark Tank name, for a show that premiered February 2015.^[14] The Sharks for this edition are Janine Allis (founder of Boost Juice), Andrew Banks (founder of Talent2), Steve Baxter (entrepreneur, investor, internet pioneer), John McGrath (founder of McGrath Estate Agents) and Naomi Simson (founder of RedBalloon). The show is hosted by Sarah Harris.^[15] Unlike 7's previous edition, the show was successful and returned for a second season in 2016.

The Austrian version is called 2 Minuten 2 Millionen, which means "2 Minutes 2 Million". It debuted on Puls 4.

The Belgian (Flemish version) is called LEEUWENKUIL ^[52] - meaning Lion's pit.

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

The Canadian Dragons are/were:

The French-language version, Dans l'œil du dragon (In the Dragon's Eye), began airing in 2012, hosted by Paul Houde.

Past and present dragons include:

The Chinese version of Dragons' Den （合伙中国人 “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:

The Colombian version of "Shark Tank" called "Shark Tank Colombia" began airing on February 23, 2018 by Canal Sony.

Colombian sharks include:

The Croatian version of Dragons' Den called Zmajevo gnijezdo (Dragon's Nest) was scheduled to be broadcast in May 2007 on Croatian Radiotelevision and produced by Ocean Film, a local production company.

Contracted Croatian Dragons were:

A few shows were filmed but never broadcast for undisclosed reasons.

In the Czech Republic, the show is called Den D (The D-Day).

It first aired on 31 March 2009 on Czech TV (CT1 channel), in a very similar set up to the British version of BBC.

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

The Dragons are/were:

A Danish version of the show, Løvens Hule ("Lions' Den"), began airing in April 2015.^[17] The five "lions" are Christian Stadil, Birgit Aaby, Tommy Ahlers, Ilse Jacobsen and Jesper Buch.

In Finland, the first version of the show was Leijonan kita, which means the jaws or the mouth of a lion. The show began running on 27 September 2007 on the MTV3 channel, and aired for one season. It was hosted by Anna Sorainen. The local leijonat (lions) were Kyösti Kakkonen, Eero Lehti, Toivo Sukari, Lisa Sounio and Kaija Ward.

In February 2013 the show re-emerged on the Nelonen channel, this time named Leijonan luola ("Lion's Den"). The show was hosted by Kirsi Salo, and the new lions were Riku Asikainen, Jorma Terentjeff, Ari Lahti, Anne Berner and Oskari Lehtonen.

The German version is called Die Höhle der Löwen, which means The Lions' Cave. It debuted on 19 August 2014 on VOX. The German "lions" are:^[18]

The first episode of the second season aired on 18 August 2015.^[19] The third season launched on 23 August 2016, introducing two new presenters. A fourth season was announced for 2017.

An Irish version of the show began in 2009 on RTÉ One, the state broadcaster. It is presented by Richard Curran, Deputy Editor of The Sunday Business Post.

The Irish Dragons are/were:

The Dragons have appeared on television in Ireland, in promotion of the series, on Tubridy Tonight, on RTÉ One. RTÉ 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.^[20] Sean O'Sullivan replaced Seán Gallagher.^[21] Sean is co-founder at Avego Ltd, based in Kinsale.

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.

In Israel, Dragons' Den is entitled Hakrishim, Hebrew for "The Sharks". It is produced by Gil Productions and is broadcast on Channel 10. It is hosted by Guy Zohar. In the Israeli version, there are six dragons who rotate their appearance weekly. The first season was broadcast during the summer and fall of 2006. The dragons in season 1 were: Ze'ev Holtzman, Israela Shtier, Aviv Tzidon, Oded Dessau, Jacky Ben-Zaken, and Nir Sharatzki. The second season began being broadcast on Channel 10 on 24 May 2007. As in the first season, the dragons rotate their appearance weekly. Aviv Tzidon and Jacky Ben-Zaken returned from the first season and were joined by the following new dragons:

In 2018 the show was renewed ^[53] by Gil Productions and is now being broadcast on Keshet 12. The show welcomed an entirely new cast:

Titled マネーの虎 ("Manē no Tora", Money Tigers), 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.^[22]

The premier of Lion's Den was in October 2016 on NTV.^[23] The show was sponsored by KCB Group, the largest commercial bank in East Africa. The format was introduced to Kenya by Quite Bright Films Kenya Ltd (QBF) who produce the show in Nairobi.

The Kenyan Lions are:^[24]

In Mexico the series is called Shark Tank México: Negociando con tiburones or just simply Negociando con Tiburones, Spanish for "Negotiating with Sharks".

The sharks were:

In the Netherlands the show ran on Nederland 3 for two 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:

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:

Nigeria's adaptation of Dragons' Den was broadcast weekly in 2008 on the AIT Network and produced by Storm Vision.

The Nigerian Dragons were:

In Pakistan, the program airs as Idea Croron Ka and is broadcast on Neo News. It is a joint venture between Chaudhry Muhammad Akram Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CMACED) at Superior University and Neo News.^[25] The first episode premiered on 18 March 2017.^[26] 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:^[27]

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 15,000,000 PLN (5,500,000 U.S. dollars), on 24 April 2011.^[28]

The Polish Dragons in 2011 were:

The Portuguese version of Dragons' Den has the American name Shark Tank. It is broadcast on the SIC Network. It began in 2015, and a second season is planned.

The Portuguese Sharks are:^[29]

There is a Romanian version of the format called Arena Leilor (Lions' Arena). The Romanian Lions are:

The show started in 2007.

There was a Russian version of the show called KAPITAL.

Saudi Arabian broadcaster STV1 showed the BBC version of Dragons' Den in 2010, then broadcast a local version in 2011.^[30] It was called التجار, or "Traders". The dragons were:

The Slovenian version of the show was called Dober posel ("Good Deal"). It was aired by then-new Slovenian broadcaster Planet TV, owned by Telekom Slovenije. The show was announced in May 2012, and premiered on November 11, 2012.

The Slovenian investors were:

Dragon's Den South Africa premiered on 23 September 2014 on Mzansi Magic. In a 2014 episode, Vusi Thembekwayo, one of the Dragons, signed his biggest deal, when he invested ZAR2 million in a Halaal abattoir owned by contestant Johan Jacobs and received a 40% stake in the business.^[31] There were two seasons of the show.

The South African "dragons" were:^[32]

In October 2016 the show was renamed to Shark Tank South Africa and premiered on M-Net.

The "sharks" are:^[33]

The title of the Spanish version is Tu Oportunidad (Your Opportunity) and went to air on October 30, 2013 by TVE.

The Sri Lankan version is called "Ath Pavura" (ඇත් පවුර), which means "Wall of Tuskers". It debuted on Independent Television Network on September 24, 2017. Unlike the other versions, the Sri Lankan version focuses on social entrepreneurs and impact investors.

The British version was on air in Sweden for several years on TV8 and BBC Prime. A Swedish version called Draknästet ("The Dragons' Nest") was broadcast in 2009 on Sveriges Television.^[34] A second season started in March 2010.

The Swedish Dragons 2010 are:

Previous Dragons 2009:

The Turkish version of Dragons' Den is on BloombergHT. Baybars Altuntaş is one of the dragons.

In Ukraine, the series was called Акули бізнесу (Akuly biznesu, "Business Sharks") and featured Dragons such as future presidential candidate Serhiy Tihipko.

In the UK, Dragons' Den is broadcast on BBC Two, which has exclusive rights to the show's format from its Japanese producers. The Executive Producer is Dominic Bird^[35] and it is hosted by BBC Newsnight presenter Evan Davis. The Dragons are/were:

In 2008, television producer Mark Burnett signed a deal with format holder Sony to produce an American version of the series. The series on U.S. television is titled Shark Tank.^[36]

The U.S. network ABC ordered a pilot episode which was produced by Sony Pictures TV.^[37] On October 9, 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 January 6 to January 9, 2009 in Los Angeles.^[38]

On September 23, 2016, Shark Tank began its eighth season. The current "sharks" are:

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:

A Vietnamese version of the show, to be titled Shark Tank Việt Nam, is set to air on Vietnam Television in 2017.^[41] The "cá mập" (sharks) that have been announced so far are Trương Gia Bình, Vũ Văn Tiền and Trần Bá Dương.^[42]