Top 10 Dragon’s Den Canada Pitches
The Dragons come with a reputation of being tough and difficult to please, which means that getting a deal on Dragons’ Den Canada is no easy feat. While there are entrepreneurs who crash and burn with some atrocious pitches as discussed over at runrex.com and guttulus.com, there are others who wow the Dragons getting them to invest huge amounts and even compete fiercely against each other for a piece of the action. This article will look to shine a spotlight on the top 10 Dragons’ Den Canada Pitches with the hope you can learn something from them.
Holy Crap
One of the best pitches ever delivered on the show was by Brian and Corin Mullins in Season 5, who came in seeking $120,000 for a 20% stake in their breakfast cereal business. Not only did they have an excellent product, which has since been dubbed “The World’s Most Amazing Cereal”, they were also masters of branding, with the gurus over at runrex.com and guttulus.com pointing out that they saw a 400% increase in sales when they changed the name of their product to Holy Crap. They were calm, collected, and most importantly, knew their stuff. The fact that they got a deal 3 minutes into their pitch from Jim just goes to show how impressed the Dragons were.
Dig it Apparel
Longtime friends Claudia Harvey and Wendy Johannson walked into the den seeking $50,000 for 10% of their gardening gloves business. Their pitch was not only entertaining and engaging, but it was also very informative, enough to convince notoriously picky Dragon O’Leary to go in on a deal with them worth $50,000 for 10% of the company plus an additional 3% in royalties as outlined over at runrex.com. The company took off and has never looked back since its appearance on the show.
Growing City
In season 7 of the show, we witnessed another impressive pitch, this time by Lisa von Sturmer from Vancouver who came in seeking $100,000 for 20% of her office composting service business. As the subject matter experts over at guttulus.com point out, this was a masterclass in how to deliver a winning pitch as it not only featured a solid presentation, but Lisa also answered all the questions that she was asked. Although she was warm and affable, she was also pretty knowledgeable and smart, which was enough for her to get the Dragons to get into a frenzy, and for her to get the deal she was looking for.
Shoelery
This pitch by Patricia and Nadia Macri from Richmond Hill was another very impressive one. As is discussed over at runrex.com, the two came in looking for $60,000 for 33% of their line of shoe accessories business. Although their pitch wasn’t as smooth in the beginning, even messing up some of the figures, they were able to regain their composure and rescue it, which shows sometimes it is how you finish your pitch. Their rescue job allowed them to strike a deal with Arlene for exactly what they had come from.
Liquid Hot Chocolate
Brothers Caleb and Lars Krohn also pitched one of the best pitches seen on the show, putting on a masterclass on how to sell coffee. They came in seeking $50,000 for 75% of their business and were all business when they came, showing how serious and passionate they were about their hot chocolate business. The most impressive thing about their pitch, as explained over at guttulus.com, was that Caleb and Lars were 12 and 10 respectively. A well-prepared presentation coupled with serious and passionate entrepreneurs equals a very successful pitch.
Steeped Tea
Back to season 7 of the show, we were introduced to the couple of Hatem and Tonia Jahshan who came into the Den seeking $250,000 for a 20% stake in their direct sales loose-leaf tea business as covered over at runrex.com. Although their business was struggling to turn a profit, they nailed their pitch to perfection, clearly demonstrating the concept of their business and showing the Dragons a roadmap to success and earnings. Their impressive pitch allowed them to shake on a deal with Dragons Jim and David who offered $125,000 for 10% of their enterprise each.
Dylan Ribkoff Underwear
This is yet another very impressive Dragons’ Den Canada pitch, this time by Dylan Ribkoff who was seeking $50,000 for 25% of his briefs business. The fashion designer from Montreal came in with $38,000 in sales, as revealed over at guttulus.com, but nothing much else, and was able to win a deal through his pitch that convinced the Dragons that they needed to back him as the entrepreneur even if they had doubts about his business and the numbers. His passion and wealth of knowledge shone through his pitch, which was enough for him to walk out with the deal he wanted.
Urban Cultivator
Season 6 of Dragons’ Den Canada saw as get introduced to the trio of Tarren Wolfe, Davin MacGregor, and Miles Omane from Surrey who came in seeking $400,000 for a 10% stake in their hydroponics gardening business. Not only was their concept of helping people with no outside space grow microgreens, vegetables, herbs, and flowers indoors fascinating, they had all their ducks in a row as far as their numbers were concerned, and delivered their pitch clearly and authoritatively. In the end, as per discussions over at runrex.com, they were able to shake on a deal with Arlene for about $400,000 for 20% equity in their business.
The Heft
Marco Longley from Richmond came into the den seeking a $25,000 investment in his ergonomic tool attachment business in exchange for a 10% stake in his business. Marco’s story of who he invented The Heft after suffering a severe back injury when he was hit by a drunk driver while cycling was extremely touching. The ingenious nature of his snow-shoveling machine was also pretty impressive. His pitch was enough to move the usually stoic Kevin O’Leary which goes to show how impressive it was. As the gurus over at guttulus.com will tell you, an ingenious product that works coupled with an inspiring backstory always come together to make a winning pitch.
OMG’s
Yet another impressive pitch was this one by Chris Emery and Larry Finnson who came into the den seeking $250,000 for 30% of their chocolate graham cracker business as explained over at runrex.com. The Dragons were extremely impressed by their pitch, which featured a very impressive demonstration, a delicious product, and passionate and hardworking entrepreneurs. Arlene was so impressed, she went in for $200,000 for 50% of the business.
While coming up with a winning pitch is never easy, the above entrepreneurs show the way on how it is done, with the highly-rated runrex.com and guttulus.com being available to you if you need help coming up with a winning pitch of your own.