Dragons' Den Dragons' Den 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). 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
Shark Tank (Australian TV series) to develop. The sharks do receive money for their participation, but they invest their own money. These self-made multi-millionaires judge the business concepts and products pitched and then decide whether to invest their own money to help market and mentor each contestant. The potential exists, if one of the sharks is interested, for a deal to be made right there on the show. However, if all of the sharks decline, the contestant leaves with nothing. Shark Tank has been described as demonstrating "the drama of pitch meetings and the interaction between the entrepreneurs and tycoons." A 2018 investigation by Fairfax