History Series / DragonsDen

* PowerWalk: The UK opening sequence.

-->'''Peter Jones:''' I don't think it's a bad idea. I think it's a ridiculously ''stupid'', and ''crazy'' idea.

*** In season eleven, episode twelve, Barbara Corcoran revealed a dislike of entrepreneurs being supported by family and not in danger of losing everything, believing that a lack of urgency holds them back.
*** Having a large presence in the cybersecurity industry, Robert Herjavec hates when pitches involving tech cannot give a firm answer on how they handle their security, both in terms of data security and countermeasures to hacking.

** Kevin O'Leary and board games. In a 2014 episode, he even took a failed board game entrepreneur up to his personal cabin just so he could burn the board game that was pitched in the den in front of its creator.
** Mark Cuban hates when someone takes his offer seriously, then asks if there are any other offers. He usually pulls out right then and there.
** Mark Cuban also despises patent trolls. He goes on a massive rant when a lawyer proudly mentions how he had sued companies (Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, etc) for infringing on his patent - ''for running a wire in clothing fabric''. He also refuses to invest in a novelty fake cell phone company because they had a patent on plastic fake cell phones.

** Telling a diabetic (or anyone with a health condition for that matter) that they should stop taking insulin or whatever else they're using to treat their condition because that article you read on the internet says that herbal medication can cure them. A snake oil salesman who tried this got chewed out for making such bold claims. Mark Cuban in particular hates this sort of pseudoscience; on one occasion he actually turned down the free sample positive/negative ion bracelet the entrepreneur handed out.

-->'''Duncan Bannatyne:''' When you lie down on a sunbed, you put this on top of you. But most sunbeds now are stand-up sunbeds. So what happens then?\\
'''Entrepreneur:''' They fall off.

* TheMagnificent: Kevin is always quick to remind everyone that "they call him Mr. Wonderful". Who "they" refers to is unclear, as nobody (outside of Kevin himself) has ever been heard calling him that.

* MisplacedKindergartenTeacher: Invoked by one entrepreneur in UK series 15: a primary-school teacher, who said she would treat the Dragons as if they were children in her classrom. It didn't get her an offer of investment.

* MrExposition: Andrew Banks on the Australian version does this a LOT, usually in relation to the financial side of things (eg clarifying how much the entrepeneur wants and summarising the offers made or number of Sharks in/out)

* RevolvingDoorCasting: The UK version managed to keep the same lineup through series 5-8 but otherwise has been prone to a lot of changes (in the most recent series Hilary Devey left after just two series, whilst Theo Paphitis had been there since series two). The Canadian version too. The longest lasting lineup was seasons 3-5, and Jim Treliving is the only original Dragon left.

* CriticalResearchFailure: Often committed by the contestants, either by only doing a small amount of research (for instance, asking their parents or neighbours whether they think the product is a good idea), or by doing full research and then disregarding it when it paints a less-than-rosy picture for the future of their business or product. Needless to say, the Dragons are relentless to people who ''always'' do the research. [[invoked]]

** If a company is even borderline illegal, Jim Treliving ([[CanadaEh former RCMP officer]]) will not be amused.

* TheBusCameBack: In UK series 17, Theo Paphitis returns to stand in for Touker Suleyman in some episodes.

# '''The Successful''' -- they get the deal. ''[[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers The Sunday Times]]'' once tried to make a big deal of the fact that some deals never went through after the show, but it didn't really work because the show never made a secret of that fact -- both sides have a period of due diligence, and there have been several people who lied about their figures on the show. As Theo Paphitis put it, "I kept up my end of the bargain. The show is not about a cash prize, it is about us pledging to invest. But people must tell the truth. Simple."\\\

** ''Shark Tank'' also had at least one show following ''its'' lead. Creator/FoodNetwork briefly aired ''Food Fortunes'', which had some format changes (such as a studio audience that their investors can poll) but was still largely ''Shark Tank'' [[RecycledInSpace for food/kitchen/restaurant businesses]].

* SomethingItis: In the U.S. ''Shark Tank'', Mark diagnoses the mother and daughter creators of the Marker Parker with "Inventor-itis," as they also show off several other products that they've made, but haven't perfected and don't really have sales for. This is a danger sign because it signals to an investor they have terminal wanderlust and a problem focusing on just one thing and making it great before moving on to the next business idea.

* FakeMillionaire: It’s not uncommon for an entrepreneur to pitch a business valuation in the millions, only for it to turn out that they’ve barely done a few thousand in sales (or less!). Naturally, the investors tend to take a dim view of dishonest valuations and such pitches will be torn to shreds.

* TheMeanBrit:
** In the UK version, just about ''all'' of the Dragons were Mean Brits. Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Theo Paphitis, and Deborah Meaden fall squarely into this category. Simon Woodroffe and Rachel Elnaugh weren't quite as bad, but could certainly turn on the nastiness when needed. Even Doug Richard, who is technically American, could earn an honorary Mean Brit title due to the fact that he could be as nasty as the others, and has resided in the UK for some time. James Caan (no, not that one) is the only real exception to this rule, as he is by far the nicest of the British Dragons (Richard Farleigh was the nicest overall, but is actually Australian). Hilary Devey seems to be covering for Caan as "the nicest one". Piers Linney and Kelley Hoppen also downplay this trope.
** Strangely subverted in the Australian version - Andrew Banks is actually among the most polite of the Sharks in the tank, to the point where he'll be the one to summarise the offers for the entrepreneur and also give them some advice on how to go about picking which investor they want.

** The UK Dragons, while capable of being [[MeanBrit pretty mean]], can be pretty civil when a product or business is working well, but doesn't appear capable of giving the Dragons a return on their investment, or they have other reasons for not wanting to invest.

''Dragons' Den'', based on the Japanese TV show ''Money no Tora'' ("Money Tigers"), has versions, with varying success, in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} (the original), the [[UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom UK]] (longest running), UsefulNotes/NewZealand, UsefulNotes/{{Israel}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}}, UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (with another exclusive to Québec), UsefulNotes/{{Netherlands}}, UsefulNotes/{{Finland}}, UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}}, the Arab world, UsefulNotes/{{Ireland}}, the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates ([[MarketBasedTitle titled]] ''Shark Tank''), UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}, UsefulNotes/{{Germany}} and UsefulNotes/{{Brazil}}. The format is owned by Creator/{{Sony|PicturesTelevision}}. The original Japanese show debuted in 2001. A couple of versions have had spinoffs, ''Junior Dragons'' featuring kid contestants in Ireland and ''Beyond the Tank'' (2015-2016) featuring followup reports on prior contestants in the U.S.

# '''The Successful''' -- they get the deal. The [[UsefulNotes/BritishNewspapers Sunday Times]] once tried to make a big deal of the fact that some deals never went through after the show, but it didn't really work because the show never made a secret of that fact -- both sides have a period of due diligence, and there have been several people who lied about their figures on the show. As Theo Paphitis put it, "I kept up my end of the bargain. The show is not about a cash prize, it is about us pledging to invest. But people must tell the truth. Simple."\\\

* AnimalMotifs: The large majority of the show's [[MarketBasedTitle various international titles]] feature a fierce animal: tigers in Japan, and dragons, sharks, and lions in various other versions; all of which emphasize the ruthlessness and ferocity of the investors.

** Some European countries and Kenya, the connotation is ferocious lions (investors) hunting weaker animals (contestants) to receive the [[{{Pun}} Lion's Share]] of profits.

* BigEater: Mark. He ate at least ''three'' jars (one of which was originally Robert’s) of "Wicked Good Cupcakes” during the product’s pitch. He even tried to get some of Daymond’s sample!

** The ending of season finale of the U.S. fourth season featured an odd crossover in which Dr. Doofenshmirtz of Creator/DisneyChannel's ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' appeared to pitch a ShrinkRay. In an acknowledgment, though, of the fact that this probably wouldn't interest most regular viewers of the show, only a brief portion of this was shown, with the remainder of the segment available to view freely on the show's official page on ABC's website. [[spoiler:Doofenshmirtz was asking for $500,000 in exchange for 1% equity in his "Shrinkinator" invention. He ended up destroying his own invention by accidentally pushing the self-destruct button, and since it was a NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup deal, that was the end of it.]]

** The UK version had a crossover with ''Series/TopGear'' with Jeremy Clarkson pitching a new car model named the [[UnfortunateNames P45]]. Duncan Bannatyne offers him £1 for 1%.

** The US version later had Jimmy Kimmel come on and make joke pitches similar to the ''Phineas and Ferb'' one, one proposing making pants for horses and another for giant wearable road cones for kids' safety. Just as with ''P&F'', the pitches themselves were shown on TV but the rest of the segments were online.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shark_tank_tv_logo.png]]

* PublicServiceAnnouncement: The US version had a PSA included with each episode in Season 10(?; give or take), warning viewers that scammers were falsely claiming their products were "as seen on ''Shark Tank''!"

* SnakeOilSalesman: There's a number of contestants who arguably qualify, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY9ub-rIlyY but the guy who claimed a mixture of water and silver to be a cure-all]] is an especially egregious example.

* PowerWalk: The UK opening sequence, "shot to resemble a [[Creator/QuentinTarantino Tarantino]] [[TheCaper heist movie]]" (Creator/CharlieBrooker).

''Dragons' Den'', based on the Japanese TV show ''Money no Tora'' ("Money Tigers"), has versions, with varying success, in UsefulNotes/{{Japan}} (the original), the [[UsefulNotes/UnitedKingdom UK]] (longest running), UsefulNotes/NewZealand, UsefulNotes/{{Israel}}, UsefulNotes/{{Nigeria}}, UsefulNotes/{{Canada}} (with another exclusive to Québec), UsefulNotes/{{Netherlands}}, UsefulNotes/{{Finland}}, UsefulNotes/{{Sweden}}, the Arab world, UsefulNotes/{{Ireland}}, the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates ([[MarketBasedTitle titled]] ''Shark Tank''), UsefulNotes/{{Australia}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Germany}}. The format is owned by Creator/{{Sony|PicturesTelevision}}. The original Japanese show debuted in 2001. A couple of versions have had spinoffs, ''Junior Dragons'' featuring kid contestants in Ireland and ''Beyond the Tank'' (2015-2016) featuring followup reports on prior contestants in the U.S.

''Dragons' Den'', based on the Japanese TV show ''Money no Tora'' ("Money Tigers"), has versions, with varying success, in Japan (the original), the UK (longest running), New Zealand, Israel, Nigeria, Canada (with another exclusive to Québec), Netherlands, Finland, Sweden, the Arab world, Ireland, the United States ([[MarketBasedTitle titled]] ''Shark Tank''), Australia, and Germany. The format is owned by Sony. The original Japanese show debuted in 2001. A couple of versions have had spinoffs, ''Junior Dragons'' featuring kid contestants in Ireland and ''Beyond the Tank'' (2015-2016) featuring followup reports on prior contestants in the U.S.

A spinoff for the U.S. ''Shark Tank'' that provided more info about what happens to companies after they appear on the show, titled ''Beyond the Tank'', premiered on ABC on May 1, 2015, ordered for ten episodes but airing initially as a three episode miniseries.

* AscendedExtra: On the US version ''Shark Tank'', both Mark Cuban and Lori Greiner started out as guest sharks but ended up becoming regulars.

** The Australian Sharks have also developed another button - people who come off arrogant or smug in their presentation or when answering questions. One guy who had a solid concept and was doing quite well wound up losing all of the sharks because of this.

** All the British dragons (particularly Meaden) regularly use the phrase "Let me tell you where I am," usually when they're about declare themselves out. The US Sharks have also been known to use this.

** "There are no rules in the tank." - Used on the U.S. version when a shark does something like going out only to then unexpectedly coming back in.

** In ''Shark Tank''[='=]s season 4 theme/intro, the Sharks each wear them.
** In the Australian version of Shark Tank, one pitch involved a sunglasses company that used sustainable wood and the concept was sound. Two of the sharks wound up making a massive joint offer, which was accepted.

** ''Shark Tank'' also had at least one show following ''its'' lead. Food Network briefly aired ''Food Fortunes'', which had some format changes (such as a studio audience that their investors can poll) but was still largely ''Shark Tank'' [[RecycledInSpace for food/kitchen/restaurant businesses]].

* HappilyEverBefore: Kevin O'Leary's introductions mention how he started what became Creator/TheLearningCompany in a basement and helped grow it into a success that was acquired by Mattel. What the intros don't mention is that the acquisition is considered to be one of the worst of all time and ended up being a multi-billion-dollar loss for Mattel within a year.[[note]]The Learning Company was accused of churning out software to maintain the illusion of productivity and success when it was actually operating at a loss. Such allegations date back to when the company was known under its original name, [=SoftKey=], and it undercut competitors and accrued significant debt while bying out other companies for their brand names and [=IPs=]. Because of the debts, staff and R&D budgets were cut, leading to a lack of development and stagnant titles. The fallout from the deal was so great, the implosion of the educational-software industry that followed was comprable to the UsefulNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983.[[/note]]

* HonestCorporateExecutive: The dragons in general ([[BrutalHonesty brutally so]]). They've all earned their [[SelfMadeMan money through legitimate means]], and if they find anything about a company or product immoral or legally questionable, that alone is enough of a reason for them to say they're out.

** The Canadian version of the show features dragons who are friendlier to each other than the dragons of other iterations. The Canadian dragons will tease each other, joke around with entrepreneurs, and go into joint deals more often than other countries' dragons.

* MeaningfulBackgroundEvent: Quite often in the American version, Lori and Robert will be whispering to each other in the background while Mark or Kevin talk. They're also the two sharks who will go in with each other most often.

* RevolvingDoorCasting: The UK version managed to keep the same lineup through series 5-8 but otherwise has been prone to a lot of changes (in the most recent series Hilary Devey left after just two series, whilst Theo Paphitis had been there since series two). The Canadian version too. The longest lasting lineup was seasons 3-5, and Jim Treliving is the only original dragon left.

** Lori Greiner on ''Shark Tank''. After she became a regular in season four, the show had six regular Sharks, even though only five still appear on the panel at a time.

* TwoGirlsToATeam: The UK series, with the introduction of Hilary Devey (and later Kelly Hoppen after Devey left after only two series). The Australian version also has two female investors: Janine Allis (owner of Boost Juice and Salsa Mex) and Naomi Simson (owner of Red Balloon) in ''Shark Tank'' and had two investors in its run as ''Dragon's Den''. The Canadian version has Manjit Minhas and Michele Romanow starting with season 10. The American Shark Tank currently has Barbara Corcoran and Lori Greiner since the third season (officially fourth as Lori was a guest in Season 3).