Inside Dragon’s Den:
Part 3 - Interview with the Dragon Arlene Dickinson
Cool Companies magazine 2008 Vol.3 Issue 1
By Claudia Sammer, Founder and Editor of Cool Companies magazine
What do Canadian entrepreneurs think of Dragon’s Den? Cool Companies magazine found 3 different perspectives. This is Part 3 of the article in which Cool Companies magazine interviewed a Dragon from the show, Arlene Dickinson.
Like all the Dragons on Dragon’s Den, Arlene Dickinson is a successful self-made business person. She is the Founder, President and CEO of Venture Communications (openminds.ca) which she has grown over the last 20 years into one of Canada’s largest independent marketing firms.
Funding her own company
COOL COMPANIES: When you started your company, would you have gone on the Dragon’s Den to try to get money?
ARLENE DICKINSON: Probably not, no. Just because it’s a service industry and it’s a little more difficult.
COOL: Have you had investors in your own company?
ARLENE: No.
COOL: How did you grow your company without investors?
DICKINSON: We worked the first 2 years without taking salaries.
COOL: When is finding an investor right for a company?
DICKINSON: It depends on how quickly you grow the company. I think that there are lots of times when investment will make a significant difference in a company. You need to know, as the entrepreneur of the company, whether you require those other resources whether they be financial or business advice resources.
The Dragon’s magic
COOL: The 2 entrepreneurs interviewed for this article that appeared on the show put a lot of value in the magic of the Dragons [the business savvy] even though they’re not quite sure what it is. So, what is the magic the Dragons offer?
DICKINSON: The magic of Dragon’s Den is really a starting point for entrepreneurs lucky enough to get their product or idea in front of 5 experienced business minds. I think it’s really hard for entrepreneurs that are just starting out to get their idea in front of the right type of people. Any time as an entrepreneur, you can get in a room with experienced investors or entrepreneurs who have been very successful, I think that that’s an opportunity to test your own acumen and the validity of your idea, and you should take that opportunity.
COOL: That’s the reason for being on the show. But after the show there’s another magic that the Dragons offer and that’s the magic that these entrepreneurs are really buying.
DICKINSON:What happens after the show is a lot of due diligence, and a lot of making sure that what is said is real, and making sure that there’s value in what’s going on. So the magic in terms of having our advisors and ourselves engaged and invested in the company is probably just our experience, and being able to leap-frog people ahead faster than they would have on their own.
Investment Expectations
COOL: Why did you start investing in other companies?
DICKINSON: You know, a lot of the investments {before Dragon’s Den} I’ve made have been in people I have known and had confidence in personally. Being in the business I’m in, in marketing, we get exposed to lots of new ideas and companies that are looking for marketing advice and expertise so I run across a lot of them by virtue of my own business, not simply as an investor. And, the people that I’ve helped and the few investments I’ve done to-date have been with people that I trusted and knew that they were going to do what they said they were going to do.
Somebody at some point has to take that leap of faith with you. You need to believe in yourself, but you really need somebody else to believe, to convince somebody else to believe with you or you’re not a good entrepreneur. A vision on its own is never enough. You need to have a vision that’s executed and the only way you can execute a vision is by having others help you and believe. You have to be visionary and practical. You have to be able to champion people to your point of view.
COOL: What can entrepreneuers expect to happen after the show once they get a deal on the Dragon’s Den?
DICKINSON: The deals that are done on the show are different than the deals that will actually end up carrying through simply because of the reality of the business world. As with any entrepreneurial venture, there are no guarantees that they {the deals} will go through. But it’s an early, “Yes, I’m interested in investing.”The deals that are done on the show are different than the deals that will actually end up carrying through simply because of the reality of the business world. As with any entrepreneurial venture, there are no guarantees that they {the deals} will go through. But it’s an early, “Yes, I’m interested in investing.”If the investment is made, we are likely sitting on their board in some respect or as an advisor. We make sure that they have business plans and we sign off on their plans. We are making sure that we understand what their growth strategies are, but we are not running their company. The last thing an entrepreneur needs is somebody running the company that’s not full-time involved in the company. So, we just help them understand what we think they might need for success and guiding them, but we’re not running the ship.
The deals that are done on the show are different than the deals that will actually end up carrying through simply because of the reality of the business world. As with any entrepreneurial venture, there are no guarantees that they {the deals} will go through. But it’s an early, “Yes, I’m interested in investing.”If the investment is made, we are likely sitting on their board in some respect or as an advisor. We make sure that they have business plans and we sign off on their plans. We are making sure that we understand what their growth strategies are, but we are not running their company. The last thing an entrepreneur needs is somebody running the company that’s not full-time involved in the company. So, we just help them understand what we think they might need for success and guiding them, but we’re not running the ship.
COOL: Once you do invest in a company, are you expecting to get out in a few years or are you in for the long term?
DICKINSON: I don’t want to be in it for the long term. I would expect to be out of my investment and putting the company back in the entrepreneur’s hands or into some sort of an event whether it’s a sale or a growth.
What do Canadian entrepreneurs think of Dragon’s Den? Cool Companies magazine found 3 different perspectives. Read the other 2:
Part 1: Introduction to Cool Companies’ article Inside Dragon’s Den
Part 2: Entrepreneurs on the show
Part 3: Interview with a Dragon: Arlene Dickinson (above content)
Part 4: Opinions of experienced entrepreneurs
