Dragons Den - How to get your pitch in order

Dragons’ Den is a great way for inventors to make more money from their product ideas. If you’re planning to start up a business around your new invention, the cash investments and industry experience these entrepreneurs offer can be invaluable. Pitching is not for the faint-hearted, and the Dragons are hard to impress, but with a well-developed product and a strong presentation you have every chance of securing their support. At Innovate, we specialise in developing new product ideas. Our services can significantly boost your chance of success in the Den.

Getting onto the Show

Every year, thousands of people apply to appear on Dragons’ Den. What sets apart those who are featured, from those who are not? According to Sam Lewens, the series producer, “the production team look for specific criteria to demonstrate an entrepreneur has an investable idea.”

These criteria include:

• Marketability – who will buy your product? What problem does it solve? Essentially, it needs to be something that will sell!
• Intellectual Property – do you have intellectual property protection in place for your idea? This will ensure that competitors cannot copy it, increasing its value to investors.

You will need to explain how your idea meets these criteria on the initial application form. So, it is important to make sure you can give the right answers!

Our Free Idea Assessment will determine which market your product could fit into. It can also discover how much money that market generates and who its main players are, allowing you to impress the selectors right from the start.

As part of the Free Idea Assessment, we will also look into your options for intellectual property protection. Different ideas require different forms of protection, so we will establish which kind would best fit your needs. Most inventions are best served by a patent. The patent application process can seem daunting, but we have extensive expertise in this area and are well placed to help you. It is always recommended to use a professional to conduct a worldwide patent search, to investigate any relevant patents already filed. For more information on this, read our Guide to Conducting a Worldwide Patent Search. With this complete, we can suggest the most effective route through the patent application process for your new product idea.

Success in the Den

Once you’re on the show, you will need to have a fully developed product, rather than a basic idea. Regular viewers might remember episode one of series seven, where Deborah Meaden refused to give investment to an inventor named Alan Mandel Butler on the basis that he had a good idea, but no viable business proposition.

So, how can you take your idea to the next level and make it into an attractive business opportunity? Our Concept Development process has been planned with exactly this in mind. We will:

• Establish how your product will work and which components it will require – this will reassure the Dragons that your idea is technically feasible and could be manufactured.
• Illustrate how the intended user will interact with your product. This will demonstrate the benefits of owning the product, and hence why it will sell.
• Visualise how the finished product may look, allowing the Dragons to picture it in context or on the shelves.
• Display these images on professional presentation boards. These can form the backbone of your pitch.

Our development of your product in these areas will inspire confidence amongst the Dragons, demonstrating that you have a considered, professional and investable product.

Prototypes

Many inventors approach the Dragons with a prototype. These can be of great benefit in the Den, as they further demonstrate the investable nature of your product. Proof of principle prototypes can cost-effectively prove that a new concept works. Pre-production prototypes require greater development, but can show both how your product will look and how it will work.

Though they are an additional expense, Innovate can help develop a cost-effective prototype that will meet your needs. For more information, read our Guide to the Prototyping Process.

Conclusion

Dragons’ Den is a fantastic opportunity for inventors to get their products into the public eye and potentially gain investment from business experts. However, getting onto the show is not easy, and expert input will significantly increase your chances of pitching to the Dragons. At Innovate, our services are tailored to help individuals become successful entrepreneurs, both in the Den and out. We can help you develop your new idea into an investable product that could well be the next Rapstrap or Reggae Reggae Sauce!

Dragons Den series 8 press release. Click here for a free patent info pack. Contact Us to discuss producing a prototype of your idea.

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