Several television shows, both here in the United States and in other countries, focus on entrepreneurial activity.

In the US:

• "American Inventor" airing on ABC, produced by the same guy who created American Idol.
• Jay Leno had a feature called "Pitch to America," which I think was more sincere (rather than ratings-driven).
• A local show "Creativity" and new product consultant to America's big corporations, Doug Hall, is one of the judges on this show. He very candidly admits that the show is pure entertainment and hype. The only sincerity is getting viewers and making money. I have participated in training sessions at Eureka Ranch! and found them to be excellent. He has been very generous to the local economic development community and has a strong interest in small business growth and economic development. See http://www.eurekaranch.com/eureka/default.asp for more information. Doug has been active in the maritime provinces of Canada and Scotland, among other places with his unique brand of small business assistance.

In the UK and New Zealand:

• The Dragon’s Den
  • prime time viewing across both countries. Celebrity entrepreneurs listen to entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas and ask for money. The ‘Dragons’ quiz them and if they like ideas they negotiate deals on the spot (eg $100k for 20% of the business) and can go in together on deals. It gives the public a taste of what entrepreneurs have to go through and could actually be used as an education tool on what not to do! In Waitakere (NZ) we are thinking of running a local version, but not for TV!
  • Check these links out: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dragonsden/; http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/413551/816485

What about in Real Life? What programs do local Economic Developers suggest?

• Run a local Dragon’s Den for real …. with local Chambers of Commerce or Business Associations , inviting potential Business Angels to participate in the practice.
  • It could be set up in such a way that became a local entertainment ( Not unlike the wonderfully cringing old talent shows ) that generated a small income of its own !!
  • It would serve as a reality check for the wildest ideas and a potential springboard for the better ones, encourage the financially secure in the community to take a risk on local ventures and potentially set up a circle of local community investment
  • The local version could be used as part of a business training program to build up the skills of entrepreneurs – readying them for the harsh reality of pitching to real investors. The local Dragons will be ‘real’ people from the business world but will be part of the teaching process rather than purely investors to get nervous in front of!
  • We also run something similar for our School entrepreneurs – don’t know if you have a young entrepreneur scheme in UK/US but most of our high schools have a programme in their last year where they have a year to start, run and close down a business (hopefully having made profit!). We are taking the best of the ideas and putting them up in front of VC’s and hoping to commercialise their ideas. Why can’t teenagers run businesses?

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