ECOVIS / Wingrave Yeats
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Dragon Slayer - Blog 28.08.09
Dragon Slayer
What do you reckon is the most (or should I say least) annoying thing about this dreadful programme? Well apart from the fact that such experienced business people seem prepared to invest without the least pretence of doing ANY proper due diligence on the target, besides all the posing that goes on in a vain attempt by each of the Dragons to look fierce, what really gets me is the conversation they seem to have with every one of the poor unfortunates who turn up for the ritual round of abuse that the Producer assumes we all want to witness and which he presumably insists that they dole out. The question goes like this:
So you want £120,000 for just 5% of your company! What on earth makes you think that your crummy little start-up is worth £2.4m? At this point the poor unfortunate just stares blankly at them, struggling with the maths and says nothing. Some of them start to pack up their little showcase presentations; none of them seem to have the wit to reply as they should.
Which is: "My business is not worth £2.4m, it's actually worth nothing at the moment. I need £120k to develop it further and if you invest then there is a good chance that it might well be worth a lot more than that. Do you want to deal or not?
Why does this programme bear such little resemblance to reality? Why can't Accountants rule the world - or at least be allowed some input into programmes like these?
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