The Dragons Den Company Team Building Exercise

Many of us will have sat in front of the television watching the iconic programme claiming 'I could have done better than that' - well here is an opportunity to prove it!

Do we have a deal?

The overall objective of this exercise is to assist a small business with its expansion plans.

It is a genuine small creative limited company that has been trading for almost 2 years, that is vat registered and presently employs one person. The teams are given a detailed history of the company which includes the full trading accounts for the last two years plus full access to the most recent bank statements and the company's website. There is nothing simulated or contrived about this exercise and the teams have a unique opportunity to help a small business grow.

This is a competitive business exercise which challenges the teams in many dimensions. It requires strong analytical skills but the team must also be creative and innovative. To be successful in their presentation to the Dragons the teams will also need to be accurate and thorough in their research.

Despite the real life intensity of this team building challenge it is still great fun, very rewarding, dynamic, interactive and a creates a highly memorable experience.

The Challenge

The company feels that it requires an investment of £50,000 to fund its future expansion and have approached 4 business angels (The Dragons) for funding. The teams will need to decide what equity stake they are prepared to offer for the investment and then prepare a presentation that will convince one or all of the dragons to invest in the enterprise. The presentation must incorporate a detailed business plan and a convincing face to face pitch.

The Business Plan

The teams will be required to formulate a coherent, comprehensive and well researched business plan. Having completed the business plan the teams can request more than £50,000 but they have to be able to justify their decisions.

A good business plan should incorporate the following:

Executive Summary

Business Vision – What do you want to be?

Analysis – Where are you now?

• External Analysis
• Internal Analysis

How are you going to achieve your Business Vision

The Company Strategy. It could include Ansoff Matrix which reviews strategies for Existing Markets / Existing Customers / New Markets / New Customers

The following areas should be included under the key headings:

1. Financials – 5 year projections, cash flow
2. Marketing strategy – brand development, promotion, advertising
3. SWOT analysis - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats – including competitor analysis
4. Future product development
5. Operational & Logistics – rent workshop/office or buy, staff levels, insurance

The Pitch

Nominated team members will also be required to deliver a 5 minute pitch to the dragons and this will be filmed live to camera in one take.

Take Back to the Work Place

The Dragons’ Den team building exercise is a flexible format that provides a terrific medium for:

The development of positive, dynamic leadership and delegation
The development of effective resource and time management / working under pressure
Improved task awareness and communication across team
Improved awareness of each other’s personality types, skills, strengths, roles and responsibilities
Better interdepartmental / role links and working together

All individuals and teams within any company or organisation will benefit and enjoy undertaking this team building challenge but is particularly relevant to Graduate Induction programmes. This format can be adapted to make it an ideal breakout session for a large conference audience. The duration depends on the target audience but is typically from 2½ hours to a full day’s activity.