CBC hit reality show auditions held in Thunder Bay

Brandi Cameron
News Editor

Molly Duignan, Co-Producer of CBC’s Dragon’s Den was at the Intercity Mall last Monday as local auditions ran for the program. Photo by Brandi Cameron.

Duignan, Co-Producer of the CBC’s Dragons Den, is traveling across Canada, auditioning hopeful Canadian entrepreneurs for her show. Last Monday, she was stationed at Intercity Shopping Centre for seven hours, conducting interviews with potential innovators.
Dragon’s Den, based off of a Japanese reality show, first aired in Canada in October, 2006, and allows Canadians to showcase their business ideas to the “dragons,” in hopes of acquiring financial support to develop and market their product.
Duignan comments, “How else could someone with a small business or idea from Thunder Bay find a customer in Vancouver or Yellowknife? They might not. The show has created a community of thought and innovation, and I think simply by watching people are made more aware of the amazing innovation we have right here in Canada.”
The five dragons: Arlene Dickinson, Robert Herjavec, Jim Trellving, Kevin O’Leary, and Brett Wilson, are all successful entrepreneurs in their own right, and “represent a cross section of business backgrounds and expertise.”
“The dragons are a prime example of what you can do as an entrepreneur in Canada,” explains Duignan. “They are true entrepreneurs in the sense that they all built their businesses up either from scratch or from fledgling situations. None of them were born into their success or were appointed to their positions the way others might assume.”
Trellving, Duignan explains, is a good example of this innovative spirit.
“(He’s the) co-founder of Boston Pizza, (and) was an RCMP officer when he bought the first location,” she says. “Now there are more than 300 Boston Pizzas in Canada, more than 100 in the U.S., and he’s got stakes in multiple other Canadian and US businesses, a true success story of entrepreneurship.”
During this season’s auditions the trend appears to be “new twists on old things.” Duignan adds that ideas that will create new jobs during this recession could be a huge bonus of this endeavor.
Dragon’s Den is filmed, like other reality shows, before it is aired, and perhaps the most difficult part, says Duignan is “keeping it a secret until it airs.”
Over 3,000 people will audition across Canada, before 200 finalists will present their ideas to the dragons at the Toronto headquarters. As one half of the audition team, Molly will have held tryouts in Halifax, St. John’s, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Prince George, Nelson, and Kelowna by the end of her tour.

Idea Drop with Duignan

• There are plenty of inventive ideas out there. Here are some of those that have graced the TV screens through Dragon’s Den:
• Conversion kits that can transform any mountain bike into a downhill ski with rear traction.
• Back Buddee: it looks like a fly swatter, but it helps you apply lotion on your back.
• Rim roller: a small keychain device that helps you roll up the rim to win
• Quicksnap: a shoelace attachment that means you’ll never tie your laces again
• Recipe for medicinal marijuana macaroons: targeting the existing medicinal marijuana market.
• Ecotraction: An all-natural, eco-friendly alternative to road salt that can be used again, or used as a fertilizer for gardens.
• Biodegradable wooden cutlery to replace plastics.
• Exploding bottle caps that make any drink a fizzy drink.