DEBATE

A question on whether television entrepreneurs reflect reality or not is answered. According to Doug Richard, founder of School for Startups, entrepreneurs who seek funding for their enterprises on television shows such as Dragons' Den are quite real. They are the same mixed bag of hard-working, insightful, diligent, deluded, arrogant and passionate folks that turn up in the offices of angel investors and venture capitalists to pitch every week. While, Professor Martin Binks, director, University of Nottingham Institute for Enterprise and Innovation, said that nobody would seriously expect programs such as Dragons' Den and The Apprentice to tell the full story. They do not set out to document reality, they aim to entertain. Few would even expect them to reflect the true nature and contributions of the celebrities involved.