Dragons' Den - Shop the Dragons' Den
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 Early in her marketing career, Arlene Dickinson skillfully turned the glass ceiling into a floor. Today, she is one of Canada's most renowned independent marketing communications entrepreneurs, having grown her company, Venture Communications, into a strategic and creative powerhouse for a blue-chip client list, including Western Canada Lotteries, Toyota (Prairies), Unilever, Encana and Forzani Group Ltd. After becoming a partner in 1988, she became sole owner of Venture in 1998. Arlene is a fervent believer that marketing's purpose is to deliver business results. She is well known for pioneering how marketing can be accountable to delivering on its clients' business goals. Her accomplishments, vision and leadership have been recognized with a number of honours and awards. They include: PROFIT and Chatelaine magazine's TOP 100 Women Business Owners; the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence; Global Television Woman of Vision; and Canada's Most Powerful Women Top 100. Venture was also recognized as one of the 50 Best Managed Companies in Canada for three consecutive years. Arlene's vision has driven Venture's growth to three offices, in Toronto, Ottawa and the head office in Calgary, which occupies a 100-year-old sandstone school. When she is not advancing the cause of marketing innovation, Arlene loves to sit in the sun with a good book, and her Blackberry set to stun. |
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 He's opinionated, he's ruthless, he hungers for big deals and loves to work. Kevin O'Leary is a Canada's best-known businessman turned TV investment superstar on BNN's popular investment show, Squeeze Play. Kevin's success story starts where most entrepreneurs begin: with a big idea and zero cash. From his basement, he launched The Learning Company, which developed software to help kids learn to read and do math. In 1999, Kevin sold his company to the Mattel Toy Company for a staggering 3.7 billion dollars, one of the largest tech deals in Canadian history. To keep his money working hard, Kevin invests globally through his own fund, The O’Leary Global Equity Income Fund (TSX OGE.UN). He shares his tips and tribulations with a national television audience and turns the Street upside down in the process. Kevin is on the investment committee of Boston's prestigious 106-year-old Hamilton Trust, and sits on the advisory board of San Francisco-based Genstar capital, a $1.5-billion private equity firm. He is also the Chairman of Gencap Funds LP, the manager of the O’Leary Global Equity Income fund. As a self-proclaimed “Eco-preneur” Kevin looks hardest for investments that make money – and are environmentally friendly. He is a director and shareholder of EnGlobe, Canada's leading integrated environmental services company. When he's not squeezing the markets from his office in downtown Boston, Kevin keeps in touch with his Canadian roots by escaping for a weekend at his luxurious Muskoka cottage that spreads over prime Canadian wilderness. |
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 He's the tough guy with a soft spot for a good deal and a delicious meal. Jim Treliving is the man behind Boston Pizza, Canada's No. 1 casual dining brand. But his background wasn't always in pizza. Jim began his career as an RCMP officer in British Columbia and Alberta. While in Edmonton, he sat down in the original "Boston Pizza and Spaghetti House”. It was love at first bite. After doing the math and getting his dad to co-sign a $5,000 loan, he traded in his badge to become a Boston Pizza franchisee. By 1983, Jim and his partner bought the entire company and now this $800 million dollar casual-dining chain is spread across North America with more than 350 locations. One of Jim's recent acquisitions is Mr. Lube, Canada's best known quick-oil change. In addition, Jim founded White Rock Commercial in 2006, a land development company in Dallas managing projects in excess of $90 million. Among other things, they're constructing an office tower in Houston. Jim has investments in many other successful business ventures. These interests include residential real estate development, sports entertainment and the Texas oil and gas industry. Jim serves as chairman of both Global Entertainment Corporation, which trades on the American Stock Exchange under GEC, and the Boston Pizza Foundation, which has raised more than $7.7 million for various Canadian charities since 1990. He is also a director of the Hockey Canada Foundation, dedicated to increasing funding for minor league hockey in Canada. When Jim has some down time he enjoys a good game of golf and spending time at one of his three residences in Dallas, Palm Springs or Vancouver, where his penthouse overlooks the city and North Shore mountains. |
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 With as much energy as the city he calls home (Calgary), W. Brett Wilson never gets tired of bankrolling the right deal. A gutsy negotiator with a surprising eye for detail, this big city player with small town charm helped turn a maverick startup into the energy industry's leading investment bank, brokering thousands of financing and M&A (mergers and acquisitions) deals worth over $150 billion. After being told by his first employer that he wasn't management material, Brett proved the doubters wrong, and translated his instincts for investing in the right people into major stakes in the energy, agriculture, real estate, sports and entertainment industries. A life force all his own, with an enviable network of influential friends and business colleagues, Brett spends almost as much time giving money away as he does earning it. Growing up on the Saskatchewan prairie with a mother who did social work and a father who sold cars, Brett became what some would describe as a rare combination: a capitalist with a heart. Touched by his parents' commitment to give back to their own community, Brett promised to do the same – on a slightly bigger scale. Known for his flare for throwing a great party in support of a great cause, Brett is also one of Canada's most successful philanthropists, having given – and engaged others to give – tens of millions to nonprofit initiatives. After surviving an advanced case of prostate cancer in his early forties, Brett slowed down his round-the-clock lifestyle to spend more time on his most passionate priorities: his family and friends, including traveling the world with his three greatest assets – Justine, Rebecca, and Russell, his young adult children. |