Actor Simu Liu is guest Dragon in the den! Here's the kind of company he's looking for

From his debut in CBC series Kim's Convenience to his, superhero role as Shangi-Chi, Simu Liu has been on a Canadian success story. He's even had the time to write a memoir called We Were Dreamers and was named as one of Time's 100 most influential people in the world in 2022. But did you know that Liu went to business school before he took up acting?

This fall, Simu will be back at CBC, this time as a guest Dragon in Season 19 of Dragons' Den, a show he's watched since he was a child. "I think there's just something really special about watching people, achieve their dreams," said Liu in a recent interview. "When the product is good and the business is strong, and all the Dragons get excited and they start fighting over each other. I think that's the best part."

Here's why Liu is perfect for Dragons' Den

When you dig into Liu's background, it's pretty easy to see why he's a perfect fit for this job. He immigrated to Canada from China in 1995 to join his parents who had been living here for several years. It was a tumultuous move and as a youngster, he struggled to meet their expectations. Ever the dutiful son, he graduated from the Ivey School of Business at Western and took a job at the accounting firm Deloitte. But it wasn't his passion and his employer knew it; he was let go after only eight months. 

So he responded to an ad in Craiglist that was looking for Asian extras in an upcoming Guillermo del Toro film and was instantly hooked on a new career. The rest is history. 

How a random tweet led Liu back to the business world

But Liu was still interested in making use of his business acumen. In late 2021, he fired out this late-night tweet. 

It caught the attention of the fine folks at MìLà, makers of authentic restaurant-quality Chinese soup dumplings that are delivered straight to your door. (sorry Canadian audience, they are not available here yet!) MìLà sent Liu some samples — which his parents promptly intercepted and devoured when he was out of town. 

"If my parents can accept these soup dumplings and find them delicious, then there's no way this business is going to fail," remembers Liu, "And so I got involved. And, now I'm their chief content officer, and we're very, very excited."

Now Liu is the driving force behind Markham Valley Ventures, a financial fund which he hopes will help Asian and BIPOC businesses like MìLà find success.

What type of expertise is Liu hoping to offer?

Coming up as an Asian Canadian actor in the entertainment industry, he says, he knows what it feels like to be told his dreams were not possible. "I feel like people experienced that whether or not they're auditioning, you know, and especially people who have a lot riding on these businesses."

"What I can do is open doors. I've built so many connections over my time with MìLà and other angel investments that I've made," says Liu, "I have relationships with distributors. I have relationships with supermarket chains and Costco and Sam's Clubs. And so I'm confident that there's no business in that field that wouldn't take a call from me."

He's ready to bring his unique expertise and star power to go toe to toe with the other Dragons in the den. "I think the entertainment industry is an industry like any other. It's a business. And at the end of the day, I've been operating my small business for 12 years and I feel just as much like an entrepreneur as everybody else."

What types of businesses would Liu like to invest in?

What will Liu be looking for in the den? "I think I'm really attracted to businesses that have a tangible impact on everyday people. How will my mom benefit from using this product?" he asks.  "Just because you read that it's a bubble on Twitter and that it's exploding right now and everyone's getting into it doesn't mean that you should invest in it."

But he won't invest in a business unless he believes in the founder. "It doesn't matter how good your product is if it's not managed well, if the person behind the business is not willing to go the extra mile, then it's not going to happen."

Lui says he has a lot to offer new entrepreneurs. "It takes something really unique to be able to separate yourself from the pack. Often times it's about the marketing strategy and these are all things that I think that I could really help with as somebody who tells stories for a living. If you're looking for a unique angle to sell a product work with me. I think I have a real competitive advantage against some of these Dragons."

Watch Dragons' Den on CBC Gem.