The 4 worst business ideas ever pitched on Dragons' Den
Dragons' Den celebrates its tenth anniversary today. Here's a look back at some of the weirdest and worst pitches the dragons have had to endure over the years.
1. Aerosol spray-on pants
We all remember the horrified and vaguely aroused look on Kevin O'Leary's face when two 20-something bros, naked from the waist down, rolled into the den on matching Ren & Stimpy skateboards and pitched this absolutely insane idea. The dragons unanimously rejected it due to concerns that daily exposure to aerosol may be carcinogenic.
2. "The Coat Ganger"
Sure, your standard wire coat hanger will keep your blouse off the floor, which is fine if you expect the absolute bare minimum out of life. But it won't keep the full and sumptuous shape of that blouse in tact, now will it?
That's where The Coat Ganger comes in. Designed for extremely rich people with enormous walk-in closets, The Coat Ganger is a group of 10, 25, or 50 men and women who will stand motionless and mute inside your closet 24 hours a day and wear your clothes on their bodies until you're ready to wear them yourself. When you wake in the morning, simply open your closet doors and select a shirt by removing it directly from one of their torsos. That person is then relieved from her shift and will probably need you to drop her at the subway on your way to work.
3. An app that tracks the use of itself
When Kayden, a 15-year-old CEO of a Vancouver startup, glided through the doors in six pairs of designer Ray-Bans that completely obscured his tiny, irritating face, the dragons knew they were in for a special time. Kayden's idea? "Appropos," which is $12.99 to download and does nothing except keep track of how much time the user spends checking its data on how much time the user spends checking its data.
4. A line of kosher mock pork called "Soy Vey!"
These fake meat products just tasted terrible. Arlene Dickinson threw up in her wallet. The business owner, Maurice Scheinn recalls, "I took that as a hard no."