Sauder School of Business Grad is Big Hit on Dragon’s Den: MBA News

By QS Contributor Updated Aug 26, 2019

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Introduction
Social networking app enjoys immediate success after TV appearance

Sauder School of Business Grad is Big Hit on Dragon’s Den: MBA News main image

An MBA graduate from Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia scored huge success from his appearance on Canada’s version of the popular entrepreneurial television program, Dragon’s Den.

Dustin Sproat, who completed a two-year MBA program at Sauder School of Business in May, pitched an ice-hockey-themed social networking app with his co-founder, Kyle Hagel, in the hope of securing just under US$100,000 for a 10% stake in their company.

Instead, they walked away with almost US$250,000, after all five Dragon’s Den panel-members decided they wanted to invest, sensing potential in an app that offers to connect professional ice hockey players and fans.

“It’s a phenomenal result. It only happens with one per cent of the pitches on the show”, said Sproat in a news release for Sauder School of Business.

Social networking app enjoys immediate success after TV appearance

After appearing on Dragon’s Den, the social networking app – Shnarped Hockey – shot straight to the top of the Canada’s iTunes charts for sports apps.

However, Shnarped Hockey was created and founded over a year ago, while Sproat was still attending Sauder School of Business. The app allows fans to access their favorite player’s news, stats, tweets and highlights, and already features more than 300 active NHL players.

In this, they were undoubtedly aided by Hagel, who is a professional player with the Portland Pirates (an affiliate of the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes) although Sproat himself played in ice hockey’s pro minor leagues and studied chemical engineering at Princeton University prior to his MBA. Their success thus far has led them to make plans to expand their product to include players from the popular National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).

Dragon’s Den is a big success story in itself. The premise of entrepreneurs pitching their business ideas to a panel to secure all-important investment funding originated in Japan, under the name, ‘Tiger of Money’, in 2001. It became known as ‘Dragon’s Den’ when the UK obtained exclusive rights to the show’s format in 2004 and subsequently it has spread across the globe. Indeed, Canada now has two versions, one in English and one in French, known as Dans L'Oeil du Dragon (In the Dragon's Eye.)

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