Dragons’ Den Viewers Slam ‘rude’ Guest Star For ‘belittling’ 23-year-old Female Entrepreneur’s Pitch
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DRAGONS’ Den viewers have ripped into a ‘rude’ guest star and accused them of ‘belittling’ a 23-year-old entrepreneur.
The hit BBC business show continued on Thursday night as the den reopened for more pitches from hopefuls.
Dragons’ Den viewers have slammed ‘rude’ guest judge Emma GredeBBC Viewers watched as Nitya Dintakurti sought an investment of £100,000 for her menopausal cooling deviceBBC BBCNitya didn’t secure investment and was given harsh feedback from guest dragon Emma which left viewers furious[/caption]During the show the dragons were introduced to Indian-born Nitya Dintakurti who was hoping to secure a £100,000 investment.
Nitya, 23, presented her menopausal cooling device to the dragons, which is designed to prevent instant relief during hot flushes.
However, despite being sure her product would be a roaring success on the market, Nitya failed to secure an investment.
As she left the den empty-handed, Dragons’ Den viewers at home were left seething over guest dragon Emma Grede over her comments to the young entrepreneur.
Emma – who appeared on the show herself – asked Nitya how she planned to get the product to consumers.
While she said it would be initially through clinicians, the answer wasn’t what Emma wanted to hear.
She told her: “Already this tells me you’re not really thinking about bringing this to market in the right way.”
Explaining she should bypass the doctors, the 42-year-old said: “You want to bypass the doctors and get straight to the sufferer.”
Emma continued: “This is a consumer facing product, you need to figure out how you’re going to get it in their hands.
“It doesn’t seem to me like you’ve got that far yet.
“I think it’s interesting that you’ve come here asking for £100,000 when your competitor’s just raised £50 million.”
In awkward scenes, she concluded: “I don’t think you’ve come and told a compelling story.
“I don’t think you’re in the running when you think about where the competition is.”
While fellow dragon Steve Bartlett addressed the savage takedown, viewers at home took to social media to vent.
One said: “That was quite harsh from Emma – don’t think her team could do it. So rude. Steven said it better.”
A second fumed: “Emma is nasty. Didn’t like her the last time she was on. So arrogant. There’s way’s of speaking to people but note like that.”
“Twenty-five minutes of the show to belittle that girl about her business to all say no #dragonsden,” said a third fan.
While a fourth commented: “Emma did not need to be that rude & condescending to that poor girl. She will smash it with her business.”
Dragons’ Den is available on BBC One and iPlayer.
Dragons' Den stars - past and present
Dragons' Den has been on our screens since 2005 and sees entrepreneurs enter the Den to try and win investment for their businesses from the Dragons.
Over the years there have been many wealthy investors sitting in the famous seats, here’s a rundown of them all and how long they were on the show for.
- Peter Jones – series 1 – present
- Deborah Meaden – series 3 – present
- Touker Suleyman – series 13 – present
- Sara Davies – series 17 – present
- Steven Bartlett – series 19 – present
- Duncan Bannatyne – series 1 – 12
- Rachel Elnaugh – series 1 and 2
- Doug Richard – series 1 and 2
- Simon Woodroffe – series 1
- Theo Paphitis – series 2 -10
- Richard Farleigh – series 3 and 4
- James Caan – series 5-8
- Hilary Devey – series 9 and 10
- Kelly Hoppen – series 11 and 12
- Piers Linney – series 11 and 12
- Nick Jenkins – series 13 and 14
- Sarah Willingham – series 13 and 14
- Jenny Campbell – series 15 and 16
- Tej Lalvani – series 15 – 18
- Emma Grede and Gary Neville were guest Dragons during series 21.