New recruit reveals friction between TV’s Dragons
She joins the other four dragons — Gavin Duffy, Bobby Kerr, Sean Gallagher and Niall O’Farrell — when the popular TV show returns to TV screens this Sunday evening.
Ms Casey, owner and chief executive of Harmonia, Ireland’s largest magazine publishing company, said she experienced the most friction with businessman Gavin Duffy over an investment.
“And it was nice to be able to do that with somebody who will still shake your hand at the end of it.”
She was speaking after a special screening in Dublin yesterday of the first episode of third series of Dragons’ Den.
“I am a business person. I have spent more years of my life in boardrooms when my chairman has torn strips off me and I am quite happy to dust myself down and get back into the ring,” she said.
“I hate people who get upset if somebody speaks to them in the wrong way because business is business,” said Ms Casey who said her approach was always “very straight up”. As the newest dragon, she was amazed at the number of people featured in the show who did not lose hope after becoming redundant.
“They felt they could do something else with their lives and just got on and did it. For me that was most heartening,” she said.
“Irish people are naturally energetic, enthusiastic and creative people. They don’t ever sit back and say — ‘let life happen to me’.
“There are some amazing stories in the series, not always good investments for me but, still you would take your hat off to them.”
Executive producer of the show, Larry Bass said at least €1.5m had been invested in successful candidates featured on Dragons’ Den, since the series first began in February 2009.
About €600,000 is being invested in successful business ventures being featured in the latest eight-part series sponsored by Bank of Ireland. Mr Bass said Dragons’ Den was a programme of its time when the entrepreneurial spirit in Ireland needed to be rekindled with investment in indigenous businesses.
* Viewers can find behind the scenes footage, interviews with the dragons and entrepreneurs and live commenting during the show at www.allaboutbusiness.ie
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