Dragon's Den


 
 
 
Vocabulary:
 
a stake (in a company) -
 
huge (adj) -
 
a (magic) wand -
 
a wizard -
 
to rotate -
 
a flick -
 
to fast forward -
 
to rewind -
 
a ceiling -
 
a fan -
 
revenue (n) -
 
within (prep) -
 
a business partner -
 
to spot -
 
a brand -

an electronic display -
 
a mark-up -
 
a wholesaler -
 
blended (adj) -

to stand up to scrutiny -

retail (n) -

(to make) a net profit -

to require -

a forecast -

appeal (n) -

equity -

to break cover -

ratchet (n) -

a deal -

to end up -

a share -

a sliding scale -

a canny move -

an outline -

an entrepreneur -

tricky (adj) -
 



Here is an article about the inventor of the Snowbone, who appeared in the first series of Dragon's Den:

 
Extreme entrepreneur
 
Extreme sports like parasailing, bungee jumping and abseiling have always attracted people in search of the ultimate adrenaline rush. Cranfield MBA graduate Paddy Radcliffe, 35, saw a business opportunity that would transform winter sports: the Snowbone, a customised snowboard capable of high jumps and somersaults. "Extreme sports are increasingly becoming mainstream - it's about people pushing boundaries and our Snowbone is aimed at creating a niche in a snow sports market worth £5bn worldwide. Snowboards account for £1.5m of that."
 
Radcliffe saw his opportunity when a group of postgraduate students from the Royal College of Art came to Cranfield to enlist the help of MBA students in writing business plans for products they had designed. Radcliffe teamed up with the Snowbone's creator, design student and snowboarding enthusiast Nick Rawcliffe. Rawcliffe's idea was to boost the performance of a snowboard by adding a lightweight aluminium BMX bike steering column and handlebars, enabling the rider to perform aerial somersaults. The two young men launched the product in 2004.
 
Their big break came last year when the Snowbone featured in BBC2's first series of Dragon's Den, a competition where young entrepreneurs and new ideas vie for business sponsorship. But things began to go wrong after the series ended, when Radcliffe's mentor, Rachel Elnaugh, who had promised to invest in his start-up, found her own dot com business, Red Letter Days, in difficulty and pulled out.
So was it back to square one? Radcliffe says: "Dragon's Den was a two-edged sword. People got to hear of our product, but perhaps expectations were raised too high." Nevertheless, Radcliffe is encouraged by the market and, in February this year, managed to get the product showcased at the ISPO international winter sports trade fair. He says: "We won free stand space for a week and free media support."
 
Far from standing still, Radcliffe and his partner have been refining the design, building the brand through a website - snowbone.com - and working to get the production costs of the prototype down from £100 to under £25. Bigger production runs in the Far East should see manufacturing costs reduced even further. Snowbone is still searching for a business angel and Radcliffe believes the vital investment in Snowbone will come from someone in the winter sports industry. "What we're looking for is an existing sports company, so that we could tap into their distribution channels, supplemented by online sales."
 

Comments

Anonymous said…
Wow!
Ít´s Laura, Graham.
A part of the economic supporting I have a query...remote controls has a lot of functions. How many movements can you do in a clear way so that you always send an unique clear order to the machine?
I´m sure, I have a lot of mistakes in my cuestion...I hope you can understand it!
Anonymous said…
Hi Graham
I agree with Laura. I don,t know how you must use the magic wand todo turn on the TV or the candle
See you
Hilde
Roberto said…
"LA GUARIDA DEL DRAGON". A stake:Una inversion. Huge:Enorme. A Magic wand:Varita magica. A Wizard:Mago. To rotate:Girar. A flick:Un toque. To fast forward:Adelantar. To Rewind:Rebobinar. A ceiling:Techo. A Fan:Ventilador. Revenue:Ingresos(o impuestos). Within:Dentro de. A business partner:Socio. To Spot:localizar. A brand:Marca. An electronic display:Una pantalla electronica. A mark-up:Margen de beneficios. A wholesaler:Mayorista. Blended:Combinado. To stand-up the scrutiny:Parar el examen. Retail:Venta al por menor. A new profit:Nuevos beneficios. To require:Demandar. A forecast:Prediccion,pronostico. Appeal:Atractivo(o recurso). Equity:Acciones. To break cover:Romperse(o quebrar). Ratchet:Ajuste. A deal:Trato,acuerdo. To end up:Terminar. A share:Participacion(acciones). A sliding scale-Escala. A canny move:Movimiento astuto(o prudente). An outline:Borrador,boceto. An entrepreneur:Emprendedor. Tricky:Complicado.
Graham said…
Laura, Hilde,

I understand your question. I suppose that the movement depends on what you want to do ie turn up the volume, close the curtains, turn off a light and so on.


Apart from the economic backing/support (= apoyo), I have a query...remote controls have a lot of functions. How many movements can you make in a clear way so that you always send *a unique, clear order to the machine?
I´m sure, I have a lot of mistakes in my question...

* we use "a" + unique, university, European, uniform... , because of the pronunciation.

I don't know how you must use the magic wand to make the TV or the candle turn on. (to make stg happen)


Graham said…
Roberto,

There are a few words which I'm not 100% sure about.

As I said in my previous comment, it's sometimes easier to understand English definitions.


Is inversión and participación the same?

I think that "revenue" translates as "ingresos" in this context.

Would "stand up to scrutiny" translate as "superar el examen"?

"venta al por menor" is a new expression for me.

"net profit" would translate as "beneficio neto".

I'd translate "require" as "necesitar".

I think the others are fine.


Which dicitionary do you use?