Rachel Elnaugh became a Dragon in the first series of Dragons' Den and founded Red Letter Days.
Elnaugh established Red Letter Days, a company selling experience gifts such as driving days, flying experiences, and other organised activities. The business became one of the early British examples of packaging memorable experiences as presents rather than selling a conventional physical product.
She appeared on the original investor panel when the BBC series launched in 2005. Elnaugh left the programme after its first series, and Deborah Meaden subsequently joined the panel in the second series.
Red Letter Days later experienced serious financial difficulties and went into administration in 2005. The brand and parts of its business were subsequently acquired by Peter Jones, who had also been an investor on Dragons' Den. This makes Elnaugh’s business history especially notable: her company was both a successful early gift brand and a major case study in the risks of rapid expansion.