BrewDog was founded by James Watt and Martin Dickie, who appeared on the BBC series Dragon's Den seeking investment for their independent brewing company. The business became one of the programme's most discussed rejected pitches.
Watt and Dickie established BrewDog in Scotland in 2007. They built the company around bold, strongly flavoured craft beers and an alternative approach to brewing and branding. Their appearance brought the young brewery to a much wider audience.
The Dragons did not invest in the pitch. That outcome is often used to illustrate that a television rejection does not necessarily prevent a company from succeeding. BrewDog later expanded substantially through brewing, bars, retail products and crowdfunding campaigns.
BrewDog is therefore frequently confused with businesses that actually received a Dragon's investment. The key distinction is that the founders' pitch became famous precisely because no deal was completed, while the company continued growing independently.