Alan Sugar was known as the founder of Amstrad when he appeared as an investor on the BBC television series Dragon's Den.
Sugar founded Amstrad in 1968. The company became prominent in consumer electronics, producing products such as hi-fi equipment, home computers and satellite television hardware. His experience building a large technology and electronics business gave him a strong commercial identity before he joined television.
He served as the lead investor, or “Dragon,” on the early British series. His blunt questioning and memorable dismissals became a defining part of the programme's original style. He left the show after its first series, later becoming associated with The Apprentice in the United Kingdom.
Amstrad is sometimes confused with Sugar's later business interests, but it was the company most closely linked with his public reputation as an entrepreneur. The name itself came from Alan Michael Sugar Trading. The Dragon's Den fact concerns his business background, not a claim that he founded the television format.