Dragon's Den calls its wealthy investors dragons.
The term is part of the British programme's identity and reflects the intimidating atmosphere of the pitch room. Entrepreneurs enter the den, present their business and ask for a specified amount of money in exchange for a percentage of their company.
Each dragon is an independent investor with a business background. They can ask detailed questions about revenue, margins, manufacturing, intellectual property and ownership. A dragon may make an offer alone, join another investor or decline to invest.
The word sharks is often supplied as an alternative because the US version of the format is called Shark Tank. In the British series, however, the official term is dragons. Tigers belonged to the Japanese source format's title rather than the name used for the British investors.