Britain's Dragon's Den was inspired by the Japanese business-investment show Money Tigers.
Money Tigers provided the underlying format in which entrepreneurs present businesses to wealthy investors and negotiate for funding. The concept was then adapted for different countries, with each version changing the name, panel, production style and business culture while retaining the pitch-and-investment premise.
The British adaptation began in 2005 and uses the title Dragon's Den, reflecting its investors' nickname. Other international versions use different animal imagery; the American version, Shark Tank, is one of the most widely known examples. These programmes are related adaptations, not the original Japanese production.
A common mix-up is to identify Shark Tank as the source of the British programme. Shark Tank launched in the United States in 2009, several years after the British Dragon's Den began. The format's direct origin is Japanese television, while the British series helped popularise the idea for UK viewers.