The original Japanese television business programme adapted into the British series Dragon's Den was called Money Tigers.
Money Tigers, known in Japan as Money no Tora, established the central idea later used by Dragon's Den and other international versions. Entrepreneurs present business proposals to a panel of wealthy investors, hoping to secure capital in return for a stake in their company.
The Japanese format became an international television concept. The British adaptation uses “Dragons” for its investors, while the better-known United States adaptation is called Shark Tank. Those programmes share the pitching-and-negotiation structure but are separate national productions.
A common mix-up is to identify Shark Tank as the original programme because it is especially prominent internationally. It was not the source format: the franchise’s roots are in Japan, and the British series was one of several adaptations of that concept.