Money Tigers was the original Japanese television programme that inspired the UK show Dragon’s Den.
The Japanese programme, titled Money Tigers, established the format of entrepreneurs seeking investment from a panel of financially successful businesspeople. The UK production adapted that structure for BBC viewers and gave its investors the name “dragons”.
The format travelled widely because its core premise is easy to understand: an entrepreneur presents a business, requests a specific amount of money and offers a percentage of equity. The panel can accept, negotiate, or reject the proposal.
Money Tigers is also connected to the wider international franchise that includes Shark Tank in the United States. Shark Tank is not the direct Japanese title, however. For the UK programme’s origin, the specific answer is Money Tigers, known in Japanese as マネーの虎.