Simon Woodroffe founded Yo! Sushi before becoming an original Dragon on Dragon's Den.
Woodroffe launched Yo! Sushi in 1997, introducing a conveyor-belt service model that made dishes circulate past diners. The brand became one of the best-known British businesses associated with modern sushi restaurants. Woodroffe later joined the original panel when the British television show Dragon's Den launched in 2005.
His business background made him distinctive among the early Dragons: he was closely identified with a consumer restaurant concept rather than with banking or conventional investment. He appeared in the first series, then left the programme after that opening run.
Yo! Sushi is sometimes confused with the later Yo! brand or with the investors who joined the panel in subsequent series. The founder's name is Simon Woodroffe, while the programme's other original Dragons included Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Rachel Elnaugh and Doug Richard.