Which company did Rachel Elnaugh co-found before becoming an investor on Dragon's Den?

Rachel Elnaugh co-founded Red Letter Days before becoming an investor on Dragon's Den.

Red Letter Days was a gift-experience company offering customers unusual activities and experiences rather than conventional physical presents. Elnaugh helped establish the business in the 1990s, and its growth made her a prominent entrepreneur before she joined the BBC programme’s original panel.

Her business background was relevant to the show because many pitches involve consumer products, retail, marketing, and customer acquisition. Red Letter Days is not itself a Dragon's Den invention; it was Elnaugh’s earlier company and the source of much of her entrepreneurial profile.

The business later experienced financial difficulties and was acquired by another company. That later history is sometimes omitted when the company is mentioned only as a success story. The key identification remains straightforward: Rachel Elnaugh is linked to Red Letter Days, while the television programme came afterward.