Doug Richard was the first American investor on the British television show Dragon's Den.
Richard is an American entrepreneur and angel investor who joined the original British panel. His background in technology entrepreneurship gave the early programme an investor whose experience differed from that of the show's British retail and business figures.
He was one of the five original Dragons when the British series launched in 2005. The other original investors were Peter Jones, Duncan Bannatyne, Rachel Elnaugh and Theo Paphitis. Richard's participation therefore belongs to the programme's inaugural era rather than to a later panel change.
He later became known for supporting entrepreneurship and education initiatives in the United Kingdom. His name is sometimes overlooked in summaries of the original panel because he did not remain a regular Dragon for as many years as some of the other early investors.