Simon Woodroffe created the YO! Sushi restaurant chain before appearing as a Dragon on Dragons' Den.
Woodroffe founded YO! Sushi in London in 1997. The restaurants became known for serving dishes from a conveyor belt, a visual and operational feature that helped distinguish the chain from conventional sushi restaurants in Britain.
He later joined the Dragons' Den panel for the programme's first series. His background differed from that of some later Dragons because his public profile came from building a distinctive hospitality and leisure brand rather than from a long career as a television investor.
Woodroffe is sometimes confused with Peter Jones or Duncan Bannatyne because all three are associated with the early British programme. However, the sushi-chain connection belongs specifically to Woodroffe. He subsequently became associated with the YO! brand's wider expansion and with other entrepreneurial ventures.