Rachel Elnaugh founded Red Letter Days before appearing as an original Dragon on the British show Dragon's Den.
Red Letter Days was an experience-gifting business offering customers vouchers for activities and special occasions. Elnaugh built the company before becoming one of the original investors when Dragon's Den launched in 2005.
Her career illustrates a recurring feature of the programme: the panel is made up of business people whose investment decisions are informed by their own commercial experience. Elnaugh's expertise was especially relevant to consumer products, retailing and experience-led services.
This fact is often mixed up with the later history of Red Letter Days. The company encountered financial problems and entered administration in 2005, after which Peter Jones acquired its assets. That later ownership does not change the fact that Elnaugh founded the business. Nor does it make Jones the founder.