Simon Woodroffe founded the Japanese-inspired restaurant chain YO! Sushi before joining Dragons' Den.
Woodroffe launched YO! Sushi in London in 1997. The restaurant became known for serving dishes from a conveyor belt, allowing customers to choose plates as they passed their seats. Its visual presentation and fast service helped make sushi more familiar to a broad British audience.
Woodroffe later became one of the original investors on the first series of the British Dragons' Den. His background differed from that of a conventional finance professional: he had worked in entertainment and hospitality before building the restaurant brand.
He left the Dragons' Den panel after the first series. The question is often confused with questions about other original Dragons because the launch panel included several prominent retail and leisure entrepreneurs, but YO! Sushi is specifically associated with Woodroffe.