Yellowknife restaurant Bullocks Bistro makes a pitch inside Dragons’ Den on Thursday’s latest episode of the CBC show.
For about half a decade, Bullocks co-owners Jo-Ann Martin and Mark Elson have been bottling the salad dressing and fish sauce for which the fish and chip restaurant – a tourist staple and iconic city business – is known.
Thursday’s episode, which airs at 8pm MT, sees Bullocks appear alongside three other Canadian firms. The show format involves entrepreneurs making pitches to venture capitalists in the hope of securing some investment to achieve a goal. For Bullocks, that’s expanding the sauce business.
The duo told Cabin Radio they had been “talked into” an appearance on the show when Dragons’ Den producers visited Yellowknife for auditions in March.
Martin said the company had considered applying to Dragons’ Den in the past, but this year felt like the right time and “too good an opportunity to pass up.”
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
“Our business plan was never just local or just northern because we knew, in order for it to be a viable and profitable business, we would have to have the population to support it,” she said.
“We’d always intended to move south and go across Canada. To do that, there’s a lot of ducks that have to line up. We’ve been working at it for four years now, and we’re learning and growing and going over all the bumps.
“Some of them are big challenges and some of them are great wins, but it’s a journey.”
The two are keeping the exact detail of what happens on the show – and its outcome – under wraps.
Advertisement.
Advertisement.
Martin said part of their pitch to the show’s panel was the immense community support Bullocks has received in Yellowknife. In return, she hopes the company can help others.
“I would hope we’re making it easier for someone else coming behind us in the North to do the same thing,” she said.
“We have a lot of great products in the North and we have a lot of talented people. Sometimes, all you need is a little lift up or a bit of someone else’s experience to help you get motivated or to take the challenge on.”
