Most entrepreneurs would kill for a shot to be on Dragon’s Den, and even more would kill for a partnership from one of the show’s high-powered investors. But on this week’s season premiere, St. Catherines, Ont.’s Jennifer Harper turned down her offer.
Harper had auditioned for Dragon’s Den twice before, but the third time turned out to be the charm. This time, she also happened to be in early talks with a Vancouver-based, Indigenous-owned venture capital firm, Raven Indigenous Capital Partners. Nothing was signed when she auditioned, so the Dragons were still looking like a viable route for Cheekbone Beauty. But by the time Harper actually got on to the show, she had locked down an offer from Raven Capital, one that was hard to refuse.
Harper also had reservations about Guzzo’s intentions. She got the feeling that the Montreal-based entrepreneur, who owns Cinémas Guzzo in Quebec, would sweep in and change her entire business. “He was saying, ‘I have a team of people that can work with you.’ It wasn’t like he believed that I could do this. And I just don’t think a man would have gotten that kind of offer.”
Still, Harper says going on Dragon’s Den was an amazing opportunity for exposure. It also paid off in an unexpected way, because Desjardins—a sponsor of the show—ended up giving Cheekbone Beauty a $50,000 grant through its GoodSpark program for social entrepreneurs. Harper plans to use that money to fund a scholarship for Indigenous youth in the name of her grandmother, a residential school survivor.
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