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Whistler company heads into Dragons’ Den

CBC reality show features local business

By Clare Ogilvie

Two Whistler entrepreneurs will be featured on a new CBC reality show, The Dragons’ Den.

  “It was an interesting experience,” said Guy Auger, vice president sales and marketing for Sno-Limo, a company that offers chauffeur driven, gravity-powered sleds, which can carry people all over a ski hill.

“We had very little control over what is going to show up on TV, so we are kind of anxious to see how it is going to come across. (On) these reality shows you never know if they are going to make you look like an idiot or make you look good.”

Auger is prohibited from saying much about his experience until the CBC show has aired. The premier of the show ran yesterday, Oct 4. The Sno-Limo segment will air Oct.11 th at 8 p.m.

The company was chosen from more than 1,700 applicants across the country.

Auger made his first pitch at the Four-Seasons Resort in Vancouver and then went to Toronto in July after being short-listed.

In the Dragons’ Den show budding entrepreneurs pitch everything from sexy and playful underwear to an innovative technology that can mould glass without heat. They will try to convince five wealthy Canadian business executives — the Dragons — that their idea is the next big thing.

In the high-stakes game of all or nothing the candidates must face a panel of Dragons who will invest up to $1 million of their own cash to bring dreams to reality for those chosen entrepreneurs.

Auger would not say if his company was a winner.

The Dragons include Robert Herjavec, who sold his IT security firm for more than $100 million; Laurence Lewin, co-founder and president of la Senza; Kevin O’Leary, popular host of ROB TV’s SqueezePlay who sold his educational software firm to Mattel for $3.2 billion; Jim Treliving, a former RCMP officer who owns Boston Pizza; and Jennifer Wood, one of the most influential executives in the beef industry. CBC Television’s Dianne Buckner of Venture will host the series.

“Dragons’ Den taps into Canada’s entrepreneurial spirit and puts an entertaining spotlight on our home grown innovations,” said Julie Bristow, executive director of Factual Entertainment Programming.

Sno-Limo expects to have up to 30 sleds running this winter on various resort mountains around B.C. and Alberta. Ten sleds will operate on Whistler-Blackcomb, with an hour-long tour costing around $90.

Sno-Limos will also be found at Sun Peaks, Big White, and Sunshine Village, Alberta.

  Auger says discussions are underway with Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver to have the sleds available there too.