James Watt has launched a brand new reality TV show (Image: Getty)
Brewdog co-founder James Watt has revealed that he was ‘inspired’ by his rejection from to launch his new TV business show, House of Unicorns.
Speaking exclusively to Express Online, the former chief executive has taken the leap into reality television, which will see budding entrepreneurs and business leaders compete for £ 2million—the largest in UK TV history.
When asked how he came up with the idea, Watt said: “It’s something I’ve been working on, spurred on by a couple of rejections by Dragons’ Den.
“So Brewdog famously got turned down by the Den, and they missed out on what would have been one of the most lucrative investments in their history.
“And I also came very close to being a dragon myself, but I missed out on the final street tests. House of Unicorns is an evolution of a concept that I kind of piloted a year and a half ago, so it’s kind of bigger and bolder.”
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Brewdog was launched in 2007 and was famously rejected by Dragons Den (Image: Getty)
James founded BrewDog in 2007 alongside Martin Dickie in Edinburgh. In May last year, he stepped down as chief executive, but he still owns 21% of the business and remains a non-executive director. The pair applied to appear on Dragons Den in 2008 but were rejected.
The new show, House of Unicorns, will be filmed over six weeks. Mr Watt will decide the winner of half the prize money, while the audience will determine where the other £ 1 million goes in a public vote.
He added, “This is, first and foremost, a business show to invest in and create a fantastic business. So, if you’re a content creator with a business idea, this is not for you.
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Watt will be investing £1 million of his own money (Image: Sony and Whisper Productions)
“If you’ve got a good business, if you’ve got business pedigree, if you’ve got a track record, if you’ve got ambition. It’s business credentials over entertainment credentials every single time with House of Unicorns. I think it’s the other way around with shows like The Apprentice and Dragon’s Den.”
Mr Watt will invest £1million of his own money, with the other 50% coming from Founders Capital, Europe’s largest founder investor community.
Applications for the show are now open at