I wish Brett the best of luck (for him and for us fans) in finding a national broadcaster to partner and create “television programming focused on celebrating philanthropy in Canada“. I am curious if Brett will consider creating a TV program that showcase and encourage entrepreneurship in his Dragon with a heart way?
On a personal note, I have seen Brett in the last two years attending Banff World TV Festival (a few days in June in Banff where show creators, TV producers, broadcast executives from around the world attend to conduct businesses), it will be fun to see those business contacts help makes Brett’s show comes true.
For the record, here is Brett’s press release posted on his site this morning. (emphasis added) Update: Press release also available on MarketWire.
“NEWS RELEASE
DRAGON WITH A HEART LEAVES THE DEN
W. Brett Wilson leaves Dragons’ Den with challenge to CBC to evolve the show; continues his support for 30 Den deals and charity work for Canadians in need.
February 28th, 2011 – After three years on CBC’s Dragons’ Den, doing 60 plus deals in the Den and personally committing over $4.5 million in final deals with 30 Canadian entrepreneurs, W. Brett Wilson, the lead deal making Dragon, confirmed today that he will not return for the show’s next season. With his departure, Wilson is challenging both CBC and the Dragons to take encouraging Canadian entrepreneurship to another level and to constructively criticize, guide and sometimes finance the pitchers venturing into the Den.
Wilson also hinted at starting his own show to celebrate Canadian generosity through philanthropy and indicated he will continue to step-up his own work to raise money for Canadians in need.
“The contract re-negotiations were complicated. The key issues were my availability and the use of show branding to promote Dragons’ Den deals. We were very, very close to a resolution. But we fell short for several reasons, but mostly we just ran out of time, for which I’m obviously disappointed. I would have loved to have done at least one more season’s worth of helping Canadian entrepreneurs’ dreams come alive,” said Wilson. “I remain very much committed to the concept of Dragons’ Den, to the amazing Canadians that show up in the Den to be tested and challenged, and to the many deals I’ve done through the show. Every deal has been for an interesting product, but more importantly, all came from great entrepreneurs in the making, many of whom I continue to personally coach and actively promote.” Selected highlights of Wilson’s Dragons’ Den deals and his ongoing work to support them, as well a high level summary of imminent public appearances are in the Backgrounder below.
“When I joined Dragons’ Den, I told the producers I would continue – as I always have – to do deals with a social conscience and always with a tendency to invest in people over businesses, knowing that every business has speed bumps, and, that in the end, it’s ones’ key partners that are the primary determinants of the success or failure of an idea or a business,” Wilson said. Read the rest of this entry »