Got a scorching business idea?
When Ali Khadjavi heard that CBC’s Dragons’ Den will hold auditions in the very building where he studies marketing as a part-time student, he and his brother, Reza, immediately got to work preparing their pitch. They are seeking investors to help expand their company, Nettoyeurs Express.
Now in its fifth year of operation, Nettoyeurs Express is a laundry service that includes home pickup and delivery.
“We’re so pleased with how quickly our business has developed so far,” says Khadjavi, “but we still see an enormous potential for growth.” The Khadjavis are the duo behind the annual Strike Against Laundry, an initiative that offers free laundry service to students during the first weeks of the fall term.
To ensure that they are ready to face the show’s producers, Khadjavi sought the advice of Mark Bajramovic. When Bajramovic was a PhD student at JMSB in 2010, he and his partner, Oren Tessler, successfully persuaded the panel on Dragons’ Den to invest $75,000 into AirMouse, a wearable computer mouse that is “designed to relieve symptoms of repetitive stress injury.” It resembles a glove and minimizes stress on the carpal tunnel. “Mark was incredibly helpful,” says Khadjavi. “He gave us a lot of presentation tips and explained the importance of remaining calm and focused.”
Concordia’s ties to the hit television show are many. Dragons’ Den producer, Mike Armitage, is a Concordia graduate, as is the show’s production coordinator, Chris Sullivan (BA 07).
Armitage, who graduated in 2000, says he's excited at the prospect that the auditions are taking place at Concordia.
"Every time I return, I am amazed at how the university has grown and expanded in just a few years," he said. "Since I graduated, the downtown campus feels more vibrant and alive, especially with the addition of the John Molson School of Business."
He attributes his career success to his experience at Concordia. "For me, Concordia was the foundation for the role I play on Dragons' Den as the senior producer," says Armitage. "Not only did the creative writing program help me become a better storyteller, the friends and fellow students I met from other departments (communication studies and film) helped me break into the world of television production. Concordia is a great incubator for that."
This marks the third consecutive year that Dragons’ Den is holding its Montreal auditions at Concordia. Interested entrepreneurs must pitch their business ideas to the show’s producers in five minutes or less. Successful candidates will be invited to present in front of the show’s panel of judges when the upcoming season is filmed in Toronto later this year.
The auditions will take place on Saturday, February 16 at the John Molson School of Business.
That day cannot come quickly enough for Mojir Ghorbanian, a Concordia engineering student who pitched to the producers his idea for a search engine that would source the city’s best grocery deals on January 26. He is eagerly waiting to hear if he’ll be asked to go to Toronto. Ghorbanian believes his pitch was well received. “They liked the idea and seemed enthusiastic about it,” he says. “We really hope to make it to the show!”
When: Saturday, February 16, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where: Room MB-2.130, John Molson School of Business Building (1450 Guy St.), Sir George Williams Campus
Watch the slideshow of the auditions held at Concordia on January 26:
Related links:
• Nettoyeurs Express
• “JMSB student charms investors on CBC’s Dragon’s Den with AirMouse” — Concordia Journal, January 28, 2010
• John Molson School of Business
• CBC’s Dragons’ Den