You too can be a Dragon!

With the season premiere of Dragons' Den looming (Sept. 19), CBC publicity is pulling out all the stops. This show is one of their biggest hits ever, so it's fun to see how they ramp things up every year.

Check out what they're saying now:

For the first time ever, people at home will have the chance to have their say in the Den. By visiting www.cbc.ca/dragonsden, viewers at home will be able to play along with the show, and have their activity displayed back on TV - in real time. This kind of social TV integration is the first of its kind in the world to occur live, in each time zone.

Become an Armchair Dragon and play along while you watch Dragons' Den on CBC with an interactive platform that allows you engage with the broadcast in real-time. For the best experience, participate using your mobile device or PC by visiting www.cbc.ca/dragonsden during Dragons' Den Wednesday evenings at 8 PM.

 

Also, this season there's another new Dragon in town. Replacing the ever-popular Robert Herjavec is David Chilton, aka "The Wealthy Barber." Here's his official bio from the CBC (believe it or not). Read it with tongue firmly in cheek:

 

David Chilton is an economics graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University. In 1985, he won the award for the highest mark in the country on the Canadian Securities Course. Cheating was never proven but widely suspected.

In 1989, he released The Wealthy Barber. It went on to sell an astonishing two million copies in Canada. After milking his one and only good idea for years, Dave left the personal-finance field to home-school his children. His daughter escaped after a few months, but his son served out his entire sentence of three years less a day. Both children somehow overcame the experience and are now attending university.

Over the years, Dave also published the bestselling cookbooks Looneyspoons, Crazy Plates and Eat, Shrink & Be Merry! along with authors Janet and Greta Podleski. Adding no value but taking a third of the profits, guilt finally overwhelmed Dave and he left the sisters' business in 2007. They just recently noticed.

His true professional passion, however, remains the field of personal finance, where he tries to mix humour and common sense to help people handle their money more wisely.

 

The morning I attended a taping last spring, David was pretty quiet. But I hear rumours that he didn't stay that way...