Doug Richard

 Californian Doug Richard is best known in the UK as an investment angel on BBC 2's "Dragons' Den", one of a team of elite business people able to dash the hopes or make dreams come true for eager entrepreneurs with ideas to sell.

During the first two series, Richard made eight investment offers of which two were accepted. Unfortunately for him, one of them has already failed but to a philosophical entrepreneur like Richard, that's no big deal. "It's part of the life of being a high risk angel investor," he says. "I don't begrudge the investment - but I lost it. £60,000."

"For businesses to grow it takes years", Richard reflects. "But for TV shows to get old takes very little time. It's true of almost all the investments made in "Dragons'" that they are simply works in progress and one won't know for quite a long time.

"Bad news tends to come pretty early," he says with a laugh of his failed investment. "Would I make the investment again? No, that's what hindsight's about. But at that moment in time it seemed like a good idea. I did two series, then I stepped down because I have a life. I was doing them because it was fun, but twice is enough. Celebrity for its own sake is a bit tiresome."

The life Richard has outside of TV fame is of course a busy one - otherwise he would never have found himself in the "Dragons' Den" in the first place. He is founder and Chairman of information services company Library House, co-founder of the Cambridge Angels (supporters of high-quality technology start-ups) and has been instrumental in setting up The Gauntlet, which helps entrepreneurs become investment ready.

He set up and sold his first software venture in the 1980s, and later became President and CEO of US software company Micrografx. He has a BA in psychology from the University of California, a Juris Doctor from the School of Law (UCLA) and an Executive Management Certificate from the UCLA Anderson School of Business.

Richard is an entrepreneur through and through and, at 46, still has ambition: "I want to have one really successful start-up. I don't think I've really had one yet," he confesses. "I've had four or five successful companies, but there's still a perfect one out there. I have no idea what that means, but I'm sure I could do one better than I've ever done before and I'll strive for that."

Richard is an honorary Brit, comfortable with his home in Cambridge which he shares with his ‘half British' wife. 

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