John
Vellinga Named Armchair Dragon Winner
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Brought to you by CBC’s Dragons’ Den
and KPMG Enterprise, the Armchair Dragon contest allows viewers to vote on
their favourite pitcher from the 2009/2010 season who did not accept a deal
from the Dragons. As the winner of the contest, John Vellinga of Slava Vodka
receives $25,000 in services from KPMG Enterprise. More than 7,685 votes from
viewers were cast over 18 episodes.
“The Armchair Dragon contest has helped
us build a real relationship with our viewers, who in turn have
become a passionate community onto themselves on our website,” says Dragons’
Den executive producer, Tracie Tighe. “Viewers are savvy, and I think in
John Vellinga they saw a passionate entrepreneur with a solid product who
pulled out all the stops for a really dynamic pitch.”
“This season saw remarkable pitches nominated
by the viewers,” explained Dennis Fortnum. “Every day, as we work closely with
entrepreneurs and private company owners, we learn about their business
stories, and John’s rising success with premium vodkas is the making of yet
another great Canadian business success story.”
“Thanks to the viewers, we entered the
Dragons’ Den and came out a winner,” said John Vellinga, owner of Slava
Ultra Premium and Zirkova vodkas. “Our small business is doubling
sales in
DRAGONS’ DEN is
hosted by Dianne Buckner and features Dragons Arlene Dickinson, Robert
Herjavec, Kevin O’Leary, Jim Treliving, and W. Brett Wilson. It is
one of the top-rated Canadian-produced reality television shows in the country.
Recently, the March 17th season finale special, “The Road to Riches,”
drew an audience of 2.15 million viewers.