Simon Woodroffe

Simon Woodroffe is a British motivational speaker and entrepreneur. He started the sushi chain YO! Sushi in 1997, and has appeared as a 'Dragon' on the first series of Dragons' Den.

Simon left Marlborough College in 1967, at the age of 16, with 2 O-levels. He went on the road with the likes of Rod Stewart and The Moody Blues before becoming a stage designer.

After a spell in television, he conceived and launched YO! Sushi in 1997. The business established conveyor belt sushi bars featuring call buttons, robot drinks trolleys, Japanese TV, self heating plates and other such novelties.

In September 2003, Woodroffe sold his controlling interest in YO! Sushi in a £10m deal, backed by private equity firm Primary Capital. Woodroffe retains a 22% stake and continues working as a business entrepreneur, also taking time to present TV programmes.

He currently speaks around the world at corporate and promotional events, and has appeared on stage at the Edinburgh Festival to discuss his YO! Sushi venture.

Woodroffe received an OBE on 17 June 2006.

Investments
Simon only ever invested in one company on the show, that was Mycorrhizal Systems, a company who manufactured black truffels.