BrewDog’s James Watt takes on the Dragons with new startup reality show

James Watt, founder of multinational brewery and pub chain BrewDog, is taking on Dragons’ Den by launching his own reality TV show.

With a mix of The X Factor, The Apprentice and Dragons’ Den, Watt’s’ new show – House of Unicorns – will see contestants compete with each other to win a £2 million cash prize for business investment.

BrewDog was one of the biggest Startups 100 success stories, starting from a small craft brewery in Scotland to a brand worth billions. 

Now, it’s hitting the TV screens with a new show, giving entrepreneurs the chance to take their business to the next level with Watt’s backing and life-changing investment.

Who is James Watt?

James Watt is the co-founder of BrewDog, which he launched in 2007 with his friend Martin Dickie. Since the beginning, the company’s mission has been to make people passionate about craft beer.

“We got fed up of drinking bland, watered down, rubbish beers,” Watt commented. “So we decided to make our own: they’re good quality, progressive and innovative.”

BrewDog has seen significant success since its inception and its feature on the Startups 100 Index. As of 2023, the company is worth around $2 million, exports its products to 60 countries and has opened 102 bars worldwide.

But despite its success, BrewDog and Watts himself have faced several controversies. The company came under fire in 2021 after staff described its organisational culture as toxic and accused Watt of creating a “culture of fear”.

More recently, Watt, who stepped down as CEO last year, was criticised for his questionable views on work-life balance.

On a now-deleted Instagram post, he wrote: “I think the whole concept of work-life balance was invented by people who hate the work that they do. If you love what you do, you don’t need work-life balance, you need work-life integration.”

What is House of Unicorns?

Now, Watt has teamed up with Whisper Productions to launch House of Unicorns. The show is set to challenge the long-running reality TV show Dragons’ Den, which has seen many successful businesses emerge, including Tangle Teezer, Levi Roots, Wonderbly and more.

Having been rejected twice to appear on Dragons’ Den, Watt’s House of Unicorns is set to be a “supercharged” version of the show.

The premise is that ten businesses will go head-to-head to compete for a £2 million investment over six weeks. Watts will invest £1 million of his own money to fund the winner, while viewers will be allowed to vote for which company will win additional funding of the same amount.

Whisper Productions are looking for a network to air the show, but will broadcast it on YouTube if they fail to get the show picked up.

Watt said that the inspiration for House of Unicorns stemmed from his personal frustrations with current business shows like Dragons’ Den and The Apprentice.

“I’ve always been so disillusioned and frankly, fed up with the tired format of reality TV business shows relying on worn-out tropes and stale stereotypes of entrepreneurs for comedy value, which are well past their sell-by date,” Watts said.

“We’re on a mission to double the amount of unicorns coming out of the UK and kickstart our economy. Over six weeks we will push some of the UK’s most exciting businesses and entrepreneurs to their limits and take them way outside their comfort zone.”

While there’s no set date yet, House of Unicorns is set to air later this year. However, applications are now open on the show’s website. However, with our expertise in finding and promoting the most innovative businesses out there, Watts doesn’t need to look any further than our Startups 100 for 2025 Index.