Arlene Dickinson

Current Dragon

Arlene Dickinson

Venture capitalist, District Ventures Capital

107 deals
$24.95M invested
83% still in business

What Arlene is known for

Arlene Dickinson built her fortune in marketing. She joined Calgary's Venture Communications as a partner in 1988, took sole ownership a decade later, and grew it into one of Canada's largest independent agencies. She later founded District Ventures Capital, a venture fund focused on food, beverage and health and wellness companies, and Changemakers (formerly Believeco:Partners), which brings marketing and communications agencies together. She is also a three-time bestselling author.

Arlene Dickinson’s website

On Dragons’ Den

Arlene Dickinson joined Dragons' Den in its second season in 2007 and stayed through Season 9, leaving in 2015 to launch District Ventures Capital. She returned for Season 12 in 2017 and has been on the panel ever since, making her the longest-serving woman Dragon in the show's history. Her best-known deals include OMG's Candy and Balzac's Coffee Roasters.

Photo: Jnasr / CC BY-SA 4.0

Arlene’s deals

$1Mfor 20%

Start Me Stick

Cory Velan and Marty Algire

Montreal, QC

Valued at $5M

Deal: $3M for 18%

Status unknownVisit website

$2Mfor 15%

Quark Baby

Garett Senez

Vancouver, BC

Valued at $13.33M

Deal: $2M for 15%

In businessVisit website

$2Mfor 15%

The Rice Stuff Box

Matthew and Sheldon Ratuski

Saskatoon, SK

Valued at $13.33M

Deal: $2M for 20%

In businessVisit website

$1Mfor 5%

Endy Sleep

Mike Gettis & Aashish Nathwani

Toronto, ON

Valued at $20M

Deal: $1M for 7.5%

In businessVisit website

$1Mfor 10%

Excir Works

Stephen Foley, Graham Fritz, Hiwa Salimi, Loghman Moradi

Calgary, AB

Valued at $10M

Deal: $1M for 18%

Closed

$1Mfor 5%

VeloMetro Mobility

Kody Baker

Vancouver, BC

Valued at $20M

Deal: $1M for 7.5%

Status unknownVisit website

$1Mfor 25%

KnightsbridgeFx

Rahim Madhavji

Toronto, ON

Valued at $4M

Deal: $1M for 30%

In businessVisit website

$1Mfor 10%

The HydroFlyer

Jerry and Wendy McArthur

Pemberton, BC

Valued at $10M

Deal: $1M for 25%

In businessVisit website

$250Kfor 5%

Cedar Valley

Ameen Fadel and Surria Fadel

Windsor, ON

Valued at $5M

Deal: $1M for 20%

In businessVisit website

$600Kfor 10%

Allergy Smart

Stacy and Shane Bacher

Toronto, ON

Valued at $6M

Deal: $1M for 20%

In businessVisit website

$750Kfor 5%

iLOLA Tea

Su-Mari and Tim Hill

Delta, BC

Valued at $15M

Deal: $750K for 25%

In businessVisit website

$720Kfor 9%

Sweetapolita

Rosie Alyea

Newcastle, ON

Valued at $8M

Deal: $720K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$700Kfor 20%

Virtual Run Canada

Marc Roy

Ottawa, ON

Valued at $3.5M

Deal: $700K for 30%

Status unknownVisit website

$500Kfor 12.5%

Unbuilders

Adam Corneil

North Vancouver, BC

Valued at $4M

Deal: $600K for 18%

In businessVisit website

$600Kfor 6.5%

Crafty Ramen

Miki Farrel, Khalil Khamis, and Jared Farrel

Guelph, ON

Valued at $9.23M

Deal: $600K for 18.9%

In businessVisit website

$500Kfor 5%

Side Door

Dan Mangan and Laura Simpson

Halifax, NS

Valued at $10M

Deal: $500K

Status unknownVisit website

$500Kfor 100%

One Second Plumber

Harry Kihs & Sharon Lacey

Hamilton, ON

Valued at $500K

Deal: $500K for 100%

In businessVisit website

$250Kfor 5%

SPATULA Foods

Wallace Wong, Ian Weng, and Shela Kwong

Toronto, ON

Valued at $5M

Deal: $500K for 10%

In businessVisit website

$500Kfor 10%

MULTY Rack

Cody New & Rick Sauder

Kamloops, BC

Valued at $5M

Deal: $500K

Status unknownVisit website

$500Kfor 8.5%

Mernini

Maria Halfyard

St. John's, NL

Valued at $5.88M

Deal: $500K for 8.5%

In businessVisit website

$450Kfor 10%

KidStar Nutrients

Caitlyn Vanderhaege

Vancouver, BC

Valued at $4.5M

Deal: $450K for 15%

In businessVisit website

$450Kfor 5%

Yoomi

Scott Bradley and Bailey Gaddis

Courtice, ON

Valued at $9M

Deal: $450K for 10%

In businessVisit website

$420Kfor 12%

Vertiball

Curtis Kennedy, Aaron Turner

Fredericton, NB

Valued at $3.5M

Deal: $420K for 17%

In businessVisit website

$400Kfor 5%

Mylo

Phil Barrar, Liam Cheung

Montreal, QC

Valued at $8M

Deal: $400K for 5%

Closed

$400Kfor 16%

Brows By G

Giovanna Minenna & Scott Russell

Winnipeg, MB

Valued at $2.5M

Deal: $400K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$400Kfor 10%

Bushbalm

David Gaylord and Tim Burns

Ottawa, ON

Valued at $4M

Deal: $400K for 10%

In businessVisit website

$400Kfor 10%

Ferreol

Jonathan Audet & Felix Lapointe

Quebec City, QC

Valued at $4M

Deal: $400K for 25%

In businessVisit website

$400Kfor 5%

Huha

Alexa Suter

Vancouver, BC

Valued at $8M

Deal: $400K

In businessVisit website

$350Kfor 10%

Cook It

Judith Fetzer

Montreal, QC

Valued at $3.5M

Deal: $350K for 10%

Status unknownVisit website

$300Kfor 10%

Loop

Julie Poitras-Saulnier, David Cote

Montreal, QC

Valued at $3M

Deal: $350K for 10%

In businessVisit website

$350Kfor 30%

Lobster Made Easy

Mark Lowe

Mahone Bay, NS

Valued at $1.17M

Deal: $350K for 32%

Closed

$350Kfor 15%

Doggy Bathroom

David Hebert & Alain Courchesne

Montreal, QC

Valued at $2.33M

Deal: $350K for 30%

In businessVisit website

$200Kfor 10%

Mini Tipi

Mélanie Bernard and Trisha Pitura

Gatineau, QC

Valued at $2M

Deal: $350K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$350Kfor 5%

Raymex Lift

Tracey McGillivray and Suling Doung

Halifax, NS

Valued at $7M

Deal: $350K for 7.5%

Status unknown

$300Kfor 49%

Sobo

Lisa Ahier

Tofino, BC

Valued at $612K

Deal: $340K for 10%

Status unknown

$100Kfor 5%

Guard-Ex

Dastiger Khan, Rahul Malhotra, Harmeet Chauhan, Baltej Sandhu

Waterloo, ON

Valued at $2M

Deal: $300K for 15%

In businessVisit website

$300Kfor 10%

Tribu Experientiel

Micah Desforges

Montreal, QC

Valued at $3M

Deal: $300K for 18%

In businessVisit website

$300Kfor 7.5%

Naked & Saucy

Paul Gill

Vancouver, BC

Valued at $4M

Deal: $300K for 7.5%

Status unknownVisit website

$300Kfor 20%

InstaCake Cards

Sarah Neal

Vancouver Island, BC

Valued at $1.5M

Deal: $300K for 15%

In businessVisit website

$300Kfor 15%

Vanpackers

Gabriel Jousset

Montreal, QC

Valued at $2M

Deal: $300K for 25%

In businessVisit website

$270Kfor 10%

Bin Breeze

Taylor McCarten

Victoria, BC

Valued at $2.7M

Deal: $270K for 49%

In businessVisit website

$250Kfor 20%

Station Cold Brew Coffee

Steve Ballantyne, Mitchell Stern & Mike Roy

Toronto, ON

Valued at $1.25M

Deal: $250K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$125Kfor 20%

Gimme360

Josiah Crombie, Lucas Bruno & Daniel Bokun

Toronto, ON

Valued at $625K

Deal: $250K for 30%

Closed

$250Kfor 5%

20/20 Armor

Ali Ghafour, William Sexton & Yvette Yong

Toronto, ON

Valued at $5M

Deal: $250K

In businessVisit website

$150Kfor 10%

Burgundy Oak

Joel Jelinski, Zachary Hartley, Nicholas White, Torin Hofmann

Calgary, AB

Valued at $1.5M

Deal: $250K for 15%

Closed

$250Kfor 25%

The Growcer

Corey Ellis, Alida Burke

Ottawa, ON

Valued at $1M

Deal: $250K for 30%

In businessVisit website

$250Kfor 10%

Foli

Emily Wight

Burlington, ON

Valued at $2.5M

Deal: $250K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$250Kfor 10%

Inca Glow

Angele Miller

Cocagne, NB

Valued at $2.5M

Deal: $250K for 25%

In businessVisit website

$180Kfor 2.3%

Cyder

Sukhman Dulay & Will Christodoulou

Toronto, ON

Valued at $8M

Deal: $250K for 5%

In businessVisit website

$250Kfor 10%

Marlow

Nadia Ladak, Harit Sohal, Kiara Botha, & Simone Godeou

Toronto, ON

Valued at $2.5M

Deal: $250K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$250Kfor 9%

Hello Hair

Anita Grant

Stoney Creek, ON

Valued at $2.78M

Deal: $250K for 15%

Status unknownVisit website

$250Kfor 5%

Guess Where Trips

Jessica Off

London, ON

Valued at $5M

Deal: $250K

In businessVisit website

$180Kfor 15%

Manmade

Anthony Ciavirella, Philip Santagata, Robert Marzin, and Roberto Robelo

Montreal, QC

Valued at $1.2M

Deal: $240K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$140Kfor 10%

DDI Heat Exchangers

Erwin Schwartz

Montreal, QC

Valued at $1.4M

Deal: $200K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$200Kfor 15%

Fatso

Jill Van Gyn

Victoria, BC

Valued at $1.33M

Deal: $200K for 30%

In businessVisit website

$200Kfor 10%

Welo

Jack Baker, Stef Prodea, Katie McKinnon

Mississauga, ON

Valued at $2M

Deal: $200K for 10%

Status unknownVisit website

$200Kfor 10%

SnowPeeler

Benoit Mercier

Quebec City, QC

Valued at $2M

Deal: $200K for 10%

Closed

$200Kfor 15%

Näak

William Walcker & Minh-anh Pham

Montreal, QC

Valued at $1.33M

Deal: $200K for 20%

Status unknownVisit website

$200Kfor 15%

The UpSeat

Stephen Pankratz and Kim Kucher

Oakville, ON

Valued at $1.33M

Deal: $200K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$200Kfor 20%

Fresk-O Cheese

Andreina and Oscar Chavez

Lethbridge, AB

Valued at $1M

Deal: $200K for 25%

Closed

$100Kfor 5%

Ring Come True

Shir and Michael Andrews

Toronto, ON

Valued at $2M

Deal: $200K for 10%

Status unknownVisit website

$200Kfor 10%

Gingerbug

Bren & Megan Silk

Meaford, ON

Valued at $2M

Deal: $200K for 10%

In businessVisit website

$200Kfor 5%

Tokidos

Ralph Nakhle

Montreal, QC

Valued at $4M

Deal: $200K for 6%

In businessVisit website

$200Kfor 10%

AdMore Lighting

David Bartle

Calgary, AB

Valued at $2M

Deal: $200K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$125Kfor 7%

Taynton Bay Spirits

Justin Atterbury and Steve Koffler

Invermere, BC

Valued at $1.79M

Deal: $185K for 10%

In businessVisit website

$150Kfor 10%

Props Athletics

Lauren Siegal

Toronto, ON

Valued at $1.5M

Deal: $150K for 15%

In businessVisit website

$50Kfor 10%

Happy Pops

Leila Keshavjee

Toronto, ON

Valued at $500K

Deal: $150K for 30%

In businessVisit website

$75Kfor 10%

Truly Turmeric

Nareena & Umeeda Switlo, Leon Higinio

Belize and Vancouver, BC

Valued at $750K

Deal: $150K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$80Kfor 20%

ProDr8

David Walcott

St. Lazare, QC

Valued at $400K

Deal: $150K for 35%

Closed

$50Kfor 5%

Quench

Nasre Sadik, Karl-Javid Lalonde- Dhanji

Montreal, QC

Valued at $1M

Deal: $150K for 10%

In businessVisit website

$75Kfor 5%

Loko

Vivek Jain

Regina, SK

Valued at $1.5M

Deal: $150K for 10%

Status unknownVisit website

150K 20%

Exit Speed

Jeff Ellsworth, Jeff Keough

Mermaid, PE

Deal: $150K for 10%

Closed

$70Kfor 20%

Custom Heats

Nadim & Rami Yahia

La Prairie, QC

Valued at $350K

Deal: $150K for 33%

In businessVisit website

$90Kfor 15%

Genuine Tea

Sarah Wilcox, David O'Connor

Toronto, ON

Valued at $600K

Deal: $150K for 30%

In businessVisit website

$100Kfor 20%

Mary’s Brigadeiro

Mariane Oliviera and Jason Coombs

Toronto, ON

Valued at $500K

Deal: $150K for 33%

In businessVisit website

$150Kfor 10%

Akuspike

Paul De Jersey and Sergey Nazarov

Vancouver, BC

Valued at $1.5M

Deal: $150K for 10%

Status unknownVisit website

$150Kfor 20%

Eve’s Crackers

Eve Laird and Sarah Cartwright

Vancouver, BC

Valued at $750K

Deal: $150K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$150Kfor 10%

Smooth 42 Craft Distillery

Sacha Elez & Adam Dombowsky

Brownlee, SK

Valued at $1.5M

Deal: $150K for 15%

In businessVisit website

$150Kfor 6%

Easy Platter

Mandir Singh

Halifax, NS

Valued at $2.5M

Deal: $150K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$100Kfor 10%

Bee Better

Markos Bitsakakis

Milton, ON

Valued at $1M

Deal: $150K for 15%

In businessVisit website

$150Kfor 5%

MATT Concrete

Randy and Kevin Orr

Delta, BC

Valued at $3M

Deal: $150K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$150Kfor 12%

Coffee Bike

Vladislav Priadko

Vancouver, BC

Valued at $1.25M

Deal: $150K for 15%

In businessVisit website

$145Kfor 18%

Aob

Aaron and Jay O’Bryan

Toronto, ON

Valued at $806K

Deal: $145K for 20%

Closed

$125Kfor 25%

Sure Fire Cube

Sean Price

Elgin, ON

Valued at $500K

Deal: $125K for 40%

In businessVisit website

$125Kfor 20%

Healthy Pets

Emma Harris

Oakville, ON

Valued at $625K

Deal: $125K for 25%

Closed

$100Kfor 10%

HelpWear

Andre Bertram & Frank Nguyen

Toronto, ON

Valued at $1M

Deal: $100K for 12%

In businessVisit website

$100Kfor 20%

NeuroReset Inc.

Mark Metus & Greg Phillips

Collingwood, ON

Valued at $500K

Deal: $100K for 30%

Closed

$100Kfor 5%

PilotsFriend

Ali Asghari, Arash Hosseini

Calgary, AB

Valued at $2M

Deal: $100K for 21%

In businessVisit website

$100Kfor 10%

Driving Miss Daisy Seniors’ Service

Tara Armstrong, Bev Halisky

Delta, BC

Valued at $1M

Deal: $100K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$100Kfor 20%

Tuesday in Love

Umar Dar, Farah Katchi

Mississauga, ON

Valued at $500K

Deal: $100K for 30%

In businessVisit website

$50Kfor 20%

SwiftGrade

Ash Misquith

Vancouver, BC

Valued at $250K

Deal: $100K for 21%

In businessVisit website

$100Kfor 10%

Wide The Brand

Mahrzad Lari

Montreal, QC

Valued at $1M

Deal: $100K for 20%

In businessVisit website

$100Kfor 10%

Mossify

Lucas Picciolo

Markham, ON

Valued at $1M

Deal: $100K for 15%

In businessVisit website

$100Kfor 20%

Dragonfly Wingman

Mike Dunlop

King, ON

Valued at $500K

Deal: $100K for 30%

In businessVisit website

$100Kfor 20%

Bokay Dating

Ali Moman and Carlos Sabbah

Toronto, ON

Valued at $500K

Deal: $100K for 20%

Closed

$90Kfor 10%

Fuud

Jason Golbey, Thomas Buchan & Ryland Haggis

Vancouver, BC

Valued at $900K

Deal: $90K for 35%

Status unknownVisit website

$20Kfor 10%

Summary Scanner

Kevin Chau

Toronto, ON

Valued at $200K

Deal: $60K for 30%

In businessVisit website

$50Kfor 20%

Sneakertub

Kamaj Silva

Mississauga, ON

Valued at $250K

Deal: $50K for 40%

In businessVisit website

$50Kfor 20%

Knosis Nutrition

Erik Bywater

Lower Sackville, NS

Valued at $250K

Deal: $50K for 20%

Closed

$50Kfor 15%

Triple Play Cleaner

Terry MacAllister

Hespeler, ON

Valued at $333K

Deal: $50K for 15%

In businessVisit website

$50Kfor 20%

Somedays

Lux Perry and Domunique

Vancouver, BC

Valued at $250K

Deal: $50K for 20%

Status unknownVisit website

$10Kfor 50%

Aidify

Edlyn and Nico To

Toronto, ON

Valued at $20K

Deal: $50K for 50%

In businessVisit website

$15Kfor 10%

Funky Tails Products Inc.

Brent Poulton

Chilliwack, BC

Valued at $150K

Deal: $30K for 12%

In businessVisit website

$25Kfor 15%

Qu’Est-Ce Que Phoque Productions

Carl Nickerson & Giovanni Iuliani

Montreal, QC

Valued at $167K

Deal: $25K for 10%

Status unknown

$25Kfor 25%

Mandex

Brent Anderson

Ancaster, ON

Valued at $100K

Deal: $25K for 25%

In businessVisit website

$25Kfor 20%

reMIXed

Isabelle Lam, Jamie Lee

Markham, ON

Valued at $125K

Deal: $25K for 35%

Closed

$3Kfor 25%

Dare To Dream: Tweens’ Road To Success

Shervin Azar

Abbotsford, BC

Valued at $12K

Deal: $3K for 25%

Status unknown