$1Mfor 10%
Protein Candy
Valued at $10M
The pitch
Horace Thomas from Toronto, ON, pitched TruReal in Season 16, Episode 7, asking the Dragons for $900K for 5% of the company.
- Asked for$900K for 5%
- Valuation$18Mimplied by the ask
- OutcomeNo deal
Offers in the Den
| Dragon | Offer | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Arlene Dickinson | Out - felt the pitch reflected greed disguised as charity and lacked substance | Out |
| Manjit Minhas | Out - felt claims were bogus and unsubstantiated | Out |
| Vincenzo Guzzo | Out - concerned that $4 million raised had been spent with nothing to show | Out |
| Michele Romanow | Out - felt pitch was unclear and product undifferentiated | Out |
| Wes Hall | Out - felt the for-profit model was not fully developed | Out |
Horace Thomas of Toronto pitched Trureal, asking for $900,000 for 5% equity, valuing the company at $18 million. Trureal is a for-profit platform that links payment cards to registered charities, allowing users to donate cash-back rewards. The company has generated about $42,000 in revenue since a 2015 launch as a prepaid card company before pivoting to a card-linking model, and had raised roughly $4 million from friends and family, which had been fully spent building the platform.
All five Dragons went out. Arlene Dickinson felt the charitable framing masked a for-profit motive and called the model greedy. Manjit Minhas and Vincenzo Guzzo questioned the credibility of the claims and the use of the $4 million already raised. Michele Romanow found the pitch unclear and undifferentiated, and Wes Hall felt the for-profit business was not fully developed despite an interest in the charitable cause. No deal was made.
Pitch details from CBC’s Dragons’ Den pitch page.
TruReal today
- StatusIn businessLast checked September 2026
TruReal is still operating and sells through its website.