James Watt is to launch his own business reality TV show with a £2m prize to be won.
House of Unicorns will see entrepreneurs and business leaders compete for the largest cash prize in what he claims to be “the largest in UK television history”.
BrewDog co-founder Mr Watt will be investing £1m of his own money and has promised “trials, tears and triumphs” when it airs later this year.
Founders, entrepreneurs and business leaders will compete over six weeks for a chance to win the money.
Viewers to decide who wins
As the show’s lead judge, Mr Watt will decide the winner of half the money. The other £1m will be decided by House of Unicorn viewers in a public vote.
Mr Watt said: “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.
“And I’m sure many viewers are too. That’s why House of Unicorn was born.
“We’re on a mission to double the amount of unicorns coming out the UK and kickstart our economy.
“Over six weeks we will push some the UK’s most exciting businesses and entrepreneurs to their limits and take them way outside their comfort zone.
“There will be trials, tears and triumphs. And at the end of it all somebody will claim the biggest cash prize in TV history.”
Broadcasting deal being discussed
Mr Watt will be investing £1m of his own money in the chosen winner, with the other 50% coming from Founders Capital – Europe’s largest founder investor community.
In a TV first, House of Unicorn viewers will be able to get in on the investment action, and invest pound for pound, in the winning businesses alongside Mr Watt on exactly the same terms.
As soon as the winners are announced on the show, the businesses will go live on Crowdcube giving the viewer the opportunity to participate in the deals, in real-time.
The show is being produced by Whisper Productions and has had interest from several broadcasters and platforms, with discussions on-going over where it will be broadcast.
Mr Watt, who is an investor in more than 50 businesses, is no stranger to reality TV having applied to be on Dragons Den in 2008 with his BrewDog co-founder Martin Dickie.
But the duo were not chosen for investment in the Ellon-based business after taking part in a screen test with business tycoon Deborah Meaden.
He described them both as bring “totally crushed” at the time.
What is a unicorn business?
A unicorn is a start-up valued at £813,000,000 ($1 billion) or more.
The UK currently has an estimated 400,000 start-ups, of these only 86 have achieved the prestigious unicorn status – six of which achieved it in 2024.
Globally, the UK is ranked fourth in total unicorn businesses created, behind India, China and United States.
House of Unicorns is expected to air later this year.
Applications for the show are now open at www.houseofunicorns.com
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