As of Nov. 3, Atlantic Canada will have watched three of its startups pitch to angel investors and venture capitalists on the CBC’s popular reality show Dragons' Den this fall, with two of the three companies having so far secured investment.

In September, an episode aired in which Mahone Bay entrepreneur Mark Lowe agreed to sell 32 percent of his company, Lobster Made Easy, to marketing executive Arlene Dickinson for $350,000. In last week’s episode, Dartmouth-based Ring Rescue shook hands on selling 15 percent of its business for $400,000 to Clearbanc CEO Michele Romanow and cybersecurity entrepreneur Robert Herjavec. And Halifax’s Side Door has filmed a pitch that will air next Thursday.

“It’s a national stage, and whether or not it works out from an investment standpoint, it’s an amazing marketing mechanism for them,” said Matt Cooper, CEO of Halifax startup hub Volta, where Side Door is a resident company.

“And they (the three Atlantic startups) all have really compelling products. They’re solving very real problems.”

Dragons' Den’s weekly viewership often exceeds 2 million, sometimes even 3 million people. Entrepreneurs who pitch on the show have described a phenomenon dubbed, “the Dragons' Den effect,” whereby their sales spike radically after their episode airs.

Lobster Made Easy, meanwhile, sells frozen lobster that can be cooked in a microwave.

Cooking live lobster releases a foul odour that makes the process untenable for many restaurant kitchens. And for grocery stores, stocking live lobster in tanks is expensive and logistically complex. So, Lowe has developed a system whereby the frozen lobster can be microwaved inside a plastic bag, with excess gas venting through a valve specially designed to contain the smell.

Ring Rescue, founded by Dalhousie University-trained engineers Patrick Hennessey and Brad MacKeil and Dartmouth General emergency room physician Dr. Kevin Spencer, sells two systems for removing stuck jewelry from people’s fingers.

One system uses a compression device to shrink the finger and a non-hydratingl ubricant to dislodge rings without damaging them, and the other cuts rings off using a cutting disc controlled by a computer system for improved safety compared to fully manual cutting.

And Side Door is an online platform that helps artists organize performances at unconventional venues.

Entrepreneurs Laura Simpson and Dan Mangan founded the company in 2017 with the mission of building a platform that would connect music acts with people willing to host performances in their homes or other small spaces. The company, which raised US$3 million last year, is preparing to launch Version 3 of its product. 

Side Door's Dragons' Den episode will air on the CBC Thursday Nov. 3 at 8:00 p.m. Atlantic and 8:30 p.m. Newfoundland Time.

Dickinson has already invested in an Atlantic Canadian startup. Her District Ventures Capital fund last year accounted for half of the $10 million funding round raised by Halifax-based food supplement-maker Outcast Foods.