Simon Woodroffe

Founder and creator of YO! Sushi keynote speaker Simon Woodroffe was one of the dragons in the very first Dragon’s Den. He departed the show after one series describing it as ‘a battle of egos’.

Simon Woodroffe left school with just two O Levels and became a designer of stage sets for big stadium rock bands. In 1997 he launched the YO! Sushi business with almost no capital at all.

In September 2003 he sold his controlling interest in YO! Sushi in a ten million pound deal. Simon retained a twenty-two per cent stake and continued working as an entrepreneur, taking some time out occasionally to present on TV. Today he has has sold his remaining stake, but is entitled to one per cent of gross sales in perpetuity.

In 2008 he launched YOTEL, ‘luxury in just 10 sq metres’. Today Simon runs the YO! Company, full of innovative ideas such as YO! Home, he speaks around the world, and he has appeared at the Edinburgh Festival telling the whole YO! Story.