Kudos to ABC for bringing small business to prime time. In Shark Tank, a panel of venture capitalists have the opportunity to invest in business ideas. Contestants pitch everything from pet food that promises miracles (preventing cancer!) and giant spheres with virtual reality training for the military to high-end plus-sized clothing and a website that allows college students to swap class notes (my personal favorite so far).
Not only are the ideas interesting, the way the sharks engage with the contestants is loaded with learning opportunities. Don’t have any sales track record to speak of? You’re outta here! Getting calls from a big company that’s interested in buying you out? The sharks get greedy. Got a hot product with little competition and proven market demand? Watch them battle for your attention.
Also interesting to note is that the vast majority of pitches have been for products (one noteable exception was Sacramento-based Remove Graffiti). This is an evergreen lesson for service-based businesses. If your business isn’t scaleable, if you are the heart of the business, what you have is a hobby. The sharks might invest if you have a team behind you, with processes in place for training and delivery, along with a solid sales track record with steady growth.
Shark Tank airs on Tuesday nights (with priority recording status on my TiVo!) and you can view past episodes on the website. If you are seeking venture capital for your great idea, you can join the casting call online. The sharks are seasoned entrepreneurs, each with their own rags to riches success story. My personal favorite is Barbara Corcoran, a self-made real estate mogul who turned a $1000 loan into a $5 billion enterprise.
Note to the powers that be at ABC: The video advertisement that streams when you land on the website – and cannot be paused – is incredibly annoying. If I did something like this on my business website, I would kill my traffic!
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October 20th, 2009 at 6:55 am
I can honestly say – The show is a joke!
The terms are disgusting and beyond one sided. The ‘learning opportunities’ are screwed up by the lack of reality around the fundraise. I half expect them to start doing car title loans. Most of the entrepreneurs on the show could solve these early funding problems with a credit card.
There is no diligence process and every decision is made based on knee jerk reactions. I watched 4 episodes and walked.
October 21st, 2009 at 9:57 am
Wow, very interesting response, Chad! The reactions to this entry on Facebook were quite a bit more positive.
We don’t get to see how much the sharks know about the business before they make a decision. I assume that they have some company background or that details are confirmed before any money exchanges hands. Regardless, I still find it interesting to learn about what the contestants have created, what opportunities they have uncovered and where they are headed.
I can’t say I agree with your point of view and you obviously don’t agree with mine, but that’s what keeps life interesting. Thanks for your thoughts.
November 1st, 2009 at 8:45 am
In my opinion, This show is very informative for people who wants to put up a business because they got a chance to get free business marketing advice from the experts. Who doesn’t want to know more about how to handle a business and what’s going on the minds of experts whenever a business opportunity knocks. If the show is fake or not? I don’t care as long as I got free tips from people who already achieved alot.