My husband decided that he would record a show for me. Normally I don’t like it when he decides that he knows what I like mainly because he doesn’t always get it right. It usually ends up being something that HE likes and would like to see me like it too. Not a bad thing just an observation.
Anyway, he recorded a new reality show that premiered last night on ABC called Shark Tank. For the most part, I don’t like reality shows. If you happen to love those kinds of shows, I am sorry but I just don’t like to get sucked up in all the drama that shows like that depict. That being said, I am a marketer and an entrepreneur so I decided to give this show a try.
I have to say that I really, really like it. Yes, there is a little drama but they do have to do that to get peoples attention these days. So, the premise of the show is that entrepreneurs looking for venture capital go before five tough, mulit-millionaire tycoons and try to convince at least one of them to invest in their company for a percentage of that entrepreneurs company.
Who Are The Investors (A.K.A Sharks)
Barbara Corcoran – Is a real estate mogul who took a $1000 loan and turned it into a real estate empire worth 5 billion dollars and she did it in one of the toughest real estate areas of the US, Manhattan. She is also the only woman on the show.
Kevin Harrington – Known as the “King of Infomercials” is a genius at marketing products such as the Obama coin and the Rock N Roll Stepper and has made billions of dollars in sales. Keven is the CEO of TVGoods.com.
Robert Herjavek – Saw his fortune in technology. His first company BRAK systems soon became a top provider of Internet security software in Canada, worth $100 million dollars. Since then he has sold many internet companies to the tune of 350 million dollars
Daymond John – Is the founder, president and CEO of FUBU clothing line. A true home based business owner, Daymond started his business in the home that he owned with his mother. Today, he is regarded as one of the most sought after speakers in the fashion industry.
Kevin O’Leary – Is another true home based business entrepreneur who started a software business in his basement which he later sold for 3.7 billion dollars.
How It Works
So each weak entrepreneurs from across the country go before the Sharks and present their business products, concepts, properties and services in the hopes of convincing one of the investors (Sharks) to invest their own money in the concept. From what I saw of last night’s show, that is no easy task.
Who Went Into The Tank
First up was Mr Todd from Mr todd’s Pies. This guy struggled with his business in the beginning to where he lived in his car for 4 months when he was starting out. He is very emotional about his business. You can tell that he really loves what he does and it’s clear that he put’s out a great product.
Here’s what I see. Mr Todd runs a wholesale and a retail business selling his pies. He plainly states that the majority of his business comes from one product his sweet potato pie but he seems pretty insistent on marketing all of his pie varieties. He even is working on a deal with McDonalds that would have his sweet potato pie in front of just about everyone in the US.
The result – he got his money but he had to give up 50% of his company to get it.
Next up – Darrin Johnsondeveloped a Bluetooth device that would be implanted into a person via surgery. He presented his innovative device to the sharks and within just minutes all of them were out. I have to tell you that I was breathing a sigh of relief because what he was prosposing was just plain freaky. Having surgery to implant a device so that you could answer your cell phone without wearing an earpiece was too wierd for the tycoons.
What he did right. He saw a need in that people that use Bluetooth technology have to deal with some incoviences in that the devices don’t always stay in place but his solution was so drastic that I don’t see it being a solution anytime in the near future.
The result – thankfully there were no takers.
Third up is Kevin Flanneryfrom my own backyard of Cary, North Carolina. He currently runs his business out of his home office that doubles as his little girls playroom. His product called “WiSpots” is basically (I hope I have this right) a way to keep patients occupied while they are in the waiting room waiting to be seen by their doctor. These little TV’s will have games for the kids, surveys, advertisements, a way to request educational information, surf the web, answer emails, etc. and it provides a revenue source for the doctors. And the pharmaceutical companies and other advertisers would be paying to have their ads on the device.
Here is the problem as I see it – I think that he has a great idea but it would take someone to sell the ad space and I don’t know of many doctor’s offices that have a marketing division. Most people are already inundated with advertisements already and don’t particularly like being in waiting rooms, I just don’t see how his device would appeal to anyone but the kids for the games and they aren’t going to be the ones to buy whatever is being sold in those ads.
The result – sorry to say that there wasn’t a shark willing to bite into his business idea.
That’s as far as I got in last night’s show. What did you think of the show? Let me know by leaving a comment. Did you get any ideas about running your business from the show? What would you have done differently from the contestants on the show? Would you have invested in any of the ideas that the Sharks didn’t like? I’d love to see what others thought of Shark Tank.
