SOWPub Small Business Forums - Why I'm crazy about THIS TV show...

Hi Mack,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I agree pretty much with everything you said!

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Originally Posted by Bigmack (Post 30398)

Dien, my wife and I love that show. One of the things we picked up was how many times the sharks will invest if they like the person. Of course the numbers have to be right, but they are also looking at, "do I want to partner with this person". If they don't like the person and they like the product or idea and the numbers are right, they try to buy them out. I remember one where they said to the guy, I think it was, I don't want to be your partner, I'll give you a check for the whole thing and you go away.

Yes, I noticed this, too!

I also noticed one of the things they have commented on is whether they feel they can "trust" the person.

People have lost a lot of money by partnering with "untrustworthy" people. An untrustworthy person can just "skip town" with all the money, and you never see them again.

I think that's one reason why "trustworthiness" is so crucial in a business partner...

By the way, in one of his earlier businesses, Mark Cuban had $83k (out of the $85k in their bank account) stolen by a secretary, who then disappeared. You can read about it here or here (then search on the page for "Renee" which was the name of the secretary)...

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Another important thing they always look at is, can this be scaled up easily.

This is something I should keep in mind more often, too... :)

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Many very good lessons to be learned watching that show. And you're right about Mark Cuban, he really makes it interesting. I love it when he says, I want an answer right now or no deal.

He's certainly not afraid to stir things up with the other sharks!

Also, he always seems to be on the side of the entrepreneur. The only exception I can recall is when he thought a particular person's business was a "scam" (supposed "negative ion" watches - Mark Cuban thought any benefits were due to a placebo effect, and the other sharks were pretty skeptical about it, too)...

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The final thing I really like is when one of the people pitching their idea actually say what they are really there for is to partner with one of the sharks, because really the money is secondary, it is the partnership with the shark that is the real value.

Yes - and of course, you can see why. It could be an amazing learning experience as well, to tap into their knowhow, plus the value of their contacts could be critical to having the business be a big success...

Thanks, Mack!

- Dien