Swim with the 'Sharks'

[Dien Rice]

Hi Robert and Phil and all,

Thanks for mentioning "Shark Tank"! I was thinking about writing a post about this myself...!

I've been a fan of the British show "Dragon's Den" for a long time... There's also a Canadian "Dragon's Den". "Shark Tank" is the American version... The original, I believe, was Japanese...

(I think you can see the British "Dragon's Den" in the USA on cable TV. You can also catch a lot of episodes of all of these shows on YouTube...)

Firstly, it's a great show for an entrepreneurial education! If you have any entrepreneurial aspirations at all, it is good to watch it for a dose of "reality"... The "sharks" / "dragons" sometimes give some really good (and realistic) advice...

Entrepreneurship is NOT always "easy"! It is easy to throw away a lot of money, then throw more good money after bad. Many of these fledgeling entrepreneurs have not checked if there is a market for their product, or they have not solved the problem of competition (e.g. they may have no "toll position"), or haven't solved some glaring problems with their idea or their business. Watching this show is a good way to become aware of many of these things for your own business pursuits.

One thing I miss with "Shark Tank" compared to the British "Dragon's Den" is in the British show (and I think in the Canadian show too), they interview the fledgeling entrepreneurs after they've met the dragons, however, they don't do that in the American show. I think that's a shame, since what the fledgeling entrepreneurs have to say about the "dragons" (or would have to say about the "sharks") can be quite revealing about the fledgeling entrepreneurs' mindset... (And it helps to sometimes reveal the "wrong" - or "right" - mindset to have.)

Nevertheless, they are all great shows for an entrepreneurial education! In both cases, as I mentioned, the "sharks" / "dragons" give some pretty good advice, which is good to pay attention to if you have entrepreneurial aspirations yourself!

- Dien