Shark Tank - 100 episodes

[Dien Rice]

Originally Posted by Robert J.

Very much enjoyed the 100th episode of ABC's Shark Tank last night.

It is my Friday night entertainment now-a-days (not sure what that says about me!).

Looks like they are adding the Go Pro guy as a panelist. He's a bit edgy, and I'm not sure how he is going to fit in ... but it will be interesting to see.

Hi Robert,

I love Shark Tank! Though I gotta "catch up" on some episodes... You can certainly learn a thing or two from that show (including about shrewd negotiation)...

Personally, I like Mark Cuban the best. Apparently, the maker of the show (Finnmax) used to take a percentage of every business shown on the show (5% equity or 2% royalty), as a condition of going on it - until Mark Cuban told them he'd leave unless they stopped doing that. This was retroactive, so those who had appeared on the show before Mark Cuban made them stop taking a part-ownership, also had that portion of their companies which was taken from them, given back...

Sometimes, watching can prevent you from making big mistakes, too. I remember one show, where one guy had sold his house and gotten himself into huge debt, to fund an invention or business that really had no market. (I don't remember what the business was right now...) The thing is, he didn't do any market research, before pouring in his life savings! That's a good lesson, right there... The number one key to success is the market, and that's a lesson which you learn over and over on the show...

One thing you learn here at Sowpub is how you can have big monetary success, even with few resources... It might take a little audacity or "brass balls," and it might take a little non-standard thinking... Many posts here (including recently, Glenn's and Don Alm's, plus others) really show that...!

I think that's the only possibly "bad" thing about a show like "Shark Tank," is you can get the impression you need hundreds of thousands of bucks minimum to start a successful business. Of course - while having more money might increase your options - even without that kind of money, you can still potentially make big moolah...

One very successful entrepreneur I know personally is worth at least tens of millions of dollars. However, he always "bootstraps" any new business project he starts, and starts it with as little money spent as possible. That way, he can never lose much! If it doesn't work, he goes on to the next one... As you can imagine, he never loses much money, and when a project is successful, it makes much more moolah than the small amount of losses he may make in any of his unsuccessful business projects...

Best wishes,

Dien