I know I know, shows like this are light entertainment. They are no business school. That said, they show very clearly how America got into a terrible recession, now lessons were not learnt and how not to do business.
It launched with the mission to be an antidote to the recession, to show how business can boom and flourish in tough times. However it fails to learn from the mistakes and instead dives straight back into the sort of behaviour that caused the crisis in the first place.
The sharks make for fun TV, and vary from respectful to hateful. Kevin is one of the worst for denigrating guests but weirdly having watched three seasons he is one of the most sensible and if you read through the bluster there is some decency. But decency is few and far between.
And - the big test of time - most of the companies have disappeared from the first three seasons. Investment or not, they nearly all die. Which is a damning assessment of the influence of the sharks, the power of TV advertising and the spirit that the show is trying to portray.
Yes there's been a couple of big hits, but given the amount of product pitches I'd say it's probably below average for the normal business success rate. Shark Tanks is almost a place where products gone to die.
Really it's a lesson how not to do business: become indebted, treat people like dirt, bully people, push out other investors for the hell of it... but it makes for okay TV. Just don't use it as a lesson in business.
It launched with the mission to be an antidote to the recession, to show how business can boom and flourish in tough times. However it fails to learn from the mistakes and instead dives straight back into the sort of behaviour that caused the crisis in the first place.
The sharks make for fun TV, and vary from respectful to hateful. Kevin is one of the worst for denigrating guests but weirdly having watched three seasons he is one of the most sensible and if you read through the bluster there is some decency. But decency is few and far between.
- The sharks want it ALL. Equity stakes of up to 80% sometimes (100% even offered). They don't want to partner and encourage entrepreneurs, they want to take control and reduce any drive from the pitchers.
- They are bullies. They often zero respect for fellow humans and business people. Yes you have more money - but that doesn't remove common decency. Frequent tantrums like withdrawing their offer as the guest didn't answer quick enough (this is people's lives that they are deciding under the spotlights) or placing arbitrary time limits to rush decision making are completely unacceptable.
- The pitchers spend SO much money before they even hit the den. Hundreds of thousands on development and patents before they've even tested the market. This is a dangerous lesson that is perpetuated in America - and lines the pockets of patents lawyers. Hence they come into the tank indebted and desperate before they've even sold a product.
- Most deals fall through. Having read up all the pitches, deals tend to fall through - as once the TV excitement has gone the sharks lose interest (and in fairness, sometimes the pitchers too). What's really bad is sometimes a shark will outbid another shark in a fit of arrogance - only to then let it drop after the show. The other investor may have added value but they take the view of "If it can't be mine, it can't be anyone's".
And - the big test of time - most of the companies have disappeared from the first three seasons. Investment or not, they nearly all die. Which is a damning assessment of the influence of the sharks, the power of TV advertising and the spirit that the show is trying to portray.
Yes there's been a couple of big hits, but given the amount of product pitches I'd say it's probably below average for the normal business success rate. Shark Tanks is almost a place where products gone to die.
Really it's a lesson how not to do business: become indebted, treat people like dirt, bully people, push out other investors for the hell of it... but it makes for okay TV. Just don't use it as a lesson in business.