Shark Tank

Typically when you mention a sales pitch to the average person, the first thing they’ll think of is Shark Tank, the incredibly successful TV show on ABC featuring some of the largest startup investors of all time. Although highly entertaining and plays out almost like a soap opera after the pitcher is done presenting their business idea, watching an episode can provide incredible insight to entrepreneurs who are looking for investments/presenting their ideas. The show is currently on its eleventh season after premiering in August of 2009, and some companies have seen massive sales growth due to appearing on the show and being invested by one of five investors of the show, such as the Squatty Potty and Scrub Daddy. Revenues for each company are estimated at $164 million and $209 million, respectively.

Although viewership for the show has seen a large decrease over the years, witnessing individuals presenting their ideas to potential investors is incredibly helpful to other potential startup entrepreneurs. Many people are able to watch episodes, such as the ones involving the companies mentioned in the previous paragraph, and gain insight and information to improve their pitches. In fact, for last semester’s Elevator Pitch Competition, I watched several episodes to grasp how exactly to present my idea to the judges of the competition. Looking back, there were some mistakes I had made that could’ve been avoided, such as really expressing the need for my idea, which was an external autofocus system for cinema cameras, to exist, which was lacking in my presentation in the Final Round. However, Shark Tank was an extremely helpful resource for my first “official” pitch, as well as for other future entrepreneurs.