{"id":43581,"date":"2023-10-20T15:29:37","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/why-everyone-should-watch-shark-tank-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:29:37","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:29:37","slug":"why-everyone-should-watch-shark-tank-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/why-everyone-should-watch-shark-tank-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Why everyone should watch Shark Tank – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/div>\n

This year saw the debut of Shark Tank Australia<\/i>, the latest version of a reality TV franchise where entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas to wealthy entrepreneurial investors, seeking funding and partnership. Starting in Japan (Money Tigers<\/i>), most versions are based on the UK version (Dragon\u2019s Den<\/i>).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My initial reaction to hearing about the Oz version of Shark Tank<\/i> was \u201coh no, here we go again\u201d. This was primarily informed by the sometime raucous, loud and adversarial nature of the US version. While entertaining at times, the voyeuristic reality angle was overplayed and the action was too often over the top (for me).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I enjoy talking business, life and startups with James Crawford, CEO of Beanhunter (world\u2019s best app to find the best coffee)\u200a\u2014\u200aand I listen to his counsel. He urged me to watch Shark Tank<\/i>, which I did and now regularly do.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And here\u2019s why I think everyone should watch it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Welcome to Business 101<\/b><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shark Tank<\/i> covers a number of fundamental business concepts, complete with examples and counter-examples of execution. These aren\u2019t theoretical: they\u2019re actual practice, giving rise to real questions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Where do I start:<\/p>\n

    <\/ul>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    • Business model<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n
      • Valuation<\/li>\n
      • Defensibility<\/li>\n
      • Costs \/ Revenue \/ Profit \/ Cash flow<\/li>\n
      • Assets and liabilities<\/li>\n
      • Equity structures<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

         <\/p>\n

        It\u2019s all wrapped up in real pitches and conversations around real products, real entrepreneurs and real investors.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        I tell friends and family to watch so they can understand what\u2019s up with all those startups and business. I tell aspiring entrepreneurs to watch it to learn what\u2019s being asked and what you should be able to answer.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        And I watch it to learn how the sharks reason about opportunities and respond to them.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        How business is<\/b><\/h2>\n

         <\/p>\n

        In terms of pitching your business and investment: this is how it is. These are the types of great products and services being put out there, the work put in by the entrepreneurs, the questions that are asked of them, the business models, and the excitement and caution felt by investors.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        It\u2019s a great way for everyone to understand a bit of what\u2019s actually happening in business out there\u200a\u2014\u200anot just the wave of tech startups, but all the different types of businesses. It\u2019s a small but vivid window into the world of entrepreneurs and business.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        (The sharks don\u2019t decide on the basis of a 10-15 min pitch; it\u2019s more like a 60-90 min pitch\u200a\u2014\u200awhich is reasonable\u200a\u2014\u200athat\u2019s edited down for TV drama and shock value. Which could explain some of the sudden turns in the conversations.)<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Great school of sharks<\/b><\/h2>\n

         <\/p>\n

        I love our sharks. They are complementary and complimentary towards each other. They\u2019re also honest with each other and the entrepreneurs. They\u2019ll tell you when they\u2019re moved\u200a\u2014\u200aor when they\u2019re not impressed\u200a\u2014\u200aand they go straight to the real questions without messing around. They\u2019re respectful and constructive in their advice.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        The hero shots on the promos and episode lead-in feel over the top. I understand the motivation behind making the sharks intimidating,\u200abut \u200athey\u2019re actually passionate, gracious entrepreneurs who get on with it. In contrast, the US sharks can appear overblown and predatory.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        I\u2019m asking myself: which example do I want to emulate?<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Business = People<\/b><\/h2>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Shark Tank<\/i> sinks the common misnomer that business is about this clever product, or making money, or living out your passion \u2013 in fact, it\u2019s all of these things.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Most importantly, it reminds me that business is about people: buying from people, selling to people, working with people, dealing with people and overall, how you treat people.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Nowhere is this clearer than in pitch sessions where the business gets a big tick, but the sharks have questions around how the entrepreneurs are behaving: from how they\u2019re being respected in the deal (or not) to whether they\u2019re simply listening to the shark\u2019s advice (or not).<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        And sometimes it means none of the sharks want to make a deal.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Fundamentally, business comes down to an investment in people. Shark Tank<\/i> reminds me that how you deal with\u200a\u2014\u200aand think about people\u200a\u2014\u200ais absolutely crucial.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Hey, this is what I do!<\/b><\/h2>\n

         <\/p>\n

        At a completely self-centred level, Shark Tank<\/i> gives me a handy reference that I can sling out in conversation that explains a chunk of what I\u2019ve done and continue to do.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        \u201cIf you go watch Shark Tank \u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        These are the questions I\u2019ve had to answer and also ask. These are the types of businesses that I\u2019ve seen or maybe tried. These are the concerns that investors reasonably have.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        And we pitch. Always be pitching.<\/i><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Going back to basics: I think of a pitch not just as a presentation to give to investors to win money. It is a tight story of your product and business: where it\u2019s been, how it works and where it\u2019s going.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        It\u2019s just sometimes that you\u2019re asking for money.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Most often, you\u2019re pitching to hires, partners, suppliers and customers. And yes, you\u2019re also pitching to yourself and your co-founders. What is this business we\u2019re trying to do? No\u200a\u2013\u200awhat is it, really? And are we really convinced there\u2019s something there? To pitch well is to know your business<\/i>.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        I like to think that pitching is good, not because you can get up and spruik your business, but that the work needed to compile a pitch, understanding all facets of the business and summing it up succinctly, pays off well beyond the pitch.<\/p>\n

        <\/b><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Striving for the best of business<\/b><\/h2>\n

         <\/p>\n

        I enjoy Shark Tank\u2019s<\/i> tone and hope it continues like this.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        It tilts towards business behaviour that strives to be fair, emotional, sound, personal and professional. Sometimes, people and products are tested by fire\u200a\u2014\u200athis is how life and the market works\u200a\u2014\u200abut I haven\u2019t seen sharp or predatory practice. However, I have seen a lot of advice handed out.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        I hope others will take away something each week, as I\u2019ve been able to \u2013 ideas that challenge and that appeal to the better angels of our nature.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Life\u2019s too short to not strive to do our best to build things that matter and in a way that matters.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Dr Daniel May is a serial entrepreneur. He co-founded LIFX and is an advisor to Beanhunter, EnergySolaris and Chuffed. He is the co-founder of Launch48 Australia startup events (WeTeachMe, Shark Tank season 1, episode 8, was founded at Launch48). His next startup thankfully does not involve hardware.<\/em><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        This article originally appeared on<\/i> Medium<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

        <\/i><\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Do you know more on this story or have a tip of your own? Raising capital or launching a startup?<\/i> . Follow StartupSmart on<\/i> Facebook<\/i>,<\/i> Twitter<\/i>, and<\/i> LinkedIn<\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        This year saw the debut of Shark Tank Australia, the latest version of a reality TV franchise where entrepreneurs pitch their<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":59714,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,26],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43581"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59714"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}