Thanks to Bob Murphy http://bit.ly/rzhuI for this excellent review of “Shark Tank on ABC”.  I must admit that my personal view of the show has been a great comparison to that of the BBC America version of Dragons Den…and I loved it.  If you are interested in investment, then this is your show!

Swimming with the fishes can sometimes be fun and relaxing. But this summer ABC has taken that peaceful concept and is now throwing people into the Shark Tank.

The Premise

Every Sunday, inventors and business owners and some wanna-bes enter the room known as the Shark Tank attempting to hock their wares to the high profile investors known as The Sharks. The Sharks (Barbara Corcoran, Kevin O’Leary, Daymond, John, Kevin Harrington, and Robert Herjavek) attack each pitch person, grilling them, sometimes excessively, with questions designed to elicit the information that would make them want to invest or, in some cases, outright buy the product or company.

Criticism

The show has come under some criticism because often the Sharks will make fun of or criticize an idea or the person who refused an offer or who had a bizarre and entirely impractical idea. In the second episode of the show, for example, O’Leary and the other Sharks broke out laughing in response to a pitch in Episode 102 by Mary Ellen Simonsen for $500000 to develop her laptop sticky note fold-down holder. Cracking jokes nearly the entire time, the Sharks made fun of how she has “created a sticky pad for sticky pads.”

Business Tips Gleaned from Watching

This show is a must watch for those interested in taking their business to the next level, acquiring investors for their products or inventing and selling their own products. The show has not only entertainment value, but business value as well. The criticisms are unfounded when one takes into consideration that the Sharks often do share secrets or little known facts about getting into business. For example, on the second show of the season, O’Leary asked one business person, the co-creator of an apparel line, if he’d attempted to sell his wares at trade shows and if he has any standing orders. This information can be crucial for those who have ideas or products they wish to sell and may not know how best to go about it.