Swimming in the Shark Tank for Lessons

“Television is an idiot box” was a term that was coined decades back, but this is so far from truth today than it could ever be. Today, television informs, educates, inspires, trains and does so much more.

They say that if you want to swim with the sharks, then you better be a good swimmer and a good communicator because sharks are not the gentle and docile creatures that dolphins are, and one wrong step can turn out to be fatal. This brings me to one of the shows that I am hooked onto – Shark Tank.

Before you read any further, if you have not seen Shark Tank, then click on the links below and have a look at a few of these episodes:

Shark Tank: Season 8, Episode 15 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IromI9Nyfuc

Shark Tank: Season 8, Episode 17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipyc0-V0kR0

This show is in its 8^th Season and it is only growing bigger with more sharks coming into the show. As you would have seen, this show is all about dreams. One person dreams, comes to the show to sell his/her dreams and the sharks then invest in his/her business if they see merit and value in his/her dream.

I believe that there are lessons in this show for everyone, whether you are a businessman, a venture capitalist, a startup entrepreneur , a corporate employee, a marketer, or a student.

I have tried to put together a list of lessons that I think anyone and everyone can get from watching Shark Tank:

1. Presentation: One of the key lessons that you learn from watching Shark Tank is the different styles and ways of presenting your idea. Some present their ideas the way they would in a serious corporate Board Room, whereas some others go over the top and present their ideas with complete playacting, costume and voice modulation. Some others use their props in a smart manner and make it a part of their presentation like this person:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N4v17aWzjs

The lesson here is that there is no right or wrong way of presentation as long as you are able to tell your story to the audience and make them feel involved.

2. Negotiation: In life, irrespective of what you do, you come across situations where you have to negotiate with someone else. The amount of negotiation may be big or small, but if you do not want to be shortchanged, it is important that you know proper negotiation skills that involve knowing when to draw the line, when the other person is pulling a bluff on you and when the person will take your bait or leave it. Shark Tank will teach you amazing skills in negotiation not only from the sharks who are experts at this, but also from people who have come to sell their ideas. The best parts in the show are when either of the two parties are raising or dropping the bait to see who falls first. It gives you a good insight into human psychology and how desperation makes people do stupid things or how false bravado makes them miss their deals.

3. Innovation: The entire premise of this show is built around innovation. The sharks are not interested in investing in your business if you bring them run of the mill stuff which does not have a competitive advantage or where the barriers of business are too low. This show opens your mind to the world of innovation and the kind of ideas that people are coming up with. It changes your perspective on categories and makes you think on a different dimension.

4. Consumer Insight: The most creative and innovative idea is a waste if it is not built on a strong consumer insight. Every idea should solve a problem/cater to the need in the consumers’ life, even if the consumer is aware or not aware of that problem or need at that point of time. The kind of ideas that people come up with in this show and the genesis behind the creation of those ideas gives a fantastic lesson on how consumer insight can be mined or formed. Sometimes, the insight that the presenter presents on a category seems like an Aha moment because it is so obvious and yet it never struck you or any other company so far.

5. Vision and Valuation: It is important in life to know your worth and for others to be able to see your worth. Shark Tank is a great place to see how people are able to carve out a vision, value themselves and their vision and then ask for the sharks to invest in their vision. Sometimes the sharks agree with the vision and valuation and sometimes they do not and they give advice to the presenters on what the right value should be. Some of them agree whereas some of them take this on their chin with a clear agenda to prove the sharks wrong.  

6. Marketing: There are people on Shark Tank who come with sales figures already running in millions and it is a delight to hear their marketing approach on achieving these figures and reaching out to their audience. If you are smart, you can easily take some of those marketing ideas and adapt it to your own job or category.

7.  Selling: I began my lessons by talking about presentation but Shark Tank will also teach you that while a great presentation is helpful, you can still sell your idea or your business if you are a great salesperson. While a good presentation is normally a prerequisite, but even if that is not your forte, as long as you know your business and your passion and you are able to serve the fusion of this business acumen and passion to the sharks on a platter, their money is for yours to grab. “I’m Out” is one of the statements that no person presenting to the sharks ever wants to hear and only a good salesperson can avoid that.

I am confident that these are not the only lessons that Shark Tank teaches you and am sure that you would have your own lessons from this show. I would be glad to know what those lessons are so please let me know what lessons have you learnt from Shark Tank.

One thing that surprises me is that how come, India being a country of so many start-ups doesn’t have a show like this yet, or is it that a show like this exists and I am not aware of it. Do you guys know of any such show?