Shark Suggestions...

The show, Shark Tank, is one of the best examples of pitching a business plan. There are many aspects to consider when pitching a business plan, but the main focus of your pitch is to educate your investors on how your product is going to sell and make money. The sharks are only interested in making money. Each shark specializes in a different area, but will invest in any product that they feel will sell and be successful. It is really all about how is your product unique, how much do you believe in your product, what are your past sales, and how will this product make money.

Barbara and Robert are my two favorite sharks. Barbara specializes in Real Estate and is a highly intelligent woman when coming to investments. Robert focuses on technology and is a smart man when considering putting money into an investment. Both sharks have taught me a lot about investing in general, the effective ways to pitch a business plan idea, and what each “shark” wants to hear.

This show and these sharks have taught me that pitching a business plan idea is not always an easy task and things to think about along the way. I’ve learned that for an investor to even consider giving you an investment, you must have an idea that stands out. The sharks always find it interesting when other big companies have shown interest in your product as well. I plan to take my business plan concept and figure out how I can stand out, how I can be unique, and how my product will make money. After conducting research about each of these investors, it has really opened my eyes to determine if my business plan is good enough to sell, survive, and be successful. The sharks have taught me that the most important aspects of your business plan are obviously the financials and how well you present your idea. I plan to take their effective criticism, their advice on being successful, and maybe someday I will be presenting my idea in front of the shark tank.

Shark Tank Experts...

Barbara Corcoran was known as the girl with straight D’s in high school and in college, but by the time she was twenty-three, she had already had twenty jobs. Her twenty-first job was the start of her entrepreneurship and made her one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country. She started the Corcoran Group with just a $1,000 loan. “She parlayed that loan into a five-billion-dollar real estate business which she sold in 2001 for $66 million.” 

Barbara now contributes to NBC’s TODAY Show where she shares her weekly knowledge in the real estate market. She is also well known on ABC’s reality hit Shark Tank as an investor and shark. Since her time on Shark Tank, she has bought into eleven new businesses and is leading them to success. “Barbara is the author of three books including her most recent, Shark Tales, detailing her inspiring true story and her best advice for anyone starting a business.” She is known as a motivational, inspirational, sometimes outrageous, and tell-it-like-it-is attitude, but is a refreshing approach to success. According to WatchMojo’s interview with Barbara, she looks for a pattern in businesses and here are some things she considers:

“WatchMojo: What’s the common trait between all the investments you’ve made?

Barbara Corcoran: Oh, they have many things in common:

#1, each and everyone of them very high energy,

#2, they weren’t all great presenters, but they all had the right answers to the questions,

#3, they totally believe in their idea,

#4, which is harder to get in a TV form like that organized, I kept trying to say my success guide has got one, two, three as he or she organized, because I think you have to be organized or have a second in command to be organized for you if you are going to succeed in business.”

According to Barbara Corcoran, there are a few things she looks for, “Come on Shark Tank and give us your pitch! Make sure you can sell your product, because if you as the head of the company can't sell it, who will? Also be sure you're ready to answer the two key questions too many of the entrepreneurs who come on the show can't: 1) What will you do with my money? and 2) How will I get my investment back?”

“We all know the dot com industry has had its ups and downs over the past decade. But here's a guy who continually manages to bracket the boom with dollar signs! Robert Herjavec has lived the classic "rags to riches" story.” Robert use to wait tables for a living at a posh Yorkville restaurant. During the initial stages of the dot com craze, he realized that technology was the ticket to serious money. He soon then launched his first technology company, BRAK systems, which is now worth a reported $100 million dollars. He originally sold the company to AT&T in 2000, but that was just a start. He then negotiated another company to Nokia for $225 million.

He now heads The Herjavec Group, a leading IT security and infrastructure integration firm, instead of retiring. “His palatial 50,000 square foot Bridle Path mansion hosts luminaries like Michael Bublé and Mick Jagger. For thrills, Robert jets to a private island near Miami or cruises Yorkville in one of his many luxury cars.”

According to Robert Herjavec, there are a few things he looks for, “First step make sure you need investment – or do you simply need a loan. Most people that want an investment simply need a loan – keep in mind if a bank will not give you a loan – you are going to have a hard time with investors also. They are out there – this is the greatest time in history of concentration of investment capital in cash. Build a great business – everything else flows from that.”