Here’s how I know The Red Dress Boutique was one of the most successful pitches on Shark Tank. No, it wasn’t the sales figures that came in later updates. It wasn’t the compelling discussion with Mark Cuban on Beyond the Tank about whether or not to revamp their website (which had additional drama because they’d already signed a…
Category: Shark Tank
‘Shark Tank,’ Wicked Good Cupcakes, The Mason Baker And The Challenge Of Finding An Original Idea
Each day at exactly 12:00pm, or thereabouts, I get a Google Alerts email for the keyword “Shark Tank.” Usually, it’s a collection of CNBC reports on some benign statements from one of the sharks, updates from aggregate news sites on past pitchers designed (I assume) to take advantage of that SEO spike when episodes rerun,…
Chris Sacca Was The Best Guest Shark On ‘Shark Tank’
At some point, I plan to write a blog post that ranks all of Shark Tank‘s guest sharks, because thinking about Shark Tank makes me happy. I don’t have a definitive ranking established yet, although I know who will come out on top: Chris Sacca. Not just because he wore those cool cowboy shirts. But because he…
‘Shark Tank’ Needs A Wiki So We Know What Happened To Everyone Who’s Ever Been On The Show
In December 2016, Don Wildman and Jake Sullivan came on to Shark Tank pitching their product, Hand Out Gloves, that gives you full hand dexterity while you’re on the ski slopes. Sullivan, in his late-20s, was an able Shark Tank sales person; Wildman, in his early-80s, had a hefty business credential: starting Bally’s Fitness, a brand many…
Olivier Noel Of DNASimple Came To ‘Shark Tank’ As Part Of A Revolutionary Movement
Olivier Noel came on to Shark Tank touting the benefits to researchers of his company DNASimple: relevant biological tissues, available on-demand so studies could run more quickly. Instead of spending precious time finding samples, academics could have access almost immediately, allowing them to jump ahead to the testing and analysis part of the research. But there’s…
Lessons From ‘Dragons’ Den’: Why It’s the Judges, Not the Entrepreneurs, That Make the Pitch
Shark Tank announced last week that Alex Rodriguez would be back on Season 10 as a guest shark. It’s not a shock; with the amount of time that ARod spent hanging out with cast members outside the Shark Tank studio it seemed he was either angling for a permanent spot on the program or trying to…
Why Nootrobox (aka HVMN) Has the Weirdest ‘Shark Tank’ Story Ever
“Do you mind if you tell us more about what’s in it before we eat them? I don’t wanna get roofied.” – Chris Sacca Back in 2016, Geoff Woo and Michael Brandt went on Shark Tank to pitch Nootrobox, a company that catered to “biohackers,” or people who see the human body as an organic computer program…
Snarky Tea Founder Jenni-Lyn Williams Never Thought She’d Be Allowed On ‘Shark Tank’
When Jenni-Lyn Williams pitched Shark Tank, she was eight months pregnant with her second child. She also was only weeks from having sent the show producers an email, expressing interest in appearing on the program. Unlike legions of Shark Tank entrepreneurs who apply year after year, attend casting calls and otherwise reach out in vain hope of…
Why Kevin O’Leary Says ‘Shark Tank’ Doesn’t Glamorize Entrepreneurship
Anyone who’s watched even a few episodes of Shark Tank notices there’s a pattern: some entrepreneurs get deals, set to uplifting music, while others don’t, and those who miss out on getting a shark partner sometimes express disappointment or regret. Those who don’t get a deal are rarely profiled on Shark Tank updates, and even those who…
Sarah Field 