Maybe they’ll take away my Entrepreneur’s Secret Hat and Decoder Ring for saying this, but I hate Shark Tank.
My wife and son like it, and every time it comes on, my teeth start to grind and my eye does that little twitchy thing.
I’m not saying the investors don’t give some decent advice. They do. And most of the Sharks seem like reasonable people. (With Kevin O’Leary doing his duty as designated villain, obligatory on most reality shows.)
But the core premise of Shark Tank – I hate it. I think it’s wrong, and I think it’s dangerous, and I think it hurts business owners.
Here’s why.
The fundamental premise of Shark Tank is that people who have had big wins in business will automatically know more about your business than you do.
And underneath that is the part I really hate – the idea that some of us just have that “entrepreneurial gene,” and some don’t.
The Sharks have had some significant wins, so they’re “smart.” And as a small business owner? You’re just some fool who’s naive enough to think you can make a go of it on your own.
And so contestants audition for the right to go begging, hat in hand, to a handful of appointed gurus who might deign to take a large chunk of their business in exchange for a small amount of money. If they’re very very lucky.
Feh.