We're going to the same university, and share an apartment, and one of the things we love to do is watch Shark Tank. We've become so enthralled with it that we've started watching Canadian Dragon's Den on YouTube. It has Kevin O'Leary and Robert Herjevek (sp?) as well, and is pretty good. I'm not totally sure why, but we both find it very compelling TV.
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Fame is but a slow decay.
-Theodore Tilton
Entrepreneurs looking for an investment get the chance to pitch their ideas to a five-person panel consisting of millionaires and billionaires (referred to as the sharks), in hopes of getting an investment in their company, in exchange for something, usually a percentage of their company. It always starts with the pitch itself. From there, the sharks usually ask some questions to get a better sense for the business. At any point after the pitch, a shark may declare him or herself out, meaning that he or she is no longer has any plans to make a deal. Once all five sharks are out, the entrepreneur must leave.
However, there's usually at least one shark willing to make a deal, though usually not the deal initially proposed (typically, they want a larger share of the company). From this point, there's usually some interesting negotiating. Sometimes the entrepreneur might wait for other offers, or make a counter offer to the shark's counter offer. It is especially interesting when several sharks want in on the deal, but don't want to go in together, but at the same time, don't want to give away too much money for too little in return.
There's also usually a short segment that gives an update, showing how an entrepreneur has fared. Sometimes, these are even individuals who failed to make a deal with a shark.
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Fame is but a slow decay.
-Theodore Tilton