‘Shark Tank’: Barbara Corcoran Voiced Concern that the Show Gives the Impression Entrepreneurs Can ‘Get Rich Overnight’
Barbara Corcoran has helped numerous entrepreneurs build successful companies from her seat on the Shark Tank panel. The popularity of the ABC reality show has attracted scores of aspiring business owners vying for a spot on the now-famous red carpet. Corcoran pointed out that even a perfect pitch doesn’t guarantee money in the bank.
Barbara Corcoran noted that business ownership is a process
Corcoran has been on the Shark Tank panel since the show’s premiere in 2009. Seeing how entrepreneurs have gotten massive boosts in sales after being on the show (known as the “Shark Tank effect”), the real estate guru clarified that pitching one idea isn’t a ticket to quick riches. Aspiring business owners need to focus on the lifetime of their company with all of its ups and downs.
“Shark Tank‘s made everybody believe that if they have one good idea, they can get rich overnight,” Corcoran told Inc. “It’s made people believe that the pitch is the business. All the pitch is is the first date. It is the building of the business that is the marriage.”
Another misconception Corcoran felt entrepreneurs may have entering the Tank is that taking an investment is the only way to succeed.
“Also, it’s made people believe that the right way to fund any business is through investors,” the Shark Tank star remarked, “by giving away equity, which makes absolutely no sense to 99 percent of the businesses out there.”
Entrepreneurs have changed over 13 seasons of ‘Shark Tank’
With the massive success of Shark Tank, entrepreneurs approaching the panel of famous investors in more recent seasons have clearly done their homework as opposed to earlier shows. Businesses being pitched have steeper valuations and lack the more outlandish qualities of products being pitched when the series started out.
“The engineer who asked for $1 million to build a water tank in the ocean to turn seawater to gold,” Corcoran recalled. “That’s great TV. The guy with the Bluetooth device that you put in your ear and had to have surgically removed when the battery ran out. Great TV. The dentist who said you brush your teeth with my toothpaste and it puts you to sleep at night. Great TV.”
Corcoran gravitated towards entrepreneurs in those early days since she found them to be more humble and she could provide more mentorship. She is drawn to those that are “wet behind the ears. I can make a bigger difference,” she said. “They don’t have ridiculous valuations. They’re not cocky.”
Barbara Corcoran advises caution with finances
The Shark Tank panelist built her multimillion-dollar real estate empire from a $1,000 loan and knows the value of a buck. Corcoran encouraged entrepreneurs to make sure an expense is worth it before loosening the purse strings.
“The best way to fund any company is bootstrapping,” Corcoran explained. “You spend your money smartly, because you don’t have enough. Every dime I had, I had to think about best use. It’s real money. It’s hard-earned money. It is born out of enormous hard work. That’s the kind of money you don’t lose so fast.”
