I must confess: I have a bit of a Shark Tank addiction right now.
For the past few months, the long-running reality series has been my dinner companion, bedtime treat and everything in between. It’s odd to say, especially since I don’t own or watch much of any cable television, but something about the 10-minute pitches has gripped me.
Shark Tank isn’t new to me, or to the world. The concept — entrepreneurs pitching their product to a group of investors in hopes of securing a business partnership with them — has been around for over a decade. It got its start in Japan in 2001 as the show Money Tigers before gaining significant popularity with a British version known as Dragon’s Den in 2005.
The American version, in which investors are lovingly known as sharks, launched in 2009 and, after just a few short seasons, became a fan favorite. It has since evolved into a phenomenon, accumulating over 350 episodes across 17 seasons and numerous awards and accolades, while delivering consistent ratings despite minimal changes in concept.
That consistency makes Shark Tank resonate. From the very first season, the show’s basic premise has remained unchanged. And, for the most part, so too have the sharks themselves.
In that first season, the show featured five sharks: Kevin Harrington, Daymond John, Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran and Robert Herjavec. Mark Cuban replaced Harrington in season three, which also saw the introduction of Lori Griner as a guest shark. Once Greiner took a permanent seat in the rotation in season four, the show’s core sharks have remained the same ever since. That is, until this year, when Cuban departed the show to be replaced by a familiar face in recurring guest Daniel Lubetzky.
That’s a remarkable level of consistency for a show this long-running. And, while Shark Tank could succeed with anyone in the chair, there is something special about the investors ABC recruited for the show and the chemistry they have with one another.
Much of that is due to Kevin O’Leary. Seated in the center for a reason, O’Leary is the show’s heartbeat. From the “Mr. Wonderful” nickname to his royalty-laden offers, O’Leary has a clear understanding that Shark Tank is ultimately about entertainment. Heck, he is even making his acting debut later this year in Marty Supreme. That aside, O’Leary often gets the bidding started. When most others Sharks drop out of a deal, O’Leary is almost always in. And it’s that constant willingness to take a flyer that makes each pitch worth watching.
I quickly singled out O’Leary, but each shark brings a unique perspective to the table.
Take Robert, the son of immigrants who values the ideals of hard work and persistence, or Lori, the QVC queen who loves to sell, sell, sell. Daymond is the clothing guru, while Cuban, as a sports owner, often operates his deals with a self-imposed shot clock. Barbara may not take a stab at many deals, but when she does, she’s all-in. Widely regarded as the most hands-on of all the sharks, Corcoran is also known to have the highest rate of finalized deals from the show.
That personality carries into many of the guest sharks, who range from athletes and actors to founders and venture capitalists. Lubetzky, who has appeared on the show since season 11, has a clear focus on mission-based companies and an unparalleled expertise at bringing a food company to scale.
All that’s to say, Shark Tank would not be the same without the sharks. It’s this recurring cast that has given the audience something to look forward to each season, making it almost as much about the investors as the products themselves.
When it comes to those products, an incredible range of ideas has appeared on the show. From novelty ventures like “I Want to Draw a Cat for You” to the revolutionary edible spoons of Incredible Eats, Shark Tank welcomes businesses of any structure at any stage. While recent seasons have seen a noticeable shift towards more established companies, there is still no shortage of groundbreaking innovations in need of investment to hit the tank.
Sometimes, those investments work out — unsurprisingly, a majority of companies that appear on television do receive a deal — but many times, they do not. Some ideas do not resonate with the sharks, while many handshake agreements fall through in the vetting that begins when the cameras stop rolling. The world after Shark Tank is a story in itself, an often ugly one at times, as detailed in this story from Forbes.
Alas, all those dirty details aren’t really the point, right? Shark Tank is labeled a reality show for a reason. Ultimately, it is a story about people. Thousands compete to enter the tank, and those who make it come from every age, demographic and corner of the globe. There’s something very powerful, very apolitical about that. The show’s core premise centers around opportunity, aiming to provide that to people who may not otherwise have access to it.
By placing a business on millions of people’s television screens who would otherwise never find out about it, Shark Tank provides that opportunity. And, the exposure is often worth more than any investment. Due to the “Shark Tank Effect,” companies often experience a significant surge in sales after appearing on the show.
That’s the key here: Shark Tank has had its fair share of real-world success. That ranges from the ever-popular Scrub Daddy to the sock company Bombas, even to the ones sharks missed out on, like the infamous Doorbot, later sold to Amazon as Ring for $1 billion. Things may be staged, and often not as they seem, but the show has changed lives and continues to today.
And that’s something people want to see. Despite constant reminders to the contrary, people root for others, not celebrities, but ordinary individuals like themselves. There’s something incredibly wholesome about a 13-year-old invent a smarter shovel or a father-daughter duo building a convenient solution for a mother’s trip to the store. People want to support small businesses just like these. Not to mention, many of them are doing tremendous work as a vehicle for good at the same time. Their success makes many more at home feel they can achieve it, too.
So, that message is the staying power of Shark Tank, something that has been true from the very beginning but feels especially relevant and powerful in today’s world. And, judging by the YouTube comment section, I’m not the only one addicted to it, either. And I also know to never enter the tank without nailing down my customer acquisition cost.
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