The 3 Terrible Lesson Shark Tank Teaches Entrepreneurs About Fundraising Pitches
Sure, Shark Tank is an entertaining show, but don’t rely on it to teach you how to pitch investors.
Who doesn’t love reality television? Umm… besides all the Hollywood writers currently on strike. But, assuming you’re not one of those writers fighting for living wages in an industry being destroyed by, among other things, reality television, it’s safe to assume you’ve surely gotten more invested than you should have in some sort of fabricated TV drama. From the good old days of Survivor being must-see-TV to live-tweeting the Bachelorette to binge-watching a season of Love is Blind, reality television is a guilty pleasure we all dabble in from time-to-time.
Entrepreneurs are no exception. In fact, with 15 seasons of Shark Tank in the United States and another 200 seasons — yes… 200! — of either Shark Tank or its inspiration, Dragon’s Den, aired internationally, clearly entrepreneurs love their trashy reality TV.
No judgments here. I confess to even enjoying an occasional episode of The Masked Singer with my 7-year-old (it’s how we helped her overcome her fear of mascots). But next time you’re watching Shark Tank, remember the one fundamental law of all reality television:
