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Mark Cuban and Shark Tank did get screwed because somebody at the show production thought viewer rating is more important than filtering out entrepreneurs with

Mark Cuban and Shark Tank did get screwed because somebody at the show production thought viewer rating is more important than filtering out entrepreneurs with bad intentions before being asked to put their reputation on line by announcing investments on national television which would expose the Sharks to real risks with implications. If I was Mark Cuban, I'd be fucking livid at the production for not seeing the risks of doing due diligence at his own expense, both intangible and tangible costs.

freddyc 10y ago
Because, for a television production company, ratings fundamentally are more important. Cuban knows it's an entertainment show first-and-foremost and he bought into that (and frankly, from what I can tell, loves that aspect of it). I've never looked into the details, but I imagine the paperwork Shark Tank entrepreneurs sign includes something along the lines of "all deals agreed are non-binding and subject to completion of satisfactory post-show diligence blah blah". I'd be shocked if a decent percentage of the deals featured don't ultimately fall through for one reason or another at the diligence stage with zero impact on the investor's reputation, so I don't think Cuban will lose too much sleep over it.
- netizzio 10y ago
  Can't remember where I saw it, but recall reading that a significant number of deals do fall through. Mark Cuban actually had one of the higher success rates with about 80% of deals actually succeeding, and I think both Lori and Robert were at around 45%. Edit: From this AMA on reddit with Mark Cuban 3 years ago, he says that about 25% of deals have something wrong (and therefore presumably don't work out). https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/15doqt/mark_cuban_this_is_my_ama/c7lkbfx/ https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/15doqt/mark_cuban_thi...
edblarney 10y ago
"did get screwed because somebody at the show production thought viewer rating is more important than filtering out entrepreneurs with bad intentions before being asked to put their reputation on line by announcing investments on national television" Listen - you have to take 'Shark Tank' with a little bit of 'Trumpiness'. It's entertainment man. The companies are chosen at least as much for their entertainment value as anything else. Mark Cuban is not concerned about his 'reputation as a serious investor'. In fact, he's probably a joke in serious investment circles. Mark is a 'pop culture' investor, he cultivates an image of what 'joe street' thinks a 'business investor' ought to be. Obviously - he is that to a great extent, he's putting real money on the line, but he's not a VC in the the more orthodox sense. He'll have his team do due diligence after the fact, and do a no/go later on. All of the ridiculous fights, 'isms' and 'sayings' etc. - they are like 'Trump tweets' - you think it will damage him, it won't. It's pop culture ... where having the eye-balls matter. He has legions of 'at home followers' who look up to him. That's his audience. He might lose an inch of cred with people like you and I, but gain at least as much back from of the kinds of people that watch this show.

freddyc 10y ago

Because, for a television production company, ratings fundamentally are more important. Cuban knows it's an entertainment show first-and-foremost and he bought into that (and frankly, from what I can tell, loves that aspect of it). I've never looked into the details, but I imagine the paperwork Shark Tank entrepreneurs sign includes something along the lines of "all deals agreed are non-binding and subject to completion of satisfactory post-show diligence blah blah". I'd be shocked if a decent percentage of the deals featured don't ultimately fall through for one reason or another at the diligence stage with zero impact on the investor's reputation, so I don't think Cuban will lose too much sleep over it.

netizzio 10y ago
Can't remember where I saw it, but recall reading that a significant number of deals do fall through. Mark Cuban actually had one of the higher success rates with about 80% of deals actually succeeding, and I think both Lori and Robert were at around 45%. Edit: From this AMA on reddit with Mark Cuban 3 years ago, he says that about 25% of deals have something wrong (and therefore presumably don't work out). https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/15doqt/mark_cuban_this_is_my_ama/c7lkbfx/ https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/15doqt/mark_cuban_thi...

edblarney 10y ago

"did get screwed because somebody at the show production thought viewer rating is more important than filtering out entrepreneurs with bad intentions before being asked to put their reputation on line by announcing investments on national television" Listen - you have to take 'Shark Tank' with a little bit of 'Trumpiness'. It's entertainment man. The companies are chosen at least as much for their entertainment value as anything else. Mark Cuban is not concerned about his 'reputation as a serious investor'. In fact, he's probably a joke in serious investment circles. Mark is a 'pop culture' investor, he cultivates an image of what 'joe street' thinks a 'business investor' ought to be. Obviously - he is that to a great extent, he's putting real money on the line, but he's not a VC in the the more orthodox sense. He'll have his team do due diligence after the fact, and do a no/go later on. All of the ridiculous fights, 'isms' and 'sayings' etc. - they are like 'Trump tweets' - you think it will damage him, it won't. It's pop culture ... where having the eye-balls matter. He has legions of 'at home followers' who look up to him. That's his audience. He might lose an inch of cred with people like you and I, but gain at least as much back from of the kinds of people that watch this show.