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I see this weird pattern on Shark Tank (which to be fair is definitely not generally representative of tech startup culture) where the 'Sharks' turn down founde

by firasd 9y ago

I see this weird pattern on Shark Tank (which to be fair is definitely not generally representative of tech startup culture) where the 'Sharks' turn down founders by glibly saying, "Oh you've been working on this for X years without any sales? Pass." It doesn't seem right to me. I get the idea of proving your idea through sales, but a product that's ready right now is a product whether it was made overnight or through tinkering over time...

droidist2 9y ago
I've noticed they really don't like to take risks on that show, they want to invest in sure things that already have a proven market and tons of sales. It seems kind of silly, like if you already have all that you probably can easily raise money, so it often becomes a situation where the biggest reason to go on the show is just the publicity from it.
- samfisher83 9y ago
  I think a lot of the time the publicity helps a lot. I think the sharks can help sometimes. Like things with fashion and home good I think Lori and Daymond help get them into stores. However probably the biggest shark tank success story: Ring. Ring didn't get a deal, but it is probably worth more then every other sharktank company combined.
  - fapjacks 9y ago
    This is it right here. If you watch enough of the show, you'll eventually discover that most of the savvy entrepreneurs are actually on the show pitching to the sharks for the publicity. The sharks know this is a problem, and this is why some of the most watchable scenes are when an entrepreneur gets an offer that matches his ridiculous original ask, but then rejects it. This basically proves they had no intention of actually going in for a deal, and most of the sharks (especially Mark Cuban) fly off the handle over it. Totally fun to watch.
- DSMan195276 9y ago
  AFAIK they sit through a lot more pitches then they show on tv, so they can probably afford to be picky.
isalmon 9y ago
There are 2 things: 1) If you've been doing it for many years without any success - it's a signal for them that you're not willing to go all in or you're not ambitious enough. 2) Sales and/or number of users will be the ONLY way to prove your idea for a majority of investors. They understand that it does not really matter what they think about your idea - what matters more is what the customers think about it.
- zachsnow 9y ago
  My favorite quote from an investor what he had learned in 35 years of investing? "It doesn't fucking matter what I think." If the market likes it, that's what matters. "Maybe I'm not the market."
dustingetz 9y ago
shark tank is not a VC, it's a tv show The founder's response is: "That would be a mistake, because ..."
maehwasu 9y ago
> "Oh you've been working on this for X years without any sales? Pass." NO sales after years, as opposed to a few, is a really big red flag. It generally suggests that the person is enjoying playing and being an entrepreneur and head-wanking about "business", while lacking the mental toughness to put him/herself out in the marketplace.
moduspwnens14 9y ago
The whole point of a business is to make money, and it does that through sales. Someone seeing themselves as having a business worth pitching to investors for significant chunks of money, yet without a focus on the most critical validating piece is what prompts the glib response.

by firasd 9y ago

droidist2 9y ago

I've noticed they really don't like to take risks on that show, they want to invest in sure things that already have a proven market and tons of sales. It seems kind of silly, like if you already have all that you probably can easily raise money, so it often becomes a situation where the biggest reason to go on the show is just the publicity from it.

samfisher83 9y ago
I think a lot of the time the publicity helps a lot. I think the sharks can help sometimes. Like things with fashion and home good I think Lori and Daymond help get them into stores. However probably the biggest shark tank success story: Ring. Ring didn't get a deal, but it is probably worth more then every other sharktank company combined.
- fapjacks 9y ago
  This is it right here. If you watch enough of the show, you'll eventually discover that most of the savvy entrepreneurs are actually on the show pitching to the sharks for the publicity. The sharks know this is a problem, and this is why some of the most watchable scenes are when an entrepreneur gets an offer that matches his ridiculous original ask, but then rejects it. This basically proves they had no intention of actually going in for a deal, and most of the sharks (especially Mark Cuban) fly off the handle over it. Totally fun to watch.
DSMan195276 9y ago
AFAIK they sit through a lot more pitches then they show on tv, so they can probably afford to be picky.

isalmon 9y ago

There are 2 things: 1) If you've been doing it for many years without any success - it's a signal for them that you're not willing to go all in or you're not ambitious enough. 2) Sales and/or number of users will be the ONLY way to prove your idea for a majority of investors. They understand that it does not really matter what they think about your idea - what matters more is what the customers think about it.

zachsnow 9y ago
My favorite quote from an investor what he had learned in 35 years of investing? "It doesn't fucking matter what I think." If the market likes it, that's what matters. "Maybe I'm not the market."

dustingetz 9y ago

shark tank is not a VC, it's a tv show The founder's response is: "That would be a mistake, because ..."

maehwasu 9y ago

> "Oh you've been working on this for X years without any sales? Pass." NO sales after years, as opposed to a few, is a really big red flag. It generally suggests that the person is enjoying playing and being an entrepreneur and head-wanking about "business", while lacking the mental toughness to put him/herself out in the marketplace.

moduspwnens14 9y ago

The whole point of a business is to make money, and it does that through sales. Someone seeing themselves as having a business worth pitching to investors for significant chunks of money, yet without a focus on the most critical validating piece is what prompts the glib response.