Full disclosure: I don’t watch Shark Tank, so I don’t know much about the show. In fact, most of what I know about the show I learned from watching a standup comedienne and Wikipedia. If sitting down to watch Shark Tank inspires one to become an entrepreneur, great. But do the people who start businesses and seek investor capital watch the show?
I’ve read in a forum or two about why more famous people don’t post. Maybe because they’re doing what they’re doing that make them famous? Duh. People rarely stumble upon being famous; it takes years of persistence, struggle, and effort to become what they have become. They didn’t get to where they are in live with watching TV, sitting down at the computer, or playing video games. They got to being the guy investing on Shark Tank from years of obsession. They say obsessions are bad, well, that is usually the only way we get to where we want to go.
I honestly can’t comment about the Xs and Os of the show and won’t because that’s bad form because I don’t watch Shark Tank. That said, it’s an American reality show. C’mon, man! We made the Kardashians famous.
So, does the person who doesn’t watch Shark Tank the winner or loser? We may not learn from people who walk the walk, but is it even real? Is our time better spent in front of a screen or from taking action and doing? First-hand experience will always trump academic knowledge. We can learn everything we can in books, but is that replace doing it? Absolutely not. How many entrepreneur professors have started a business? How many could successfully start a business?
There’s no right or wrong answer. My guess is most entrepreneurs don’t have time to watch that show. An hour won’t kill there business if they have it open. If nothing else, it would give the person a break. I’m skeptical of most shows, as they have their own motive. Plus, if we “study” entrepreneurship we learn that there are millions of reasons business fail and succeed that buck the odds. Watch Shark Tank? Interesting, but there are bigger fish to fry.
