Vk Tank Series

[Bernice Ebesugawa]

SharkTank is an American business reality television series that premiered on August 9, 2009, on ABC.[1] The show is the American franchise of the international format Dragons' Den, a Japanese TV series.[2] It shows entrepreneurs making business presentations to a panel of five venture capitalists (investors in start-ups) called "sharks" on the program, who decide whether to invest in their companies.

The show features a panel of investors called "sharks," who decide whether to invest as entrepreneurs make business presentations on their company or product.[4][5] The sharks often find weaknesses and faults in an entrepreneur's product, business model or valuation of their company.[6] Some of the investors are usually kindhearted and try to soften the impact of rejection, like panel member Barbara Corcoran, while others such as Kevin O'Leary can be "brutal" and might show "no patience even for tales of hardship".[6] The sharks are paid as cast stars of the show, but a disclaimer at the start of each episode states the money they invest is their own.[7] The same disclaimer also states that no offer of investment is being made to the viewer. The entrepreneur can make a handshake deal (gentleman's agreement) on the show if a panel member is interested. However, if all of the panel members opt out, the entrepreneur leaves empty-handed.[6]

The show is said to portray "the drama of pitch meetings and the interaction between the entrepreneurs and tycoons".[8] A pitch of around 45 minutes by a contestant is edited to about 11 minutes.[9] As of 2018, approximately 35,000 to 40,000 entrepreneurs apply each season with about 1,000 advancing to the next step, 150 getting to pitch the sharks, and fewer than 100 making it on the air; most episodes contain four pitches per broadcast hour.[10][11]

Shark cast member Kevin O'Leary believes about 20% of the handshake deals made on the show are never executed[11] due to the investors' due diligence process following the handshake deal, which includes product testing and examining the contestants' business and personal financials.[12] Fellow shark Robert Herjavec believes that about 90% of those withdrawals come from the entrepreneur, in some cases due to only appearing on the program for publicity.[13]

The show is often responsible for what has become known as the Shark Tank effect.[14] Simply appearing on the show, even without getting an offer, has the potential to significantly boost sales for companies.[15] Some entrepreneurs have reported 10- to 20-fold increases in daily revenues after the show's airing.[16]

Two of the show's longstanding sharks, Robert Herjavec and Kevin O'Leary, are Canadian entrepreneurs who had previously appeared on the Canadian version of the series titled Dragons' Den. Since 2023, Herjavec also appears on Shark Tank Australia.

Due to show popularity, companies have falsely advertised that they've appeared on Shark Tank[17] when the air rate is 0.22% (88 aired of 40,000 applicants for 2018 season).[10][11] A full list of companies that actually appeared on Shark Tank can be found on ABC's website,[17] with cult following websites such as AllSharkTankProducts.com, SharkTankContestant.com, Sharkalytics.com, and SharkTankTales.com documenting details and products for all companies, and Gazette Review documenting episode recaps and updates on what happened "after Shark Tank".[18]

Shark Tank is an American reality television series produced by Mark Burnett.[4][19][20][21][22]The show features a panel of investors called "sharks," who decide whether to invest as entrepreneurs make business presentations on their company or product.[4][5] The sharks often find weaknesses and faults in an entrepreneur's concept, product, or business model.[6] Some of the investors try to soften the impact of rejection, like panel member Lori Greiner, while others such as Kevin O'Leary can be "brutal" and show "no patience even for tales of hardship."[6] The sharks are paid as cast stars of the show, but the money they invest is their own.[23] The entrepreneur can make a handshake deal (gentleman's agreement) on the show if a panel member is interested. However, if all of the panel members opt out, the entrepreneur leaves empty-handed.[6] In 2015, a companion spin-off series called Beyond the Tank premiered, which follows up on some of the businesses that have appeared on the show. In this spin-off series it was revealed that sharks can still make a deal with a business that was rejected in the "tank".

This is Kevin Harrington's last season as a shark. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy appeared as a guest shark in two episodes this season. Mark Cuban appeared as a shark in several episodes this season; in season three he would become a regular.

From this season on, as well as retroactively, Mark Cuban insisted that the production company relinquish its equity clause (two percent of their profits or five percent equity in their company) with respect to featured businesses who choose to do a deal with the sharks.[65]

John Paul Mitchell Systems co-founder John Paul DeJoria and New York Giants owner Steve Tisch appeared as guest sharks this season.[66]

The series moved to Sunday nights for this season. After the cancellation of Ten Days in the Valley, and with the March arrival of ABC's reboot of American Idol, the majority of episodes aired back-to-back in two-hour blocks.

Guest sharks for this season, subtitled "A Decade of Dreams," include Jamie Siminoff, the first guest shark to have sought a deal on the show (the sharks passed on his company Doorbot, now known as Ring).[194]

Guest sharks this season include Katrina Lake, founder and CEO of Stitch Fix; Daniel Lubetzky, founder and CEO of Kind; tennis player Maria Sharapova; and Anne Wojcicki, CEO and co-founder of 23andMe.[217] Recurring Sharks include Rohan Oza and Matt Higgins.[217]

Guest sharks this season include Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS and co-founder of Madefor, and Kendra Scott, founder and CEO of Kendra Scott LLC.[242] Returning guest Sharks include Alex Rodriguez, baseball player and founder and CEO of A-Rod Corp, and Daniel Lubetzky, founder and executive chairman of Kind.[242]

Guest sharks this season include Emma Grede, CEO and co-founder of Good American and founding partner of Skims; actor and comedian Kevin Hart; Peter Jones, dragon on Dragons' Den; Daniel Lubetzky, founder and executive chairman of Kind; and Nirav Tolia, co-founder of Nextdoor.[268]

Guest sharks this season include Emma Grede, CEO and co-founder of Good American and founding partner of Skims; Gwyneth Paltrow, actress and founder of goop; Peter Jones, dragon on Dragons' Den; Daniel Lubetzky, founder and executive chairman of Kind; Kendra Scott, founder and CEO of Kendra Scott LLC; and Tony Xu, CEO and co-founder of DoorDash.[294]

Season 2 premiered with a "sneak peek" episode on Sunday, March 20, 2011, before resuming its regular Friday night time slot on March 25, 2011. Season 2 had 9 episodes, 5 of them featuring new panel members. Comedian Jeff Foxworthy[1] and Mark Cuban replaced panel member Kevin Harrington in those episodes.[2] In season 2, Kevin O'Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Daymond John, and Robert Herjavec appeared in all nine episodes; Harrington appeared in four, Cuban in three, and Foxworthy in two.[3]

Shark Tank's third season premiered in January 2012.[4][5] From the third season, Kevin Harrington was replaced by Mark Cuban, while the "queen of QVC" Lori Greiner replaced Barbara Corcoran on 4 episodes. Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, and Mark Cuban appeared in all 15 episodes of season three. In February, ABC ordered two additional episodes for season 3 using unaired footage, which brought the season's episode total to 15.[6][7]

On May 10, 2012, Shark Tank was renewed for a fourth season consisting of 26 episodes.[8] This is the first time the series received a full season order.[9] Filming began on June 30, 2012. According to TV Guide, as of December 2012, the show's panel members had invested $12.4 million in the business opportunities presented to them during that season.[10]

In 2013, ABC renewed the show for a fifth season.[11] Season 5 premiered on September 20, 2013.[12] In October 2013, ABC ordered an additional two episodes for the season. In December 2013, ABC ordered another four episodes, bringing the season order to 29 episodes.[13][14] Steve Tisch and John Paul DeJoria were added as panel members.[15][16]

In 2013, CNBC licensed exclusive off-network cable rights for the series from ABC.[17] In May 2014, ABC announced a sixth season starting in September 2014.[18] The series began its syndication run on CNBC on December 30, 2013.[19]

The seventh season of the show premiered on September 25, 2015.[20] Actor/investor Ashton Kutcher, music manager/CEO Troy Carter, and venture investor Chris Sacca all appeared as guest sharks.[21][22][23]

The ninth season of the show premiered on October 1, 2017, with guest shark Richard Branson.[24] and a new, modern-looking set, Eames Lounge Chairs, penthouse views of a city, infinity pool, glass staircase to an upstairs lounge, and more space.[25][26][27]

On November 27, 2023, Mark Cuban revealed that he would be leaving Shark Tank following the show's upcoming sixteenth season.[39] On May 10, 2024, ABC officially renewed the series for a sixteenth season,[40] which will premiere on October 18, 2024.[41]

Shark Tank is produced by Mark Burnett and based on the format Dragons' Den, which originated in 2001 with the Japanese show, Tigers of Money.[42] Shark Tank, however, more closely resembles the format of the British version of Dragons' Den, which premiered in 2005.[43][44][10][45]

The show initially required each contestant to sign an agreement with Finnmax, the producer of Shark Tank, promising Finnmax the option of taking a "2% royalty" or "5% equity stake" in the contestant's business venture.[46] However, in October 2013, this requirement was repealed by the network, retroactively, due to pressure from panel member Mark Cuban.[47] Cuban felt the requirement would lower the quality of the entrepreneurs, as savvy investors would be wary of trading away a portion of their company just for appearing on the show.[46] A number of potential entrepreneurs had declined to participate in the show for this reason.[48]

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