When I first watched Shark Tank when I was 8, I was incredibly bored with the show. I mean, who could blame me? A show that is about rich dudes buying equity in small businesses in hopes to make money isn’t very appealing to an 8 year old. But now that I’m older and much more mature (much more), I have grown to love the show. 

Meet the Sharks

There are 6 sharks that sit in the tank. Only 5 sit in per episode, so one of them can’t sit. The sharks are Mark Cuban, Kevin O’Leary, a.k.a. Mr. Wonderful, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, and Robert Herjavec. Mark, Mr. Wonderful, and Lori are always present in the tank, so Daymond, Barbara, and Robert take turns sitting in the tank. 

Now for their backgrounds: Mark is the richest shark, with a net worth of 5.1 Billion USD. He made his money by founding and selling MicroSolutions for 6 million dollars, and then he co-founded and sold Broadcast.com for 5.7 billion dollars. He is now the majority owner of the Dallas Mavericks and he also owns Landmark Theatres. He is personally my favorite shark because he owns the Mavericks, my favorite team, and he is the sportiest of all the sharks.

Kevin is the second richest shark. He has a net worth of 400 million USD. He co-founded and sold The Learning Company for 4.2 billion dollars. He is the founder and current owner of O’Leary Mortgages, O’Leary Books, O’Shares Investments, O’Leary Ventures, O’Leary Funds Managements, and O’Leary Fine Wines. He is probably my least favorite shark because he bullies the entrepreneurs a lot and always undervalues the companies. Plus, it’s almost like he thinks of himself as a bank, offering people loans rather than giving them straight cash.

Daymond is the third richest, with a net worth of 350 million USD. He is the founder and owner of FUBU apparel company, and he is the CEO and founder of The Shark Group. I think he is very conservative with his money, and he only gives offers to companies that have good sales. If a company doesn’t have much sales, or is asking for too much money for too little equity, he’s almost automatically out.

 Robert is the 4th richest with a net worth of 300 million USD. He founded and sold BRAK systems for 30.2 million dollars. He also sold RAMP networks for 225 million dollars. He is the founder and CEO of the Herjavec Group. He is the nicest guy shark by a mile and a half. He always treats the entrepreneurs like actual people, not just investment opportunities. He also is the most fun-loving of all the sharks. Personally, he is my second favorite shark.

Lori is the 5th richest with a net worth of 150 million USD. She is known as the Queen of QVC. She is the host of “Clever and Unique Creations by Lori Greiner” and she is the founder of For Your Ease Only. She is the nicest girl shark, and she almost always negotiates with the entrepreneurs, and if she doesn’t she gives her reasoning, which some sharks do not do. I think she is the best girl shark, as there are only 2, but she is still the better one by a mile. 

Barbara is the poorest shark with a net worth of 100 million USD. She co-founded and sold the Corcoran Group for 66 million dollars. She is currently a contributor to The Today Show on NBC. Personally, I like her about as much as I like Kevin (meaning I don’t like her very much). I think that she is too old to keep investing and she should give up her seat to a younger shark. I don’t mean that to be too offensive, but I just think that at 74 years old, you don’t need to be making money when you already have 100 million dollars in your bank account.. You should be enjoying retirement. But she’s alright as a shark, as she likes to make a lot of deals.

My thoughts on Shark Tank

Shark Tank is probably my most watched show. I love all of the different sharks and how their personalities all rival each other. For example, Mark is a guy that wants a bunch of equity rather than royalties, but Mr Wonderful definitely wants a royalty deal rather than an equity deal. Also, I love all of the small business owners that come into the Tank and how the Sharks always think that they ask for way too much money for too little equity. And the small business owners’ stories are always so heartwarming. All of these people have gone through so many business struggles and all of the Sharks can sympathize with them, because those struggles are what made them who they are today. Plus, it is always funny when Mark or Daymond or Barbara expose a bad product. It’s also funny when a product that the sharks hate end up going viral and make the owners of the product rich. The reason I think that the sharks refuse to invest in these products is because the entrepreneurs usually ask for too much money for too little equity, and if the sharks make a counteroffer, the entrepreneurs usually aren’t willing to give up the equity the sharks are asking for, which to me, can be a little idiotical at times. But it’s their business, and it’s their decision. 

I do have some criticism, though. I don’t like it when Mr. Wonderful gives super harsh criticism, because even though it might be true, you don’t have to be that harsh. Honestly, I think this is the reason that he doesn’t close as many deals as he could. Also, Mark can sometimes look like he is a bit bored with some of the products. While the other sharks are attentive and paying attention, Mark has his eyelids half closed and he has a bored look on his face. Now, he’s not always like this, but as the richest shark and one of the faces of the show, he should at least act like he cares like the other sharks. Other than these things, I don’t have much criticism. 

This show is awesome. There is nothing quite like it. My favorite part is when the sharks believe in a product enough to buy in at the equity the entrepreneurs came in asking for. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is interested in entrepreneurship or anyone who just wants to understand more about how to spend your money wisely. Overall I would rate this a 9.5/10.

Picture from Wikipedia Commons