Shark Tank and the Business Plan

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Currently I am focusing on the business plan and I thought that speaking about a show I currently enjoy watching Shark Tank. This show is derived from a Canadian show titled The Dragon’s Den and if you have not seen an episode has a panel of entrepreneurs that the participants then pitch their idea or company in hopes of landing a investment deal. Two of the Shark Tank investors are from the Canadian show, Robert Herjavec and Kevin “Mr. Wonderful” O’Leary. Both are Canadian and quite successful in their given fields and as entrepreneurs. Herjavec I admire the most not only his personal takes on business but his story being a first generation immigrant from Yugoslavia to his days at IBM and then as a information technology security consultant and multimillionaire.  His human touch but distinct business rational are a combination that appeal to me. O’Leary while he can cause many people to hate him is very much on point about what he wants out of a deal (Money). This transparency is fact he will make a deal if the ROI is right, if not he is not interested. Come prepared and have your numbers handy.

The ABC site for Shark Tank has several interviews and article on advise for potential business endeavors or those who think they may want to be on the show. One such article is titled Business Tips from the Sharks, which covers ten topics. Numbers five and six both ask about the business plan itself. How do you create a business plan that works?

 Herjavec response places emphasis on the overall Vision and creating short-term plans. He states forecasting to far in the future is dreaming and that over time size of a company through growth demands plans that extend into the future. Keep it simple and small is what I took away from his response. Where can I get help creating a business plan? Again Herjavec stresses less importance on the plan and more on doing the work of the business. Talking to people, selling your product or service, build a reputation and network.

Given that several questions do point to what the investor looks for in an investment. That being the point of writing a business plan we can examine common threads in what needs to be communicated in order to secure the deal. First and foremost each of the Sharks state do the numbers make sense and will there be a healthy capitol return for the risk, next is there an element of trust. These two items seem to resound from all of the Sharks despite their own individual investment preferences.