{"id":22116,"date":"2016-06-29T18:24:31","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T22:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/creator\/?p=22116"},"modified":"2020-03-30T22:48:41","modified_gmt":"2020-03-31T02:48:41","slug":"shark-tank-gives-entrepreneurs-wrong-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wework.com\/ideas\/professional-development\/shark-tank-gives-entrepreneurs-wrong-idea","title":{"rendered":"Why\u00a0\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 gives entrepreneurs the wrong idea"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

All professionals have one show or movie about their career<\/a> that drives them up the wall with inaccuracies. I\u2019m sure designers get just as offended watching Project Runway<\/em> as I do watching Shark Tank<\/em> or Dragons\u2019 Den<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TV is created for entertainment. Entertainment is about sharing stories, and the most sensational stories dominate the screen. Even when the ideas on Shark Tank<\/em> or Dragons\u2019 Den <\/em>are good, there\u2019s little to be learned about building a business from them. The focus is on how well the entrepreneur made a pitch, which is a very different skill than running a successful venture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These shows give people the false impression that they know what life is like as an entrepreneur. And considering two-thirds<\/a> of the deals made on Shark Tank<\/em> fall apart, its lessons in entrepreneurship are embarrassing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Businesses exist at different scales, and not everyone\u2019s scaling to the moon. Many of us are in the game for deeper reasons than financial gain. For instance, we built a successful business<\/a> without begging others for money. So these titans of business doling out advice almost comes off as condescending to business owners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TV\u2019s narrow view of entrepreneurship makes it seem like there\u2019s only one way to succeed. Here are three lessons these shows fail to teach:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.<\/strong> Identity matters.<\/strong>Your business is your vision and your chance to be unique. <\/span>Dragons\u2019 Den<\/em> presents a homogenous view of what success looks like, making everyone the same. This may create a uniform business, but success often comes from separating yourself from the pack and doing things your own way.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. It\u2019s fine to stay small.<\/strong>Both TV shows exist with the premise that you\u2019re always trying to raise money\u2014which brings investors into play. They want to mitigate their risks and get a large return. If you want to start a $500 million company, then you\u2019re on the right track. But it\u2019s OK to have a small company that serves your local community as your end game. That doesn\u2019t make you any less of an entrepreneur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.<\/strong> It\u2019s not (always) about the money.<\/strong>Not all businesses are born from large investments, either. Plenty of successful companies have started with Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaigns, bootstrapping, grants, or small bank loans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t ever believe that a narrow vision of entrepreneurs represents all of the real struggles we go through. For many of the businesses on Shark Tank<\/em> and Dragons\u2019 Den<\/em>, the appearance represents nothing more than publicity. Introducing the business and brand to a wide television audience renders an actual investment from the sharks moot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being an entrepreneur isn\u2019t just about investments and publicity. There\u2019s real grit involved in starting your own business, and any win is worth celebrating. As entrepreneurs, we should share more about all the ways we\u2019ve found success, so the world can see how much more vibrant and unique the community is than what people see on TV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All professionals have one show or movie about their career that drives them up the wall with inaccuracies. I\u2019m sure designers get just as offended watching Project Runway as I do watching Shark Tank or Dragons\u2019 Den. TV is created for entertainment. Entertainment is about sharing stories, and the most sensational stories dominate the screen. Even when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1632,"featured_media":22130,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43902],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22116","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-professional-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy\u00a0\u2018Shark Tank\u2019 gives entrepreneurs the wrong idea<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"TV\u2019s narrow view of entrepreneurship makes it seem like there\u2019s only one way to succeed. 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