Five things I’ve learnt from Shark Tank: Season 1

Fans of TEN’s Shark Tank in Australia will no doubt be sad to see the end of its first season. Week-in, week-out, we’ve been privileged to see hundreds of Aussie inventors and entrepreneurs swim into the Tank.

Kudos to all those startup founders who were willing to step up and bare their products, and souls, in front of the nation. It takes guts to go onto national television and try to convince five highly-experienced investors and business people to part with their own cash.

From the other side of the Tank, in the comfy seats, it’s also been a helluva roller-coaster ride. Having been in the startup game in Australia for a long time, I thought I’d seen it all. Boy, was I wrong. Here’s what a season on the chair at Shark Tank has taught me about Australia’s entrepreneurial and innovation eco-system.

1. AUSSIES ARE MORE INGENIOUS THAN ANYONE GIVES US CREDIT FOR

Beyond national pride, I was genuinely surprised by just how many fiendishly clever ideas Australians have. From Scrubba, a washing machine in a pocket-sized package, to surfboards that repel sharks – every single episode I saw the results of a great “Eureka” moment.

2. THERE IS MORE TO AUSSIE STARTUPS THAN TECH

Not to toot my own horn but I’m probably the most tech-savvy of the Sharks on the show – and as such I wanted to see a raft of great mobile and web-based startups pitching for investment. We had a few, but none that really captured my imagination. Instead, I saw myself diversify my own startup portfolio and move into areas such as childcare with Hummingbirds (now known as Ruby & Ollie’s), and beverages with Those Girls Iced Tea.

That said, I know that our most exciting startups with the biggest opportunity to go global are tech-businesses – I know they’re out there and, if there is a second season of Shark Tank and I’m lucky enough to be on it, I hope to see some of them bring their business to the Tank.

3. WE NEED MORE BUSINESS/ENTREPRENEURIAL TRAINING

From completely ridiculous valuations, to founders who didn’t even have a business plan – one thing that’s clear to me is that we need to upskill our entrepreneurs. We saw plenty of amazing inventors, outstanding sales people and hard workers who had achieved extraordinary progress. But we saw far too many people who didn’t understand the basics, or have their numbers right.

It’s true, people coming onto Shark Tank are often looking for the mentor and partner to give them those skills – but just think of the boost to our national economy if we could give these entrepreneurs the skills to build and grow a business before they even speak to an investor.

I believe so much in making sure that our next generation of tech startup founders are equipped with the right skills and mindset and have access to some great sponsors. I personally underwrote Startup Catalyst last year - a mission to send 20 tech-savvy future entrepreneurs to the Silicon Valley to experience the world’s most frenetic startup ecosystem.

Visiting companies like Google, Facebook and Twitter, the entrepreneurs truly put their skills and nous to the test, which is why, in collaboration withRiver City Labs, we are doing it again this year, with the plan of making it an annual event. It is with the help of programs like Startup Catalyst that we breed new and innovative ideas in Australia and make sure we are giving our startup ecosystem the best chance of success.

4. A LITTLE INVESTMENT REALLY CAN FUEL THE FIRE

I’ve had a few heated debates with people about the way the Sharks have valued the businesses appearing on the show. But one thing that is undeniable is the Shark Tank bump that’s helped many of the successful startups that have walked away with investment. Companies like Heg Pegs have had a huge response, and have just shipped a plane with 17,000 boxes of their product to the US. My own joint investment with Andrew Banks has also been instrumental in the Bottlepops team rapidly accelerating their growth – from international orders to new deals in the pipeline. The cash and connections of a mentor/investor, can make the difference between startup success and failure, and the PR boost is also opening doors for entrepreneurs who have appeared on the show.

5. PEOPLE GET EXCITED BY GENUINE AND AUTHENTIC FOUNDERS

When I signed up to the program, my heart was firmly set on using my Shark Tank experience to grow the market and inspire our young people to think about entrepreneurialism. While I’m not sure it’s quite yet done to entrepreneurship what MasterChef has done for home cooking, it has hopefully introduced the idea of startups aspiring to global domination to families and youngsters across Australia. And if we can help inspire just a handful of kids to think about becoming a tech entrepreneur, and put it as a career choice alongside things like being a lawyer, doctor or accountant, well that is something I’m always willing to invest in.

I look forward to many future seasons of Shark Tank – maybe even one where one of us older Sharks gets to surrender our chair to a new Shark born and bred in that very tank.

This article first appeared on Business Review Weekly. View the original here.