‘Shark Tank’: All your burning questions, answered
ABC’s “Shark Tank” is celebrating its 10th season with a look back at a “decade of dreams.” After a holiday break, the durable reality series, in which inventors and entrepreneurs pitch products to a panel of investor “sharks,” returns Sunday (9 EST/PST), when a compelling pitch leads shark Daymond John to buy a company outright, for $3 million, in a “Tank” rarity.
We answer your burning questions about what it’s like in the tank:
How often is the show taped?
Because of the sharks’ busy schedules, an entire season of 22 episodes is produced in a pair of two-week “pods,” each June and September, at Sony’s Culver City, California, studios. The sharks see as many as 10 pitches in each 10-hour taping day, starting at 9 a.m.
How and when does the show find entrepreneurs?
The casting process runs from January to mid-September. Applications are accepted at abc.com/sharktank; in 12 open casting calls around the country; and through “proactive” casting, when producers visit trade shows or reach out to companies directly and “cherry pick” entrepreneurs to apply. (Producers will scout the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Jan. 11, and plan to hold open auditions in Dallas on Feb. 6, Miami on Feb. 13 and Los Angeles on March 14.) Applicants (who must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents) submit a five-minute video, and after narrowing the field, producers assign two-person teams to vet products they like and conduct more extensive interviews with entrepreneurs.
What are the chances you’ll get on “Shark Tank”?
On average, the show receives 35,000 to 40,000 applicants each season, some of whom are reapplying after earlier rejections. Of those, about 1,000 advance to a second round of vetting. But this season, the show filmed just 158 pitches, and will air only 88 of them, four each episode. So even getting into the tank is no guarantee of TV glory.
Does the show script their pitches or provide other help?
No, but producers approve entrepreneurs’ two-minute opening pitch. “We make suggestions, because we want it to be entertaining,” says executive producer Clay Newbill. “But these are their companies; they are the boss, and have final say on what to do with their pitch.” Tables, curtains, basic props and video playback equipment is provided, but otherwise it’s up to them what to bring. The show rejects overly elaborate props: Llamas and goats have appeared, but an elephant was nixed; so were food trucks and hundreds of gallons of water to fill a flotation tank.
How do sharks prepare for each pitch?
They don’t. Going in, they’re told only which other sharks will appear and where they’ll sit. “They know nothing about the companies or the entrepreneurs behind the companies,” Newbill says. “This is by design; it forces sharks to ask questions about the business and the founders behind it, and allows our viewers to learn about it just as the sharks do. It also adds some pressure on the sharks who must decide quickly if this is something that they’re interested in, and they have to jockey for position with an offer to beat out the other sharks.”
Source: Read Full Article