I haven’t been a "Shark Tank" viewer until recently. But, during a family vacation we came across the Mark Burnett produced reality competition series that premiered in 2009. ABC GO streams the most recent episodes and older seasons are available on CNBC and YouTube. Beginning September 22, you can see the show in action every weeknight on CNBC. The network is calling it #sharktanknation. The new season of "Shark Tank," its sixth, debuts on ABC on Sept. 26.
The show’s premise is simple. Entrepreneurs make business presentations to a panel of potential investors. It’s entertaining, real, honest and fun.
The best part for me? My almost 7-year-old son loves it. Full disclosure, he’s a huge NBA fan so Mark Cuban has him at hello. But, all in all, I’m thrilled that he loves the show, is attempting to understand it and wants to learn more about business.
I know Cuban and several of the other sharks (real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran; "Queen of QVC" Lori Greiner; technology innovator Robert Herjavec; fashion and branding expert Daymond John; and venture capitalist Kevin O'Leary) on the show are parents, so I wonder if this "kids love Shark Tank" thing was deliberate or just an unintended, but happy consequence.
Either way, the show is great for anyone with kids in their lives. The real sharks that swim in the tanks, the theme music and the occasional quirky presenters all make the show easy for kids (and anyone) to watch. At the same time, the negotiations, idea generation and "business" of it all make it real and real world.
So find a kid, find an episode of "Shark Tank," and watch it with them. Trust me, it’s a deal you’ll all love.
A life-long and passionate community leader and Milwaukeean, Jeff Sherman is a co-founder of OnMilwaukee.
He grew up in Wauwatosa and graduated from Marquette University, as a Warrior. He holds an MBA from Cardinal Stritch University, and is the founding president of Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM)/Fuel Milwaukee.
Early in his career, Sherman was one of youngest members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, and currently is involved in numerous civic and community groups - including board positions at The Wisconsin Center District, Wisconsin Club and Marcus Center for the Performing Arts. He's honored to have been named to The Business Journal's "30 under 30" and Milwaukee Magazine's "35 under 35" lists.
He owns a condo in Downtown and lives in greater Milwaukee with his wife Stephanie, his son, Jake, and daughter Pierce. He's a political, music, sports and news junkie and thinks, for what it's worth, that all new movies should be released in theaters, on demand, online and on DVD simultaneously.
He also thinks you should read OnMilwaukee each and every day.
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