A Shark Tank interview by Jason Cochran with Kevin Harrington, Barbara Corcoran & Robert Herjavec.
Kevin is Mr. Wonderful and Robert jokes about lending Barbara money next year!!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Kevin Harrington Talks Spending
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Ann Meyer Minding Your Business
September 28, 2009
ENERGY BAR MAKER CARVES HIS OWN PATH TO GROWTH CAPITAL THROUGH TV APPEARANCE
Thinking creatively has taken Jonathan Miller a long way in launching a business and funding it.
His Chicago startup, Element Bars, offers a new twist on the energy bar concept by letting consumers choose ingredients on the company's Web site to build custom bars that are shipped to their doorstep.
Finding growth capital for the year-old business during a severe recession also took a new twist, when Miller appeared on ABC's reality show "Shark Tank." The new series pits entrepreneurs against five aggressively skeptical investors in hopes of winning capital for their businesses.
Part of the entertainment is watching the "sharks" rip into their business plans. One shark told Miller: "You know my job is to squeeze your head like a teenage pimple."
Still, enduring the abuse proved to be worth it for Miller; he negotiated a deal for $150,000. Ironically, before the show's airing Sept. 13, Miller had tried for a $10,000 to $20,000 bank loan but was turned down.
"It's an interesting commentary. You can get great national publicity and a great equity deal, but you can't get the line of credit" from a bank, Miller said.
Miller's creative approach to securing capital was well-timed, given the current credit crunch that has many entrepreneurs scrambling for funds, said Mike Adhikari, president of Illinois Corporate Investments. Entrepreneurs have few options outside of investments by family, friends and individuals who have a shared interest.
When trying for private funds from investors or venture capitalists, entrepreneurs must know how to negotiate, Adhikari said. "They really need to know how venture capitalists think," he said. "Most don't have a way to get beyond the, 'I want $200,000 for 10 percent of the business.' "
But Miller did. A 2008 graduate of Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, Miller had taken a class in negotiating. He also spent a summer working in venture capital, reviewing business plans and observing entrepreneurs' pitches.
Before his "Shark Tank" appearance, he did his homework. He knew that he wanted to come away with $150,000 and wasn't willing to give up more than 35 percent of the company's equity for the capital.
Miller shrewdly kept the upper hand on the show, observers said. He started by asking for $150,000 for a 15 percent stake. While some investors laughed, Miller never budged on the amount of money he wanted.
"One mistake negotiators commonly make is they wait for the other party to make the first offer," said Jeanne Brett, professor of dispute resolution and organizations at Kellogg. "The first offer in a negotiation tends to anchor the other party's thinking."
Miller added another dimension by communicating his passion for the business, Brett said.
In the end, Miller gave a 30 percent stake in his company to investor Kevin Harrington, chief executive of TVGoods.com. In return, Miller got the capital he wanted plus a commitment for a 4 percent royalty tied to a licensing agreement.
Harrington, a regular shark on the show, said he looks for potential "As Seen on TV" products and had previously sold protein bars. When he tasted the custom Element Bar Miller made for him, "I loved mine. My initial reaction was, 'Wow,' " he said. "I thought I could take it to the masses."
Harrington hopes to use his relationships with shopping channels, Web developers and TV production studios to help Element Bars reach new markets.
Harrington is exactly the type of investor entrepreneurs should be seeking, Adhikari said. "When you are partnering with someone, they should be providing not only the capital but also additional value," he said. You also need compatible personalities.
Meanwhile, Miller said the "Shark Tank" exposure has fueled a tenfold spike in demand to 10,000 bars a week purchased on ElementBars.com. Consumers build their own bars on the Web site in five steps. First, they choose a "chewy, oaty, crispy or datey core," then add in fruits, nuts and sweets like honey or chocolate chips, Miller said. The final step is to choose from several nutritional boosts, like protein, omega-3 or fiber.
Customers also get to name their bars, which cost $36, plus $6 shipping, for a box of 12.
Miller started making his own bars for personal consumption in 2004, but didn't consider it could be a business until December 2007, when a friend of his wife's asked if he could make bars for diabetic children.
Four months later, Miller and two partners, Maria Sutanto and Jonathan Kelley, were testing a prototype Web site. Together, they put up $100,000 of their own money to launch the business.
"I'm a firm believer in proofing out a business before trying to raise money," Miller said. "We've done that. We have sales growing and repeat customers."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/columnists/chi-mon-minding-capital-0928sep28,0,2636676.column
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Watch Kevin Harrington on Joan River's new show "How'd You Get So Rich"
WATCH TONIGHT - "How'd You Get So Rich" - on TVLAND - 10pm
It slices. It dices. It makes billions of dollars! It’s the amazing infomercial, and Joan meets the man who invented it. See how he ended up with an eye-popping fortune. But wait, there’s more: She’ll also meet the middle-aged woman who went on to make millions after her rich doctor husband split. Find out how! Premieres August 19th.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Disney ABC Television Group -- "Summer Press Tour" at the Langham Hotel
Kevin Harrington, Daymond John, Kevin O'Leary and Barbara Corcoran attend the "Summer Press Tour" Panel Event hosted by Disney ABC Television Group at the Langham Hotel on August 8, 2009 in Pasadena, California.
Wow - What a great press day for "Shark Tank"!! Back to taping soon!
Be sure to tune in Sunday at 9:00 EST on ABC!!!
Fulfilling American Dreams does not 'Lack Bite'
Helping hand? Moneyman Kevin Harrington samples a potential investment on tomorrow's premiere of 'Shark Tank.'
Michael Starr, of The NY Post, feels there is "not a lot of action" on Mark Burnett's latest TV Show 'Shark Tank,' and titles his article "Lacks Bite."
Alright, I get that some people may be jealous of Mark Burnett and that he can put out yet another show that big companies, like SONY Pictures, want to invest MILLIONS of dollars into. But let's not forget that these are real American people going into the Shark Tank, and there are real American Dreams being fulfilled!
THAT, does not 'lack bite.'
To Read Michael's article, follow this link:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/08082009/tv/lacks_bite_183477.htm
It's Press Day! And this is just the beginning...
Article Title: 'Shark Tank' producer Mark Burnett does Swimmingly
MOGUL: Mark Burnett’s latest premieres Sunday.
PHOTO by: Brian Vander Brug
'Survivor' honcho Mark Burnett retools a worldwide hit into 'Shark Tank' -- and he's not stopping there.
By Scott Collins
8:37 PM PDT, August 7, 2009
Mark Burnett may look like the mind-bogglingly rich reality-TV producer behind CBS' "Survivor," but that's because you don't know him.
He says he longs to be a millionaire dealmaker like those on his new ABC show, "Shark Tank." Even though he's made a fortune cranking out programs for virtually every network on the dial, he still worries about his personal cash flow, just like the young entrepreneurs who need help on his show. Or at least he can pretend that he worries about such things, if only for the sake of framing his latest TV series as perfect for the deepest recession in 70 years.
"You and I know we'd all be hard-pressed to get a mortgage these days from a bank, let alone a business loan," Burnett said in an interview earlier this week on a Hollywood studio lot, hours before jetting off on a red-eye to the South Pacific to oversee the start of shooting for the 20th season of "Survivor."
If you can believe that the 49-year-old Burnett, who last month got his own star on Hollywood Boulevard, would actually need to borrow money hat in hand like a typical home buyer, he's got a business proposal he'd like to run past you. Actually, several. "Shark Tank," which premieres Sunday night, is just one of at least seven new shows he's producing this year, and he also happened to be behind the year's most notorious TV stunt, Brüno's high-wire landing on Eminem at the MTV Movie Awards.
Based on a popular worldwide format that is owned by Sony and has run for years in Britain as "Dragons' Den," "Shark Tank" gives struggling entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their business ideas to a panel of five potential investors -- real estate doyenne Barbara Corcoran, infomercial king Kevin Harrington, Internet mogul Robert Herjavec, Daymond John of FUBU clothing fame and TV host Kevin O'Leary -- who then decide whether to back the projects with their own money. It's a mix of "The Apprentice" -- another Burnett hit -- plus ABC's old "American Inventor," without the elimination elements of those programs. The British version has led to such notable consumer innovations as Reggae Reggae Sauce, a condiment pitched by a dreadlocked musician, and the iTeddy, a combo plush toy/media gadget.
It has taken a very long time for the format to reach American shores; the program has already been a hit in much smaller TV markets, including last year, in Afghanistan. But Burnett believes that "Shark Tank" is singularly well-suited for the U.S., home of free markets and, at least until recent months, guilt-free capitalism.
"We celebrate the Bill Gateses of the world," the producer told visiting journalists who watched a promo clip for the show at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. "We're not mad at Bill Gates." As for free enterprise, "it's only when there's a gross abuse of it, like we've seen in the past year, that people get pissed off."
The British-born Burnett certainly has no problem with free enterprise. He's been enterprising ever since landing in the Los Angeles area in the early '80s, where after a series of odd jobs (including, he says, a stint as a nanny) he created the adventure contest "Eco-Challenge," which ran on several cable networks. After his breakthroughs with "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," Burnett, who's married to "Touched by an Angel" star Roma Downey, was the undisputed king of reality competition shows.
Since then, he's diversified into a broad array of programming choices. To put it more plainly, he's started slapping his name on all kinds of stuff. The second season of "Bully Beatdown" starts later this month on MTV, and earlier this week "How'd You Get So Rich?," in which Joan Rivers tails the well-heeled and forces them to spill their money secrets (there's that wealth theme again), premiered on TV Land. He even produces the bull-riding extravaganza "Toughest Cowboy" for Spike.
If there's still a Burnett brand out there, it may be a little fuzzier than it was four or five years ago. But he dismissed any notion that he's overextended. He still watches and approves every single episode of every show he produces, he said.
"Look at the quality of the shows," Burnett said. "I'm not at all overextended . . . I'm very, very hands-on."
It seems unlikely that any of the "sharks" on the new show have the star power of, say, "Apprentice's" Donald Trump, but then in TV anything is possible. In Britain, "Dragons' Den" received some criticism after some of the investors were revealed to have backed out of deals after the cameras stopped rolling. ABC admits that could happen here too.
"The lawyers on both sides need to get into the minutiae of the deals," said Vicki Dummer, an ABC senior vice president who helps oversee reality, specials and late-night programming. "Some of the deals could fall apart."
But that risk doesn't seem to trouble Burnett.
"In the end, what you're really enjoying here is the 'aha' moment of, 'Wow, I wish I'd thought of that,' " he said.
"How many times have you been out for a beer or dinner and people are coming up with business ideas? Everybody wants to think they've got that great business idea."
Later, he told the crowd of journalists that he'd love to have the same chance to weigh pitches that his investors enjoy on the show.
"I'd like to be a shark," he said, somewhat dreamily.
scott.collins@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-mark-burnett8-2009aug08,0,32392.story
MOGUL: Mark Burnett’s latest premieres Sunday.
PHOTO by: Brian Vander Brug
'Survivor' honcho Mark Burnett retools a worldwide hit into 'Shark Tank' -- and he's not stopping there.
By Scott Collins
8:37 PM PDT, August 7, 2009
Mark Burnett may look like the mind-bogglingly rich reality-TV producer behind CBS' "Survivor," but that's because you don't know him.
He says he longs to be a millionaire dealmaker like those on his new ABC show, "Shark Tank." Even though he's made a fortune cranking out programs for virtually every network on the dial, he still worries about his personal cash flow, just like the young entrepreneurs who need help on his show. Or at least he can pretend that he worries about such things, if only for the sake of framing his latest TV series as perfect for the deepest recession in 70 years.
"You and I know we'd all be hard-pressed to get a mortgage these days from a bank, let alone a business loan," Burnett said in an interview earlier this week on a Hollywood studio lot, hours before jetting off on a red-eye to the South Pacific to oversee the start of shooting for the 20th season of "Survivor."
If you can believe that the 49-year-old Burnett, who last month got his own star on Hollywood Boulevard, would actually need to borrow money hat in hand like a typical home buyer, he's got a business proposal he'd like to run past you. Actually, several. "Shark Tank," which premieres Sunday night, is just one of at least seven new shows he's producing this year, and he also happened to be behind the year's most notorious TV stunt, Brüno's high-wire landing on Eminem at the MTV Movie Awards.
Based on a popular worldwide format that is owned by Sony and has run for years in Britain as "Dragons' Den," "Shark Tank" gives struggling entrepreneurs a chance to pitch their business ideas to a panel of five potential investors -- real estate doyenne Barbara Corcoran, infomercial king Kevin Harrington, Internet mogul Robert Herjavec, Daymond John of FUBU clothing fame and TV host Kevin O'Leary -- who then decide whether to back the projects with their own money. It's a mix of "The Apprentice" -- another Burnett hit -- plus ABC's old "American Inventor," without the elimination elements of those programs. The British version has led to such notable consumer innovations as Reggae Reggae Sauce, a condiment pitched by a dreadlocked musician, and the iTeddy, a combo plush toy/media gadget.
It has taken a very long time for the format to reach American shores; the program has already been a hit in much smaller TV markets, including last year, in Afghanistan. But Burnett believes that "Shark Tank" is singularly well-suited for the U.S., home of free markets and, at least until recent months, guilt-free capitalism.
"We celebrate the Bill Gateses of the world," the producer told visiting journalists who watched a promo clip for the show at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. "We're not mad at Bill Gates." As for free enterprise, "it's only when there's a gross abuse of it, like we've seen in the past year, that people get pissed off."
The British-born Burnett certainly has no problem with free enterprise. He's been enterprising ever since landing in the Los Angeles area in the early '80s, where after a series of odd jobs (including, he says, a stint as a nanny) he created the adventure contest "Eco-Challenge," which ran on several cable networks. After his breakthroughs with "Survivor" and "The Apprentice," Burnett, who's married to "Touched by an Angel" star Roma Downey, was the undisputed king of reality competition shows.
Since then, he's diversified into a broad array of programming choices. To put it more plainly, he's started slapping his name on all kinds of stuff. The second season of "Bully Beatdown" starts later this month on MTV, and earlier this week "How'd You Get So Rich?," in which Joan Rivers tails the well-heeled and forces them to spill their money secrets (there's that wealth theme again), premiered on TV Land. He even produces the bull-riding extravaganza "Toughest Cowboy" for Spike.
If there's still a Burnett brand out there, it may be a little fuzzier than it was four or five years ago. But he dismissed any notion that he's overextended. He still watches and approves every single episode of every show he produces, he said.
"Look at the quality of the shows," Burnett said. "I'm not at all overextended . . . I'm very, very hands-on."
It seems unlikely that any of the "sharks" on the new show have the star power of, say, "Apprentice's" Donald Trump, but then in TV anything is possible. In Britain, "Dragons' Den" received some criticism after some of the investors were revealed to have backed out of deals after the cameras stopped rolling. ABC admits that could happen here too.
"The lawyers on both sides need to get into the minutiae of the deals," said Vicki Dummer, an ABC senior vice president who helps oversee reality, specials and late-night programming. "Some of the deals could fall apart."
But that risk doesn't seem to trouble Burnett.
"In the end, what you're really enjoying here is the 'aha' moment of, 'Wow, I wish I'd thought of that,' " he said.
"How many times have you been out for a beer or dinner and people are coming up with business ideas? Everybody wants to think they've got that great business idea."
Later, he told the crowd of journalists that he'd love to have the same chance to weigh pitches that his investors enjoy on the show.
"I'd like to be a shark," he said, somewhat dreamily.
scott.collins@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-mark-burnett8-2009aug08,0,32392.story
Friday, August 7, 2009
"Shark Tank" launches SUN night..ABC...9:00pm EST
Tune in to see the Premiere of "Shark Tank!" This show has been a blast to film and let me tell you...there ARE people getting closer to their dreams!! Here's the latest preview!!
You can also go to www.KevinHarrington.TV to learn more about what I do and the products that I've made successful!!
You can also go to www.KevinHarrington.TV to learn more about what I do and the products that I've made successful!!
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