Written by: James Oliver, Jr. | WeMontage
Shark Tank auditions for this year have already started, so I thought I'd share what I know about how to make it past the first round of auditions.
The photo above is from two years ago when I returned from Minneapolis, MN where I made my second attempt to get on The Tank.I had 60 seconds to pitch the casting professionals for a chance to move to the next steps in the audition process, which are to produce a 10-minute video, then go to LA to pitch the Sharks.Some may think 60-seconds is not a lot of time to convey a compelling message about your business; it is plenty of time.If you can’t quickly and succinctly describe what your business does, and exactly what you’re asking for from a potential investor, you either don’t understand your business well, or simply don’t have a compelling enough idea.
What should your 60-second Shark Tank pitch contain?
Problem/solution statement Description of the product or service Business/revenue model Market opportunity Sales traction The money ask and what you’re offering in terms of equity Use of fundsAnd be super energetic! Also have your product available to demo it.
My practice pitch video
Here’s me monkeying around getting ready for my pitch. I actually modified the problem statement to say:
Do you hate putting nails in your walls, AND expensive picture frames. But have lots of great photos you want to display?The rest of my pitch to the casting person was basically the same as in this video (above).
Recap of the journey
After I pitched, the casting person said I did a great job and he didn't have any questions. The next day I was notified that for the second year in a row, I made it past the first round of auditions.I didn't make it to the final round, but did ultimately appear on a similar show on a different network last year.Here’s a Storify recap of my Shark Tank audition journey.Good luck if you're auditioning for the show and I hope this helps.Tallyho!
